# Red Hand of Doom reloaded



## DM_Jeff (May 10, 2006)

So I'm to understand all threads since Dec 2005 are missing too? OK, here's a new RHoD Thread...

I came here to find the old thread because someone had a few good suggestions on what to run to bring characters playing this adventure up to the level required, 5th level. 

Anyone recall what that suggestion(s) was/were? Thanks!

-DM Jeff


----------



## delericho (May 10, 2006)

I believe two of the more common suggestions were "Forge of Fury" and/or "Sons of Gruumsh". Both strike me as pretty good adventures.


----------



## Stormborn (May 10, 2006)

As long as we are reloading: 
Did anyone ever determine a suitable conversion to Eberron?  I have a 5th level party in Sharn connected to Morgave.  They have just really gotten themselves in a lot of potential trouble and might be looking to get out of town soon. I was thinking I might send them on a dig to the area where the Red Hand opens if it seems like the module can be used for Eberron or if someone has done a clear coversion for the setting.  If not I will likely just use homebrew adventures.  They usually lead to less trouble for me anyway.


----------



## Klaus (May 10, 2006)

Re: Eberron -> The Red Hand would ideally spill into Breland from Droaam. Tiamat is already a dragon goddess there.

Another option mentioned in the old thread is to have the Red Hand come from the Demon Wastes (just alter the hobgoblins/goblins/bugbears into fiendish humans cosmetically), with the "aspect" at the end be a Rajah that manages to escape the Khyber shard imprisoning it for the big fight. In this case, describe all things draconian as fiendish.


----------



## KaosDevice (May 10, 2006)

I liked Red Hand of Doom Revolutions better.


----------



## Stormborn (May 10, 2006)

Klaus said:
			
		

> Re: Eberron -> The Red Hand would ideally spill into Breland from Droaam. Tiamat is already a dragon goddess there.
> 
> Another option mentioned in the old thread is to have the Red Hand come from the Demon Wastes (just alter the hobgoblins/goblins/bugbears into fiendish humans cosmetically), with the "aspect" at the end be a Rajah that manages to escape the Khyber shard imprisoning it for the big fight. In this case, describe all things draconian as fiendish.




Oh those are both great ideas.  Especially since I have a PC warlock who was raised by one of the clans that guards the demon wastes and later ran away.  Although, the Droaam connection might be easier.  Did WotC ever put out a guide to using the book in diff settings?


----------



## Nyaricus (May 10, 2006)

KaosDevice said:
			
		

> I liked Red Hand of Doom Revolutions better.



Very, very clever


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (May 10, 2006)

DM_Jeff said:
			
		

> So I'm to understand all threads since Dec 2005 are missing too? OK, here's a new RHoD Thread...
> 
> I came here to find the old thread because someone had a few good suggestions on what to run to bring characters playing this adventure up to the level required, 5th level.
> 
> ...



If you were to hold on a few months, there's another goblinoid invasion module coming from WotC, but for lower levels. It looks like quite a good lead-in to RHoD, although it makes me wonder why two such superficially similar products were released so close together (to say nothing of Sons of Gruumsh).


----------



## Warbringer (May 10, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> If you were to hold on a few months, there's another goblinoid invasion module coming from WotC, but for lower levels. It looks like quite a good lead-in to RHoD, although it makes me wonder why two such superficially similar products were released so close together (to say nothing of Sons of Gruumsh).




And in reverse order


----------



## LordMelquiades (May 10, 2006)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> As long as we are reloading:
> Did anyone ever determine a suitable conversion to Eberron?  I have a 5th level party in Sharn connected to Morgave.  They have just really gotten themselves in a lot of potential trouble and might be looking to get out of town soon. I was thinking I might send them on a dig to the area where the Red Hand opens if it seems like the module can be used for Eberron or if someone has done a clear coversion for the setting.  If not I will likely just use homebrew adventures.  They usually lead to less trouble for me anyway.




My Eberron party are also 5th, and RHoD is one of the two options available to them (they will have to choose next session).  The party have been in eastern Breland: New Cyre and north-east of there in the Seawall Mountains.  Consequently, that's where I've placed Elsir Vale: more-or-less following the Seawall mountains, with New Cyre taking the place of Dennovar.  

This will require some map & geography changes.  Fortunately the Eberron maps are of such a large scale that it's fairly easy to make changes without it looking dodgy.  So, the Elsir Vale map in the RHoD module is re-oriented 90 degrees clockwise: north is what the map calls west, placing the early and later action in the module east of the series of towns and villages on the Dawn Way.  I'm 'combining' the Giantshield and Wyrmsmoke mountains, and linking them with more mountains that stretch around the top of Lake Rhest--they then become part of the Seawalls.  Lastly, I'm downgrading the Wyvernwatch mountains to hills.  My only outstanding task is to re-position the Dawn Way slightly--the way I've set things up, the 'help from the north' that the inhabitants of Drellin's Ferry hope for would come from, er, Darguun...

Flavour wise I'm making the Red Hand a new, separate entity within Darguun that does not respect the traditional tribe and clan boundaries.  It cuts across those, appealing to disaffected goblinoids from all tribes.  As such it is a new tension within Darguun, unsupported and unrelated to both the Lhesh Haruuc and the Heirs of Dhakaan.  Depending on how things pan out, the party may even receive help from either or both of these groups to bring the Red Hand down.

I'm not sure if I'm keeping Tiamat.  I'm tempted to change her to Ashardalon, who is figuring elsewhere in the background of my campaign.  Alternatively I might like her to the Lords of Dust, making her more fiendish than divine.  Lastly, I might link her to the Daelkyr, some sort of draconic aberration, an alliance of dragons and daelkyr made manifest.

The good thing about this part of Breland is (i) it's not heavily settled; (ii) there's goblinoids in them there mountains!

Jumping topics, prior to this the party have mainly been doing the Forge of Fury.  It was coincidence (I started before I even knew about RHoD) but fits well, especially as I cvhanged it from a dwarven to goblinoid holding.


----------



## Dragonbait (May 10, 2006)

I started the PCs in Elsier Vale at 1st level. They are currently running through Sons of Gruumsh.


----------



## Festivus (May 10, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> If you were to hold on a few months, there's another goblinoid invasion module coming from WotC, but for lower levels. It looks like quite a good lead-in to RHoD, although it makes me wonder why two such superficially similar products were released so close together (to say nothing of Sons of Gruumsh).




Is that the Moonsea product coming out soonish or something else?


----------



## Land Outcast (May 10, 2006)

Is that the Moonsea product coming out soonish or something else?*

*seconded


----------



## EricNoah (May 10, 2006)

For completeness' sake, here are my attachments:


----------



## MarkB (May 11, 2006)

Stormborn said:
			
		

> As long as we are reloading:
> Did anyone ever determine a suitable conversion to Eberron?  I have a 5th level party in Sharn connected to Morgave.  They have just really gotten themselves in a lot of potential trouble and might be looking to get out of town soon. I was thinking I might send them on a dig to the area where the Red Hand opens if it seems like the module can be used for Eberron or if someone has done a clear coversion for the setting.  If not I will likely just use homebrew adventures.  They usually lead to less trouble for me anyway.



I ran the campaign in Eberron, and placed Elsir Vale straddling the Endworld Mountains just west of Whitecliff in Q'barra, creating a trade route from there to Valenar and the Talenta Plains.

The backstory needed little revision:

The dwarves who originally settled the area were a clan from the Mror Holds, who eventually abandoned the area to return to the Ironroot Mountains.

Rhest changed from a kingdom to a fiefdom that was a protectorate of Galifar, and the civil unrest that led to its downfall was sparked by Cyre and Karrnath making competing claims to have it absorbed into their territories, resulting in a three-sided conflict within Rhest between the pro-Cyre, pro-Karrnath and pro-independence factions. The original purpose of the Dawn Way trade route was for prospectors exploiting the relics and mineral wealth of Q'barra, but the region saw a resurgence of fortune after the establishment of Whitecliff made it a useful trade route.

The druidic folks who settled the area in the interim were of the Gatekeeper sect, and settled the area largely as a staging ground from which to launch expeditions into the jungles of Q'barra, to keep watch on the ruins dating back to the Age of Demons.

In the end, I ran the goblinoids as just regular goblinoid tribes, but it would be a simple matter to spice things up by making them heirs of the Dhakaani Empire.


----------



## mhacdebhandia (May 11, 2006)

Land Outcast said:
			
		

> Is that the Moonsea product coming out soonish or something else?*
> 
> *seconded



Something else: _Scourge of the Howling Horde_ in November.


----------



## Stormborn (May 11, 2006)

Cool.  So it looks like RHoD can work for Eberron.  Now on to more general questions:

1. Any one finished it?  If so how long did it take (based on your regular sessions and frequency)?  Any things to watch out for?

2. What kind of parties have people played with?  I have 3 players, using a "feat at every level" house rule.  Human Fighter, Aasimar Warlock, and a House Cannith (Human) Artificer - all of whom will be 5th level before we would start.


----------



## Mark CMG (May 11, 2006)

I'm waiting to see if the boards are finished being straightened out before re-posting any major work, such as my RHoD Story Hour or the maps I enhanced.


----------



## Ebony Dragon (May 11, 2006)

Mark CMG said:
			
		

> I'm waiting to see if the boards are finished being straightened out before re-posting any major work, such as my RHoD Story Hour or the maps I enhanced.



Whew, I was worried those enhanced maps might be lost forever, and I found the story hour to be a fun read. I was just about to take the time to download them when the forums crashed the other day.  I look forward to your reposting!


----------



## Land Outcast (May 11, 2006)

http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php...32&postcount=13

no may 8 update it says...


----------



## Stormborn (May 14, 2006)

So, now that we know the boards aren't going to change, any chance of seeing some of the maps, etc, that people have worked on again?


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (May 14, 2006)

Dumb question from someone who doesn't own this yet: Is the Red Hand the name for _this_ cult of Tiamat, or is it used as a general term for all Tiamat cults?


----------



## Land Outcast (May 14, 2006)

Feel like answering:
It's the name of this legion/cult


----------



## LordMelquiades (May 15, 2006)

*Hellish*

I have an unrelated question--from where do all those hell hounds come?  They are extraplanar outsiders, so I guess they don't come from "around these parts".  Or have I simply not read some detail properly?


----------



## Mark (May 16, 2006)

Ebony Dragon said:
			
		

> Whew, I was worried those enhanced maps might be lost forever, and I found the story hour to be a fun read. I was just about to take the time to download them when the forums crashed the other day.  I look forward to your reposting!





Here you go - http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=162236


----------



## Kunimatyu (May 16, 2006)

LordMelquiades said:
			
		

> I have an unrelated question--from where do all those hell hounds come?  They are extraplanar outsiders, so I guess they don't come from "around these parts".  Or have I simply not read some detail properly?




In non-Eberron, they come from the 1st layer of the Nine Hells of Baator, where Tiamat resides.

In Eberron, they'd either come from the Demon Wastes or deep beneath Khyber.


----------



## LordMelquiades (May 16, 2006)

Thanks--although I meant more where do they come from in the module?  That is, how is their presence explained in the module?


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (May 16, 2006)

Well, when a mommy hellhound and a daddy hellhound are in love, the daddy hellhound ...

I suspect they were _gated_ in by one of the BBEG types.


----------



## LordMelquiades (May 16, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Well, when a mommy hellhound and a daddy hellhound are in love, the daddy hellhound ...




No, stop, please, I'm eating my lunch at the moment.



			
				Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> I suspect they were _gated_ in by one of the BBEG types.




Yeah, I'm being dull and unimaginative, I mainly wondered if I'd missed something.


----------



## Ebony Dragon (May 18, 2006)

Mark said:
			
		

> Here you go - http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=162236



Thanks a ton Mark!


----------



## Mark (May 18, 2006)

Ebony Dragon said:
			
		

> Thanks a ton Mark!





Glad you're finding my Story Hour useful.


----------



## EricNoah (Jun 17, 2006)

Couple of thoughts, maybe you folks can help...

1) I want to replace that one female hobgoblin bard Wyrmlord with something else.  Maybe something with a psionic flare.  Any cool suggestions?  

2) I was thinking of inserting some kind of fey-related encounter in the Witchwood.  There's some kind of faerie ring described in DMGII I might start with.  I was also thinking about these critters...






Woodling





Wood Woad

Any thoughts?


----------



## Klaus (Jun 17, 2006)

For your hobgoblin bard, you can either use the Mindspy PrClass from Complete Adventurer or a psionic-flavored Spellthief (Psithief, in a sidebar in COmplete Adventurer).


----------



## EricNoah (Jul 1, 2006)

Yet another query...

I'm feeling like the Battle of Brindol should be the last chapter of the adventure.  Thus, I would like to move the Fane of Tiamat stuff ahead.  I'm considering putting the 2nd most powerful Wyrmlord (Karn?) at the Fane, and maybe having the heroes go off and stop him from summoning devils or whathaveyou to aide in the attack on Brindol.  Then at the Battle of Brindol, I can put the most powerful wyrmlord (Khuul?) at the city in the final battle.  

Any thoughts about that?  I might have to provide some kind of transportation there and back -- having Giant Owls as mounts might be enough, or I might have to resort to teleportation.  

I might also leave a clue at the Ghostlord's lair with the Wyrmlord there -- something that leads them directly to the Fane without stopping at Brindol.


----------



## Mark (Jul 1, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> I'm feeling like the Battle of Brindol should be the last chapter of the adventure.  Thus, I would like to move the Fane of Tiamat stuff ahead.





I've been having the same thought but haven't figured out how best to accomplish it either.  My group is kneedeep in the Blackfens, currently, so I still have some time.


----------



## EricNoah (Jul 1, 2006)

Ahh... a thought (I love it when I occasionally have one!) ...

Maybe at the Fane there's a portal that leads right into Brindol.  Perhaps it turns out that the evil noble lady (Kaal, is it?) has been working with the Red Hand in secret, and the portal is actually in her manor, or in some other piece of property she owns.  The portal would have been used to sneak in a contingent of abishai and other devils, but the heroes can use it to return to the city as it is under attack?


----------



## Klaus (Jul 1, 2006)

Maybe the whole point of the summoning ritual was to move the Aspect to Brindol, so when the PCs get there, the ritual is over and the Aspect of You Know Who is already wreacking havoc. The PCs must defeat the sub-boss left there to prevent their use of the portal that the big boss used to get the Aspect to Brindol, so the PCs must defeat sub-boss before portal disappears, cross portal and then face off against the Aspect in front of onlookers. Now THAT's epic!


----------



## Thomas Percy (Jul 1, 2006)

Klaus said:
			
		

> Maybe the whole point of the summoning ritual was to move the Aspect to Brindol, so when the PCs get there, the ritual is over and the Aspect of You Know Who is already wreacking havoc. The PCs must defeat the sub-boss left there to prevent their use of the portal that the big boss used to get the Aspect to Brindol, so the PCs must defeat sub-boss before portal disappears, cross portal and then face off against the Aspect in front of onlookers. Now THAT's epic!



Thanks. Good idea. Now I don't need to skip last chapter.


----------



## Land Outcast (Jul 1, 2006)

Excellent reestructuration, I might apply it.


----------



## EricNoah (Aug 25, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> I want to replace that one female hobgoblin bard Wyrmlord with something else.  Maybe something with a psionic flare.  Any cool suggestions?




I solved my problem by purchasing PHB II.  I'm going to use the stats from the 9th level beguiler in place of the bard Wyrmlord.  She might be a smidge overpowered but I might not be able to play her with the best strategies so it should work out ok.  

Some other changes I'm going to make to the Ghostlord's Lair encounters...

1) Since that half-fiend behir has a desecration ability, I decided to add some undead to that encounter.  A pair of level 4 warrior hobgoblins have been turned into Ju-Ju zombies and will fire arrows at the party from the stone lion's "mouth" (area 7 is it) up above.  

2) I will make sure the heroes have an encounter with some ghost brue lions before they arrive at the lair.  They need to know what they are up against and it's just good flavor and a good mystery to solve (what is causing these monstrosities to appear?).  

3) I am going to redraw the map of areas 4 and 10-12 to give a bit more room for the battles to take place in.  There's hardly room for the hobgoblins much less the PCs.  

4) I need to come up with a few replacements for treasures in area 18 -- I want to get rid of the amulet of health +4 and the +1 keen kukri.  Probably replace with something psi-flavored.  Let's see, that's like 20,000 gp worth ...  Let's see, I have a telepath so how about a psionatrix of telepathy (8000 gp).  And then maybe a normal magic item ... how about a ring of electricity resistance 10 (12,000 gp).  Will come in handy at the High Wyrmlord's hideout, and the Ghostlord is already immune to electricity and so wouldn't need it, and thus might store it here.


----------



## vulcan_idic (Aug 25, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> If you were to hold on a few months, there's another goblinoid invasion module coming from WotC, but for lower levels. It looks like quite a good lead-in to RHoD, although it makes me wonder why two such superficially similar products were released so close together (to say nothing of Sons of Gruumsh).




Didn't you hear?  As a follow up to the "Year of the Dragon" they decided to do a "Year of the Goblin"


----------



## EricNoah (Aug 27, 2006)

I'm 90% sure now that I'm going to direct the PCs toward the Fane of Tiamat before the battle of Brindol.  My PCs are really ahead of the curve, timeline wise -- they made some good choices, pushed their mounts to the extreme, and are already done with Part II and Drelin's Ferry hasn't even been attacked yet.  

So this means I will need to de-claw the Fane a smidge to make it survivable.  The PCs should be around 9th level when they get there.  

In addition, as I now have MM IV, I am thinking about using more dragonspawn and fewer devils/outsiders, just for flavor purposes.  So I'll go through and change almost all outsiders to slightly lower CR dragonspawn.  

Some thoughts:

1)  Keep the blue abishai -- a good combination of devil and dragon-like style.

2) De-claw the blue dragon a smidge -- remove his magic items, remove a feat (ability focus on his breath weapon), and maybe drop his STR by 2. 

3) Inner sanctum -- remove the unhallow effect, reduce number of blue abishai to 2.  Azarr Kul, in the final stages of summoning the aspect of Tiamat, needs to spend 2-3 rounds finishing the ritual (spending standard actions each round to do so), but should be able to finish the ritual and then engage the heroes in combat, fighting to the death.  

The thing I still need to figure out is what happens when the aspect of Tiamat appears -- should it ignore the heroes and fly through an open portal that leads to Brindol?  Should the heroes be able to go through this same portal?  I'll have to think about what would be most dramatic -- I like the idea of the aspect being the last thing the heroes fight in Brindol, maybe alongside an enraged/distraught Wyrmlord Kharn, who is present to tally the ways the heroes have thwarted the Red Hand's plans in a monologue before a final showdown.


----------



## GwydapLlew (Aug 27, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> The thing I still need to figure out is what happens when the aspect of Tiamat appears -- should it ignore the heroes and fly through an open portal that leads to Brindol?  Should the heroes be able to go through this same portal?  I'll have to think about what would be most dramatic -- I like the idea of the aspect being the last thing the heroes fight in Brindol, maybe alongside an enraged/distraught Wyrmlord Kharn, who is present to tally the ways the heroes have thwarted the Red Hand's plans in a monologue before a final showdown.




Hrm. Well, the Battle of Brindol shapes up to be pretty lethal for the PCs and their allies. I would suggest allowing a few shots at the Aspect before it enters the _portal_ leading to Brindol. 

The entire adventure is structured around PC choices making it easier or more difficult to fight off the Horde. I'd say something like this:

1. De-power the Aspect to an appropriate level.
2. Allow the PCs a chance to defeat the Aspect in the Fane itself.
3. Give them a few rounds to do this - after that, the Aspect emerges in Brindol.
4. The Aspect's appearance signals the final attack on Brindol, and the Horde surges forth.

The only problem I can see is that this places the PCs squarely on the outside of Brindol when the battles begin. The encounters at the siege could be reworked to allow the PCs entrance to the city proper - the giant encounter, for example, could be altered to the PCs coming upon them while trying to climb the walls.

This has the added 'cool' effect of having the Aspect looming over the city, watching the goddess' army begin the sack. When the PC's defeat the Horde, _then_ the Aspect flies into a rage and attacks the city. 

If the PC's successfully destroy the Aspect in the Fane, then the Horde is demoralized and makes it easier to drive them off. If they don't, then they fight the full-powered Aspect over the city itself.


----------



## EricNoah (Sep 4, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> I solved my problem by purchasing PHB II.  I'm going to use the stats from the 9th level beguiler in place of the bard Wyrmlord.  She might be a smidge overpowered but I might not be able to play her with the best strategies so it should work out ok.
> 
> Some other changes I'm going to make to the Ghostlord's Lair encounters...
> 
> ...




I just ran the "front half" of the Ghostlord's Lair. Yikes.  My players wiped the frickin' floor with Varanthian (they got in some lucky shots with sneak attacks and a mind thrust, and she missed on her only chances to attack when she needed it most).  They wiped the floor with the Beguiler version of Ulwai and her monks, as well. It was almost silly how easy it was.  If I hadn't been rolling in the open I would have fudged at least one more round out of her. Ah well.  That's what published adventures are for.  

So.  I will need to beef up the back half of the lair (add another ghost lion encounter, and maybe come up with something better than the bonedrinkers). And I should be ready in case the PCs decide that killing the Ghostlord is indeed within their powers.  Plus I should add a nasty magical trap or two, something with an undead flare to it.  

And then forget what I said about de-clawing the Fane.  I think it will be fine as written.


----------



## Klaus (Sep 4, 2006)

I´m reading this adventure now and boy, am I impressed!

In your opinions, what are the best class/PrClass mixes to run this adventure to (3 and 4 PCs)? 

PrClasses that strike me as desirable include Dragonstalker (Draconomicon), Order of the Bow Initiate (CW), Tempest (CAdv), Dread Commando (HoB), War Weaver (HoB), Revenant Blade (Player´s Guide to Eberron).

And a question: if a character has an ability that affects Dragons, does it work on creatures with the Dragonblooded subtype (like the way Elf and Elf Blood works)?


----------



## EricNoah (Sep 4, 2006)

Unfortunately I am not familiar with any of the classes mentioned, Claudio!   

In my game we have... 

a psion (telepath) -- doing surprisingly well as this adventure doesn't have a lot of undead and constructs.  Mind Thrust and Death Urge have seen a lot of successful use. 

a "generic class" warrior ala Unearthed Arcana.  He kind of mixed some features of different classes to get what he calls an "infiltrator" who has a high AC, dual weilds hand axes, and has a good sneak attack.

a ranger/trick archer (a homegrown class that can fire arrows to cause different conditions).  She can use spellfire, and I have allowed some house rules to turn the spellfire levels into a spell point system.  She has a limited "spell list" and can basically use spellfire to power those spells.  Her ranger favored enemy is goblinoid, which has turned out to be handy.  

and an NPC cleric.  I gave him a more limited spell list, and made him a spontaneous caster for ease of play.  

I don't know the answer to your question but I think I would allow anything that affects dragons to affect dragonblooded.


----------



## Toric_Arthendain (Sep 4, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> So this means I will need to de-claw the Fane a smidge to make it survivable.  The PCs should be around 9th level when they get there.




I've been running Red Hand since February, two sessions a month.  My PCs just got to the Fane two sessions ago.  I have four level 9 PCs, two level 8 PCs and one level 7 cohort in the party.  I didn't de-claw the Fane at all yet and they have done okay.  The blue dragon killed one PC before they went inside.  So far, they have cleared most of the upper level and have just progressed down into the temple of Tiamat.  The Fane is brutal and I'm a bit concerned about the survivability if I don't alter it a bit, although it is harder to judge given that I have six PCs and a cohort in the group (59 total levels).

I ran the events of the module in order so the Battle of Brindol is over.  The PCs were victorious there.

Eric, its funny that you were looking to replace the female hobgoblin bard with something different.  That Wyrmlord has proven to be extremely difficult for my PCs to deal with.  She has escaped them on two occassions, once in the Ghostlord's lair and again during the Battle of Brindol.  I plan to have her interfere with them again in the future but not in the Fane.  I think she probably figures that the horde is broken and would rather hide and gather her own strength for now.


----------



## DM_Jeff (Sep 8, 2006)

My Players' just finished part 1. Their PCs are as follows:

Half-Celestial Marshal
Killoren Ranger/Scout
Drow Cleric
Helf-elf Duskblade
Halfling Knight

Interestingly, this group chose these classes even knowign the large-scale combats, I guess they needed more of a challenge or something. Looking back at the last few sessions, and the battle at the Skull Gorge Bridge in particular, they stick at large-scale combats and have to play and think extra hard to suceed. Smaller combats they are lean and mean. 

-DM Jeff


----------



## Klaus (Sep 8, 2006)

(my party will be all pregens, and aimed at speeding up play, so little-to-no preparing of spells)

Here´s how they´re looking so far (in my head):

Human Paladin of Bahamut. His special mount will be a bronze dragonsteed (stats of a half-bronze dragon heavy warhorse), summoned at 6th level (will slowly gain the half-dragon abilities until 8th level).

Human Sidhe Archer. This is just a fey-flavored CG warlock focusing on the eldritch blasts (renamed sidhe arrows). I may make her elf.

Human Scout. This one will take the skirmisher route with two-weapon fighting.

Human Favored Soul of Bahamut.


----------



## mikebr99 (Sep 8, 2006)

I love this module... and am getting ready to DM my group through it shortly. The party should consist of:

Goliath Ranger, with a two handed fighting style (FE - dragons and goblins)
Human Wizard/Ftr (EK eventually)... archer type
Human Favoured soul of the Red Knight
Human Alt.Sorcerer PHBII (Incantatrix eventually)
Tiefling Rogue, TWF
Aasimar Paladin, S&B

We should be starting this next month... I can't wait. 

Anyone remember back to the *old* FR boxed set... dragons were always effectively hasted? The Evil DM in me... is wanting to relive the good old days... 

Mike


----------



## ByteRynn (Sep 8, 2006)

I just finished DMing Act 1 with my group.  I am running the module in Eberron, and enjoying it immensly.  I also just finished converting act 4, and am nearly done converting act 5.  This is what I did:

I set the Elisir Vale in the pass between Breland and Darguun farthest to the NE of Breland, near the Mournland.  I have kept most all of the cities the same, though I have re-dubbed Brindol into Kenrun and the dwarven holds into Starilaskur.

A group of Dragons affiliated with the Chamber have misinterpreted part of the Draconic Prophecy and decided to take matters into their own hands, setting things in motion.  In time, this will be none as Tyrgarun's Heresey.  These dragons, stationed in the northern mountains of Darguun to watch over an ancient Rakshasa Raja, sealed there in ages past, don't realise that they've been influenced by the Rahja, extending his influence slowly through "cracks" in his imperfect magical prison.

Basically, the dragons believe the Prophecy states that a great leader of a down-trodden race who has draconic blood will raise up an army, and bolster it through powerful ancient magics.  Ultimately, this army will summon up a Rakshasa Raja and scourge most of Eastern Breland.  Then the remaining civilized nations will band together to fight this new and dangerous force, ushering in an era of peace between all nations of Khorvaire.  This is what is supposed to happen.  The Chamber dragons, taking the long view, have over the years infiltrated a tribe of goblinoids, convincing them to worship their draconic might.  They have raised up one of their own children, the half-dragon Wyrmlord to lead the horde, and perform the rituals required to release the Rakshasa Raja and all of his minions upon Khorvaire.

A key ally that the Goblinoids have secured is the mysterious Lord of Blades.  They sent him word that they had found a powerful artifact that could enhance a creation forge and grant the warforgred built there huge amounts of power.  The hobgoblins are searching for this artifact and in return, the LoB is providing troops to the horde.

Basically, I changed Tiamat and her Cult to a Chamber Heresy controlled by a Raja.  The Aspect at the end will be replaced by the "herald" of the Raja, a lower-leveled Rakshasa with class levels (or maybe a half-dragon?  Created by fiendish tampering with draconic blood?)  Some of the dragons (the black and blue dragons) I replaced with an equivalent CR Silver and Copper dragon, just to keep the alignments unusual.  I replaced the Ghostlord with the Lord of Blades, and all of the ghosts with Warforged.  The giants have been replaced with Warforged Titans, modified to be walking Ballistas and Catipults.  The Twistusks have been replaced with a group of Lycanthropes who have been hiding from the wrath of the Silver Flame in the mountains, after their leader's keep, Vraath Keep, was destroyed by Silver Flame crusaders.

I think I've hit the high points.  I also re-did a bunch of hobgoblin stats, using dragon shamans, dragon-flavored shugenja, and chain-based weapon whenever possible.


----------



## Klaus (Sep 8, 2006)

Oh, yes, one more thing:

I´ll probably be boosting the Medium dragons to Large, just ´cause it´s cooler (not actually advancing in age, just making them Large, with the corresponding increase in Grapple, Space and Reach and the decrease in AC and attack).

The Aspect will begin as Huge, but if she flies away to wreak havoc I'll have her grow to Gargantuan size in a few days. Maybe even Colossal...


----------



## 00Machado (Sep 9, 2006)

delericho said:
			
		

> I believe two of the more common suggestions were "Forge of Fury" and/or "Sons of Gruumsh". Both strike me as pretty good adventures.




This is my plan. I decided to start Sons of Gruumsh at level 3, and insert Forge of Fury between the city section, and the end section of Sons of Gruumsh, during the trek across Thar.

Basically, I'm thinking that following the trail into Thar will first lead to the mountain outpost in Forge of Fury (I may skip the back sections of the Forge outpost. Not sure yet).

My $.02


----------



## DM_Jeff (Sep 20, 2006)

Klaus said:
			
		

> I´ll probably be boosting the Medium dragons to Large, just ´cause it´s cooler (not actually advancing in age, just making them Large, with the corresponding increase in Grapple, Space and Reach and the decrease in AC and attack).




Yeah, my group just came across the Ruins of Rhest, and we had our first PC fatality. Sadly, my wife's half-celestial Amadeah perished as a combination of Black Dragon smack-down and Wormlord Saarvith's well-placed arrows ender her career. It was a worthy death however, full of heroics and action. Everone mourns her loss but it really has everyone sitting up straight now. Incedently, I took the author's advice and raised the dragon to the next size to make it large. That may have been an issue, but moreso is the fact I still don't have any 'tank' characters in the group. That all changes with my wife's next PC, who's now "tired of messing around" with these Red Hand b@$tards!   

-DM Jeff


----------



## EricNoah (Oct 27, 2006)

A brief update from my RHoD campaign...

Last session: The PCs made toast of the fiendish behir at the Ghostlord's lair, and buttered that toast with the remains of Ulwai and her minions.  (Yep, great metaphor!)

So to up the ante a bit, I'm going to have the Ghostlord try to trap and kill the PCs. After he negotiates to get his phylactery back, of course!

To make things more interesting, I made some changes to the Ghostlord and his lair...

1) Changed the layout so there are fewer entrances to the central chamber.  Also added small crawl-tunnels between key rooms.  

2) Made the Ghostlord a swarm-shifter.  Instead of an "undead animal wildshape" he can assume the form of a swarm of death scarab beetles ala Sandstorm p. 184.  He'll use the crawl-tunnels to move around the lair in this form as needed. 

3) Reduced the hardness and hp of the Lion's Heart.  If the PCs want to smash it during combat, I want to reward them because it's a cool idea.  I'll even inflict some penalties on the Ghostlord if they do so.  

4) The shrine of blight is completely filled with thorny dead trees that hinder PC movement but mysteriously don't hamper the Ghostlord one bit.  A good place for a last stand, and also a good place for a ghost lion attack.  

5) The Chamber of the Betrayed -- the carvings described serve as a symbol of persuasion -- they instill a (probably undeserved) sense of pity in the hearts of those affected, and they want nothing more than to leave the phylactery with the lich and retreat, or to help defend the lich if he's attacked.


----------



## jollyninja (Oct 28, 2006)

I agree whole heartedly with your decision to move the fane to before the battle of brindol eric, i really wish i had done that myself. after the battle, the dungeon crawl was a bit of a letdown for my players. what i might do, were i doing that is throw in a couple extra minions and have azzar kul actually leave the fane, riding the blue dragon, having the pc's face him at the conclusion of the battle of brindol in stead of the army's general and his giants, throwing that encounter in at the breached wall should they choose to go there. with the pc's being higher level then expected at the battle it should be a great deal less lethal for them then for my players. with that said the only one of my pc's that actually died was killed trying to "catch" their dwarven cleric hireling who had been thrown at her from 200' up by the red dragon. the dwarf strangely enough would have lived even without the help and the poor rogue was killed taking only 1/4 of the fall damage.


----------



## Wrathamon (Oct 28, 2006)

The mention of the LoB made me think that replacing the Goblins with Warforged might make an interesting idea.

Everyone plays in Breland it seems... so lets mess with it a bit.

Change the goblins to warforged.
change the giants to warforged titans
place the vale in Karnaath on the border of the talenta plains and the mornlands.
change the elves to talenta halflings on glidewings

Any ideas on the Tiamat? maybe she is a form of Daelkyr or a Lord of Dust that will grant the LoBs something he needs.

still thinking about this... any thoughts?


----------



## Klaus (Oct 28, 2006)

Aspect of Tiamat = Warforged Hydra


----------



## ByteRynn (Oct 30, 2006)

Little update:

My PCs have just found the note from Ulawai to Saarvith about them cheating the Lord of Blades (my replacement of the Ghostlord) by keeping back a powerful schema they discovered and he is looking for.  

The looks of glee on their faces when they realised they get to go visit the Lord of Blades made my evening.  After talking to them, I think the whole idea has put this campaign on another level.

Anyway, thought I'd share.


----------



## EricNoah (Oct 30, 2006)

My update -- the swarm-shifting Ghostlord was perfect -- he had a great way to escape the action for a few rounds and buff up, just what every BBEG needs.  

And the orb-smashing also worked out great.  They didn't quite get it smashed before killing the Ghostlord, but close enough that he got frantic and stopped him from buffing up even more!

The few downsides:  the bonedrinkers were completely ineffective.  And the symbol of persuasion never got used.  Ah well.  

Next stop: the Fane of Tiamat.  Before they get there, I have to figure out how the Aspect of Tiamat gets to Brindol, and how the PCs can get there in time to be of some good.


----------



## GwydapLlew (Oct 30, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> Next stop: the Fane of Tiamat.  Before they get there, I have to figure out how the Aspect of Tiamat gets to Brindol, and how the PCs can get there in time to be of some good.




One of the suggestions in the adventure is to have the Aspect rampage through the Vale for several days. If you only give the party a round or two to attack the Aspect before it breaks out, it should get away. Once away, you could have reports from survivors lead the PCs to the Aspect and have an epic slugfest.


----------



## Frostmarrow (Oct 30, 2006)

My players are fighting in the streets of Brindol. Right now they are protecting the barricades from wave after wave of invaders. It looks pretty good. Sadly, half the party were wiped-out during Abithriax rampage.

Abithriax is one mean dragon. One breath of his fire was all it took. He did 51 fire damage so the cleric got killed by the fire and the ranger was destroyed by the massive damage. -Oh and the bard cohort sort of failed in both accounts.

Little do my players know; but they have actually already won the war. I tallied up the score after the battle with the stone slinging hill giants and now they are at 41 points. A victory in Brindol requires 40 points.

I like the idea to have the aspect and the warlord come to Brindol. Maybe I'll rearrange the ending a bit too.


----------



## Klaus (Oct 30, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> My update -- the swarm-shifting Ghostlord was perfect -- he had a great way to escape the action for a few rounds and buff up, just what every BBEG needs.
> 
> And the orb-smashing also worked out great.  They didn't quite get it smashed before killing the Ghostlord, but close enough that he got frantic and stopped him from buffing up even more!
> 
> ...



 The portal could be aimed at dropping the Aspect 10 miles behind the Red Hand Horde, so they become her "vanguard". The PCs could jump through the gate as it closes behind her, and the teleportation effect lands them closer to Brindol than the Aspect. They can race to the city and rush through the council and stuff, then proceed with defending against the horde. But the climatic battle is cut short by the appearance of the Aspect itself. By now I'd increase its size to Colossal (with or without an increase in scores), to show that it is swelling in size from the victims it eats (which include human and nogbolin alike).


----------



## EricNoah (Oct 31, 2006)

I am now leaning toward having the Aspect fly from the Fane to Brindol, and having the PCs find a way to follow behind.  Options: a magic item like a carpet of flying (could find it in the Fane); maybe some elves from Starsong Hill have been scouting the area around the Fane and are hoping to meet up with the PCs and lend them giant owls to ride; or perhaps best of all ... a scroll of teleport (again, found treasure).  This would allow the PCs to get to Brindol, maybe do some of the Council stuff, and maybe even rest for 8 hours after thier battle with the High Wyrmlord.  And then the Aspect can show up soon afterwards, and the battle would begin...


----------



## DM_Jeff (Nov 1, 2006)

My group finished the Battle of Brindol last week. Fight after fight really weighed heavily on the characters and the players, but because of the various opponents and dynamic of the city, everyone had a blast. 

And I won't describe my dissapointment when I publicly roll a natural 1 on the Red Dragon's save against _hideous laughter_. He got a good three rounds in at least before that massacre and killed two important NPC's and beat up the party.   

They went exploring to the fane. I began taking the end and molding it: the great treant Eth (of the druids of the same name) came awake and contacted the heroes of the valley, and helped transplant them to a snow-covered mountainside near the fane. That allowed me to use the nifty DMG avalanche rules, and I wrote in a white dragon and his lair with a portal leading to the temple of Tiamat adventure in the Dragons of Faerun hardcover. So after they go whack on Tiamat they can continue the fight after Red Hand module officially ends.

Overall the experience has been action-packed and full of stand-up excitment. On the other hand the players have begged that the next campaign have no immediate timeline so they can stop and smell the roses. 

-DM Jeff


----------



## Imruphel (Nov 1, 2006)

DM_Jeff said:
			
		

> (snip) On the other hand the players have begged that the next campaign have no immediate timeline so they can stop and smell the roses. -DM Jeff




That's the only thing stopping me from running this right now as well. It reads so well, and I've yet to read a bad review, but I've got players who want to, as you say, stop and smell the roses. 

Hmmm, maybe I need to find another group as well....


----------



## DM_Jeff (Nov 2, 2006)

Imruphel said:
			
		

> It reads so well, and I've yet to read a bad review, but I've got players who want to, as you say, stop and smell the roses.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Wrathamon (Nov 2, 2006)

I have come off two campaigns (city of the spider queen) and a home brew that had timelines that were counting down... this really only penalizes crafters (which I happened to be one).

That is why we used the Craft Point rules from UA. It solved a lot of problems for us.

I run a game were there are months between adventures were their is player down time before the next major arc happens.


----------



## MerricB (Nov 2, 2006)

Yay! 14 days before I begin to run this adventure (as a Living Greyhawk one. )

Cheers!


----------



## DM_Jeff (Nov 6, 2006)

Well, last night was weird. My Red hand of Doom game came to a glorious end. The group confronted the evil high worllord himself and his buddy "aspect" and won the day. In a massive 7 and 1/2 hour session (quite a feat for 34-40 year olds these days) the group refused to yeild and pushed their way through the fane to the final confrontation. Because of all the combat, things got slightly punchy, but all in a good way. 

I'm real proud of my players. They're all seasoned berks, but last night their good team tactics reallty paid off. They went into the fane with five 8th level PCs and one 8th level NPC. About 2-3 rooms before the BBEG, they all leveled up. By the end, everyone was out of spells, potions were spent, charges were lost, but the valley is saved and no one died (although we had 3 really, really close calls; if not for that mobile diligent cleric there would have been deaths).

During the couse of the entire campaign, there were two PC deaths. One was reborn thanks to the staff of life, the other made a new PC and joined the group. My 'dragon luck' continued last night with another natural save of a "1" vs a blindness effect which turned that battle to the PCs favor way too quickly.   

Overall, everyone was real happy with Red Hand of Doom. Great locations, exciting battles, interesting foes and NPCs. The group had a blast. But, as mentioned before we're going to move away from the time-sensitive "kill it all" battle-fest and tell some stories of deception and intrigue in the next campaign.

Anyone else finishing up RHoD?

-DM Jeff


----------



## EricNoah (Dec 6, 2006)

Another update...

As noted earlier, I'm sending the PCs to the Fane first and then to Brindol second.  Here's how I'm dealing with it...

1) En route to the Fane I want the PCs to encounter a valley or canyon that is kind of a spooky graveyard for any hobgoblin priests of the goblin pantheon who refused to convert to the worship of Tiamat.  I've been hinting around that this whole invasion is more of a "dragon thing" than a "hobgoblin thing" and that the dragons are really just using the hobgoblins as fodder.  I think if the PCs somehow engage the hobgoblin 2nd in command at Brindol and manage to talk to him and bring up that subject, it will demoralize him in some way.  

2) At the fane I'm removing a lot of the devils and the hobgoblins.  THe only guardians there are some blackspawn raiders, some redspawn arcanisses, and some blue abishai, as well as the blue dragon at the front.  The place really will have just a skeleton crew.  I think I will put that blackspawn raider ninja in here too and remove him from Brindol.  

3) When the PCs finally make it into the inner sanctum, Azaar Kul has nearly completed the ritual to summon the aspect of Tiamat.  The aspect is kind of "phasing into" the material plane a bit at a time.  In particular, each head is phasing in slowly and separately.  Depending on how many rounds it takes to dispatch Azaar Kul, the aspect may end up with anywhere from 1 to all five heads. 

4) When Azaar Kul is dead, the aspect (or however much of her has made it) will fly into the air and break through a fairly thin rock wall -- and she'll begin about a 2-day journey flyng overland toward Brindol.  This will probably look bad to the heroes at first, but I plan on scattering at least two fairly quick methods of arriving at Brindol ahead of Tiamat somewhere in the fane.  I'll probably have a scroll of teleport around somewhere, and I may make it possible to "re-wire" the portal that leads to the Nine Hells and make it into a teleporter.  

Once the PCs arrive in Brindol, they should have about a day or so to rest, re-supply, undertake a mission or two, and then have a final showdown.


----------



## MerricB (Dec 6, 2006)

We've finished part 1.

It took us less than 8 hours. I assume that is atypical?

Part 2 will have to wait until January, however.

Cheers!


----------



## EricNoah (Dec 6, 2006)

That sounds about right -- it took my guys about 3 4-hour sessions to do part 1.


----------



## Thomas Percy (Dec 6, 2006)

MerricB said:
			
		

> It took us less than 8 hours. I assume that is atypical?



We played: one part = one session (6+ hours) = one level up.


----------



## Sidekick (Dec 6, 2006)

My group are just about to embark upon the RHoD. I've got them working for House Sivis (eberron) and trying to reclaim a message stone that never made it to Brindol.

I've gone with MarkB's suggestion and placed Elsir Vale inbetween Valenar and Q'Barra.

They’ll hit 5th by the time they get to the hobgoblin ambush for sure. I’ve also organised a tussle with a bargest, some hobgoblin regulars and a hobgoblin warlock to hook them in further to the plot.

The PCs are as follows (gestalt).

Aloya ir’Presselan: Female human Scout4/Fighter4. 
Durnnam Yurak Droranath: Male dwarven barbarian4/rogue4
Jo Fletcher: female human warlock4/rogue4
Linden Auntain: male human monk4/Cleric4 (sov Host, going for Sov Speaker PrC).

I’ll be stopping gestalt at 5th level so from 6th onwards they’ll only have one class. 

I’m planning on bumping the medium dragons (maybe not Ozzy) to large to increase the cool factor…


----------



## NiTessine (Dec 6, 2006)

I ran it in Living Greyhawk. First part took us two sessions, total of about 12 hours.

The group is a tough one, mostly consisting of fighter types, with no ranged support and only a single real cleric. The lowest Str score in the party is 14, and the highest Cha is 12... Average AC is 19. They also have obscene luck, and dropped the manticore with only two arrows, both of which critted. I also regularly rolled crit damage in the 5-7 point range, which is the only reason the barbarian/bard and the paladin are still alive.

We'll be starting part two in January.


----------



## Ghendar (Dec 6, 2006)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> If you were to hold on a few months, there's another goblinoid invasion module coming from WotC, but for lower levels. It looks like quite a good lead-in to RHoD, although it makes me wonder why two such superficially similar products were released so close together (to say nothing of Sons of Gruumsh).





Yup, just wait if you can. Sons of Gruumsh is a good suggestion as well.


----------



## haakon1 (Dec 6, 2006)

MerricB said:
			
		

> Yay! 14 days before I begin to run this adventure (as a Living Greyhawk one. )
> 
> Cheers!




Yay!

Three questions:

1) Where does RHoD fit in Greyhawk?  Especially western Greyhawk?

2) Does anybody have ideas about fitting the original 3.0 WOTC modules -- specifically the Meepo one with kobold and goblins and a dragon lair, arggh, can't remember the name -- to RHOD?

3) Does anybody else hate half-dragons as much as I do?  If so, how did you replace them in RHoD?


----------



## MerricB (Dec 6, 2006)

haakon1 said:
			
		

> 1) Where does RHoD fit in Greyhawk?  Especially western Greyhawk?




Sterich, towards the south-western side.

Cheers!


----------



## Wrathamon (Dec 6, 2006)

haakon1 said:
			
		

> Yay!
> 2) Does anybody have ideas about fitting the original 3.0 WOTC modules -- specifically the Meepo one with kobold and goblins and a dragon lair, arggh, can't remember the name -- to RHOD?




Sunless Citadel



			
				haakon1 said:
			
		

> 3) Does anybody else hate half-dragons as much as I do?  If so, how did you replace them in RHoD?




I dont hate them... but they are easy to replace with something else if you want. Demons or Devils would work. Slaad even.


----------



## Mark CMG (Dec 7, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> Another update...
> 
> As noted earlier, I'm sending the PCs to the Fane first and then to Brindol second.  Here's how I'm dealing with it...
> 
> ...





I've been hoping to hear how this goes for someone.  Thanks.


----------



## haakon1 (Dec 7, 2006)

MerricB said:
			
		

> Sterich, towards the south-western side.




Nod, good choice.  My Sterich never got conquered, because my campaign world is the same old one from the 1980s, when the PCs beat Against the Giants megamodule, preventing the fall of Sterich and Geoff.

But whether you buy the From the Ashes changes or not, Sterich fits fine.

BTW, some other weird Sterich region ideas from my campaign, that might be fun for you:
- Cryllor in the Good Hills is a university town.  Greyhawk's medieval Oxford.  Keoland and the whole Sheldomar Valley speak Common -- the language of the Great Kingdom -- because the university and the royal authorities pushed it on the nobility, who pushed it on the merchants, while the peasants mostly still speak Keoish.  A bit like Tsarist Russia's upper classes using French while the peasants spoke Russian and local languages.
- Hochoch at the edge of the Dim Forest is a castle town owned by the Knights of the Watch.  Not exactly a free city, but not owned by any principality.
- Sterich, Geoff, and Gran March still owe fealty to the Keoish crown, and stick to it in wartime, even though in peacetime they are entirely independent.  Think of the relationship between the UK and Canada/Australia circa World War I.
- Gran March is run by an order of knights called the Brotherhood of the Sword (modelled on the Livonian Brotherhood of the Sword and Teutonic Order in the northern crusades, by the Germans against the Baltic peoples).  It's run as an armed camp, and very loyal to the king down in Niole Dra.  The peasants are not terribly pleased.


----------



## haakon1 (Dec 7, 2006)

Wrathamon said:
			
		

> Sunless Citadel




Yeah . . . sorry, my brain shut down this afternoon.  

Anyhow, it seems like Sunless Citadel ought to fit with RHoD.  You've got goblns in an ancient dragon lair, after all.  I haven't thought this through yet, but it seems like it could be cool.  

Whaddya all think of these ideas?

Idea 1) Play Sunless Citadel as written.  Meepo, assuming he survives, rides off into the sunless sunset, happily owning the goblin-cleared dungeon.  After a side adventure or two, the PC's get the summons that something bad is going on at the Sunless Citadel.  Meepo has come to Oakbridge, and tells that after the PC's left, the goblins who escaped brought in hobgobling cousins to fight the kobolds.  That was OK, and the mighty kobold horde held them back, until the hobgoblin warchief discovered dragon magic.  Now the kobolds are defeated, and old frosty is stolen again.  Oh no!

Sounds like a minor problem, and it works even better, perhaps, if the PC's ignore it, until the big war starts.  Sort of like Spider-Man ignoring the problems of the wrestling promoter who got robbed, only to find out with great power comes great responsibility.  Bwahahahaha!

Idea 2) The goblins in Sunless Citadel are a Red Hand outpost.  The PC attack discovers evidence of a bigger conspiracy, in which the dark druid is but a hireling.



			
				Wrathamon said:
			
		

> I dont hate them... but they are easy to replace with something else if you want. Demons or Devils would work. Slaad even.




Slaad?  I hadn't thought of that.  I was thinking maybe Githyanki.


----------



## questing gm (Dec 7, 2006)

*RoHD in the Silver Marches*

I'm thinking of running this awesome module during the holidays with my group. They wanted to play in the FR setting and I wanted to try the Silver Marches...  

  Does this module fit well into the region ? I know there are several hobgoblins in the area (as stated in the book), anything else i should consider changing to suit the flavor of the region better ?


----------



## Wrathamon (Dec 8, 2006)

questing gm said:
			
		

> I'm thinking of running this awesome module during the holidays with my group. They wanted to play in the FR setting and I wanted to try the Silver Marches...
> 
> Does this module fit well into the region ? I know there are several hobgoblins in the area (as stated in the book), anything else i should consider changing to suit the flavor of the region better ?




It would be better to change the gobinoids to Orcs for that region imo.


----------



## Vanye (Dec 8, 2006)

I'm going to be putting this into my Realms campaign.  They players are based out of Tilverton, near Cormyr, about 2 years after the Devil Dragon situation.  I'm thinking of changing out some of the leaders of the goblins with half-dragon elves, to fit with the whole Demon Dragon situation, and have them come out of the Stonelands, sweep past Tilverton, and into Cormyr proper, which is still hurting from the death of Azoun and the recent war.

Given that all the characters have family in Tilverton, they may find themselves suitably motivated ...


----------



## GwydapLlew (Dec 8, 2006)

Wrathamon said:
			
		

> It would be better to change the gobinoids to Orcs for that region imo.




There are some significant goblin tribes in the Nether Mountains, and there is a family of very powerful blue dragons that rule several of them. It could fit - the normal 'invasion plan' of the Marches is either east from the Trollmoors or south from the Spine of the World ... it would be a little different.

Also, the dragons recently destroyed (in the FR timeline) a monastery in the region, which could be the hook for Vraath Keep.


----------



## GwydapLlew (Dec 8, 2006)

haakon1 said:
			
		

> Idea 2) The goblins in Sunless Citadel are a Red Hand outpost.  The PC attack discovers evidence of a bigger conspiracy, in which the dark druid is but a hireling.




I ran Belak the Outcast as a Blighter. He could easily be a discipline of the Ghostlord. The elvish touches in the Citadel could easily be changed around to goblinoid... and the trapped 'dragonpriest' could have been spawn instead. It has potential.


----------



## EricNoah (Dec 10, 2006)

An update...

PCs have entered the Fane and have gotten through to the temple area.  I now have to decide whether I want to stretch things out a bit and make the rest of the Fane plus the Battle of Brindol into a 2-session thing, or condense and have the next session be the last.  

If I spread it out over two more sessions, I will want a fairly elaborate combat in the three-tiered cave (I'm thinking the blackspawn ninja, with his great jump skill and archery abilities, would be a good choice in this room).  And will want to maybe beef up the Azaar Kul encounter a bit (my players have been wiping the floor with the opposition thus far).  

Then after the Aspect has flown off toward Brindol, the PCs have to get to Brindol ahead of it, meet with the leaders of the town, show them some war plans they found in the Fane, and decide on 2 of 3-4 "missions" they could undertake when the battle starts (including the Giants at the Walls encounter and similar things like that).  That would be the end of session 1.  

Session 2 would be the missions and the fina showdown with Kharn and the aspect of Tiamat in town.  And an appropriate resolution.


----------



## Mark CMG (Dec 10, 2006)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> Session 2 would be the missions and the fina showdown with Kharn and the aspect of Tiamat in town.  And an appropriate resolution.





Ah, the TPK.  Very nice.  Very nice, indeed.


----------



## questing gm (Dec 20, 2006)

*RoHD in Silver Marches*

Just organising some of my ideas here and giving a poor excuse for a bump...  

  The hobgoblins from Doomspire in the Nether Moutains are invading and they are lead by the Moreume (sp?) clan blue dragons. They charge down the Sundabar Vale, running through the towns of Deadwinter and Newfort all the way across the stretch to Sundabar (replacing it with the battle at Brindol).   

  Instead of an aspect of Tiamat, i was thinking of having the cult of the dragon involved by turning one of the Moreume brothers into a dracolich. Instead of the Witchlord, i was thinking of the PCs having to face an orc tribe that has a ghost sorcereress as their leader (which is stated in the Silver Marches book).   

  Everything so far so good ?   

  I have trouble tying Red Wizards into the module since one of my PCs is a fugitive from their slaving ring and also whether i should put this module pre-dracorage or post dracorage.  Also is replacing all the dragons in RoHD to blue dragons a good idea ?


----------



## DM_Jeff (Dec 20, 2006)

When I ran Red Hand of Doom, I too placed it in the Forgotten Realms, in the area noted below (go to the Border Kingdoms, then glance southeast across the Shaar). It worked really well, allowing me to explore a region I hadn't used before (and therefore really flesh it out) and allowed for some interesting PC types from the surrounding lands (Halruua, Dambrath, etc.)

-DM Jeff


----------



## Inconsequenti-AL (Dec 20, 2006)

I'm going to be running this soon. As long as the PCs don't wipe themselves out on the sons of Grumsh. 

Got to say there's loads of useful stuff in here - thanks to all who added things! 

Mine will be set in the realms as well. In the nook at the western end of Impiltur, south of Damara. Not got a fancy online map to show it with. 


I'm going with some similar changes to Eric Noah - psionics is going in. Ghostlord is changing.

Also intending to expand the dealings with the dwarves. Quite possibly a side quest involving Duregar - not used them before and I like them. A toe dip into the underdark could be fun.

Tempted to have Lady Vaal involved with the Zhentarim keep crowd. Involving them as arms dealers and general troublemakers. A possible seed for all sorts of mischief.

Nightfall suggesting including Orcus somewhere - his traditional stomping grounds where I've set it. Not sure what to do with that, but like the idea. Might be throwing too many things in though.


----------



## EricNoah (Jan 20, 2007)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> An update...
> 
> PCs have entered the Fane and have gotten through to the temple area.  I now have to decide whether I want to stretch things out a bit and make the rest of the Fane plus the Battle of Brindol into a 2-session thing, or condense and have the next session be the last.
> 
> ...




An update -- "session 1" above is going to take place today!  The major thing I've changed is that the Aspect of Tiamat is going to be "phasing in" in pieces during the Azaar Kul encouner.  If they manage to stop the ritual very early, the Aspect may only have one head (the others will be ghostly/insubstantial -- trapped in the Hells because the ritual was incomplete).  The longer it takes them to stop the ritual, the more heads will appear.  

Another thing I've added is some enhanced hobgoblin wights in the cave encounter.  These are hobgoblin clerics of the traditional goblinoid pantheon who refused to abandon their gods to worship Tiamat.  One of the corpses is actually that of Kharn's father.  There will be some clues linking them together -- if the players put the pieces together and confront Kharn with this info, some good roleplaying could change him from a canny tactician to an enraged (and careless) attacker.


----------



## DM_Jeff (Jan 21, 2007)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> An update -- "session 1" above is going to take place today!




Great! Let us all know how it goes! Good luck!

-DM Jeff


----------



## Mark CMG (Jan 21, 2007)

Happy TPK!


----------



## NiTessine (Jan 22, 2007)

Our group played the second part yesterday.

It got messy. They went into Rhest, engaged the ogres on the town hall boardwalk, and managed to get the alarm raised, triggering a total of nine combat encounters (all from the town hall, plus the bell tower guards who jumped into boats and rowed over, plus a random encounter with lizardfolk I'd rolled up earlier and decided to spring on them now to save time).

It was an utter massacre. The fighter/monk was bull rushed by an ogre into the lake, but he grappled and pulled the ogre in with him. Then he drowned it.

Regiarix and Saarvith came up to the roof through the hole. Regiarix had time to breathe once. Then the dwarf cleaved through the ettin, killed Saarvith with a single critical hit, and the monk grappled the dragon, allowing the dwarf to chop it into pieces. Before this, the dwarf had killed the four ogres on the roof in two rounds.

I think a total of three hobgoblin veterans were bull rushed off their boats and drowned.

Mostly, they had some amazing luck with the dice. My hit and damage rolls sucked, too. None of the party even dropped below 0. They were mostly 6th-level, with the Radiant Servant of Pelor at 7th.

Next Saturday, we shall see how they will do against the Ghostlord.


----------



## Klaus (Jan 22, 2007)

NiTessine said:
			
		

> Our group played the second part yesterday.
> 
> It got messy. They went into Rhest, engaged the ogres on the town hall boardwalk, and managed to get the alarm raised, triggering a total of nine combat encounters (all from the town hall, plus the bell tower guards who jumped into boats and rowed over, plus a random encounter with lizardfolk I'd rolled up earlier and decided to spring on them now to save time).
> 
> ...



 I predict the Radiant Servant of Pelor will shine!

:rimshot:


----------



## EricNoah (Jan 22, 2007)

The session went really well.  The battle in the three-tiered cave was fun (I used 8 advanced wights, an advanced blue abishai, and the blackspawn raider ninja for lots of poison arrow sneak attak fun).  And overall they had no real problem with Azarr Kul in the inner fane (guarded by his erinyes).  They managed to stop the ritual when the Aspect of Tiamat had only one head, and it escaped to start its journey toward Brindol.  PCs found a scroll to teleport there ahead of it and have a day to rest, have the war council, and get ready for the final session!


----------



## Klaus (Jan 22, 2007)

EricNoah said:
			
		

> The session went really well.  The battle in the three-tiered cave was fun (I used 8 advanced wights, an advanced blue abishai, and the blackspawn raider ninja for lots of poison arrow sneak attak fun).  And overall they had no real problem with Azarr Kul in the inner fane (guarded by his erinyes).  They managed to stop the ritual when the Aspect of Tiamat had only one head, and it escaped to start its journey toward Brindol.  PCs found a scroll to teleport there ahead of it and have a day to rest, have the war council, and get ready for the final session!



 Here's something I suggest: Every human the Red Hand kill has its life force siphoned off to the Aspect, strengthening it and giving it more heads. The image of Tiamat is far too-powerful (and rarely used in actual game) to pass up the opportunity to use it. In the end, you might have hobgoblin soldiers commiting seppuku to strengthen their Lady for a final showdown with the PCs.


----------



## EricNoah (Jan 22, 2007)

They were actually really excited that they stopped the ritual, so I think I'm going to let it stand as it is.  

They made the connection between one of the wights (corpse of Kharn's father) and Kharn -- I can't wait to see if they remember it next time and find a way to use it for some juicy roleplaying...


----------



## theemrys (Jan 24, 2007)

I can't wait to start this myself.  I had started it once before, but that campaign was aborted so I'm doing it again.  I'm running it in the Kingdom of Kalamar setting and it fits perfect there as well.  There is a nation of humans who borders a hobgoblin kingdom.. and the terrain almost exactly matches that of the map of the vale... (except hobgoblins are to the south rather than north).  The PCs are just getting to 5th now so will soon start.  I've had the rumours going for a bit of a coup in the hobgoblin nation, along with the financial colapse of the kingdom of Korak (where Brindol now is).  This has caused the large standing army to be reduced, which is exactly what the hobgoblins have been waiting for...  I can't wait as I think it's going to be LOTS of fun.

The party is as follows:

Human Bar 1/Fighter 4
Human Wizard (Conjurer) 5
Halfling Rogue 4/Fighter 1
Human Cleric 5 (Diety of Water)

Also, they have an NPC 1/2E Bard 5

It will be an interesting challenge for them...


----------



## Klaus (Jan 24, 2007)

My party is basically the Heroes depicted in the Pozas Art Pack vol. 1 (link below):

- Human Male, Paladin 5
- Human Female, Sidhe Archer 5 (= CG Warlock)
- Elf Male, Scout 5
- Dwarf Male, Favored Soul 5


----------



## EricNoah (Feb 5, 2007)

The Red Hand was defeated yesterday.  Hail the conquering heroes!  

The heroes helped plan defenses of the city, and then undertook three missions:  1) defend the walls against hill giants (who were in turn defended by the red dragon); 2) stop a platoon of hobgoblin soliders (I used to mob template from DMGII, so the PCs faced two "mobs" and a goblin psion); and 3) return to the Cathedral to confront Kharn and the partially-formed Aspect of Tiamat.  I prepared a suitable "monologue" for Kharn, and then the PCs wiped his sorry butt.  He was a bit of a creampuff, I wish I'd beefed him up a bit.  But ultimately it was a satisfying conclusion and I'm glad I ended with the Battle of Brindol instead of the Fane of Tiamat.  

Adventure Log


----------

