Test of the Smoking Eye

[Waldo]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

This was a module in the Adventure Path II sequence, published over the
last couple of years in "Dungeon" magazine.

Designed for ~10th level PCs, it takes them to a level of the Abyss,
where they have to hike across a bizarre, semi-living terrain, face
several "tests" designed by a fallen angel turned demon lord, and
finally engage in a series of climactic combats inside a giant skull
(sic).

I'm planning to run my PCs through it soon, just as soon as they have
the levels. (They're 8th-9th now. Not quite there, even if I nerf a
little.)

It looks like a great adventure, but I can see some potential problems
with it already. (Like, the final sequence goes tough combat with some
hand-to-hand bruisers -> very tough combat with a lich -> betrayal by
NPC and final combat. I could see this being a real killer if played
straight.)

So: has anyone played or run this?


Waldo

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

One of the Wizards.com forums is for GMs of this Adventure Path. (which
my charcater is on at the moment, so can't look and tell you where).

Anybody who knows the basics of adventure design knows that you don't
end an adventure ambiguously or in a downbeat manner: generally, you
end with a fight. Ending the adventure with the aforementioned betrayl
has therefore a dramatic inevitability about it which will make it
obvious it is coming for many players (if not for the characters).

 

[Waldo]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

ringofw@hotmail.com wrote:

> One of the Wizards.com forums is for GMs of this Adventure Path.

Really! Cool. Thank you.

Anybody know which/where? The wizards.com forums don't seem to have a
Search function...


> Anybody who knows the basics of adventure design knows that you don't
> end an adventure ambiguously or in a downbeat manner:

Well, not usually. There are exceptions. I mentioned a few weeks back
that my PCs had screwed up and unleased Epic level evil upon the
world... they've subsequently come to view that adventure as a classic,
and the starting point for everything since.


> generally, you end with a fight.

Ya sure, no argument there. My concern is that you have two big "boss
level" fights back to back, followed by

Spoiler

, which if played
cleverly by the DM can be quite deadly in its own right.

I thought this one-two-three punch seemed potentially pretty lethal,
and at least one GM who has run it seems to agree. Googling, I found
the online journal of a group that went through this module. They
reached the final encounter sequence without serious damage. But then
they suffered two PC deaths (out of 6), had two more reduced to negs
and/or disabled, and came within a couple of die rolls of TPK.

This is a combat-heavy module... basically a bunch of combats strung
together with a couple of simple puzzles and a lot of cool
setting-chrome. Which is fine! The chrome here makes it more than
worthwhile IMO. The Plain of Cysts, the tortured angel, the
peristaltic passage... tres cool.

It's just that at the end, suddenly a whole bunch of heavy stuff gets
thrown at the PCs in rapid sequence.

So the issue is not structure, but pacing.


> has therefore a dramatic inevitability about it which will make it
> obvious it is coming for many players (if not for the characters).

Making this less obvious is the DM's job!


Waldo

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

"Waldo" <peggoliathy@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1117635575.446415.255210@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> ringofw@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > One of the Wizards.com forums is for GMs of this Adventure Path.
>
> Really! Cool. Thank you.
>
> Anybody know which/where? The wizards.com forums don't seem to have a
> Search function...

(yes, the lack of a working Search function is a continuing problem for
these forums).

It's not on the WOTC site, it's on the paizo/Dungeon site. And very useful,
if you're running one or more of the AP adventures.

Doug

 

[KAOS]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

On 1 Jun 2005 06:47:49 -0700, ringofw@hotmail.com dared speak in front
of ME:

>One of the Wizards.com forums is for GMs of this Adventure Path. (which
>my charcater is on at the moment, so can't look and tell you where).
>
>Anybody who knows the basics of adventure design knows that you don't
>end an adventure ambiguously or in a downbeat manner: generally, you
>end with a fight. Ending the adventure with the aforementioned betrayl
>has therefore a dramatic inevitability about it which will make it
>obvious it is coming for many players (if not for the characters).

The "Adventure Path" series were once described to me as a sort of
training set for adventurers, with valuable lessons like "don't go
through when you can go around," and "dragons come in weenie varieties
that are meant to be butchered."

Sounds like the less of this one is "expect the cliche ending."
--
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[Waldo]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Kaos wrote:

> The "Adventure Path" series were once described to me as a sort of
> training set for adventurers, with valuable lessons like "don't go
> through when you can go around," and "dragons come in weenie varieties
> that are meant to be butchered."

Well, there are two APs. There are the "module" ones brought out by
WOTC in 2001-2 (_The Sunless Citadel_, _The Forge of Fury_, etc.).
Then there's the Shackled City AP, which appeared as a series of
adventures in _Dungeon_ magazine in 2003-4.

The earlier AP has a 'meet Third Edition' feel to it. It rather
deliberately walks the PCs through various game mechanics. Most of the
adventures are pretty meat-and-potatoes, though they're quite
adaptable. IMO they're mostly OK to good, with one or two duds.

The Shackled City AP is something else again. The individual
adventures are much more chrome-y; some of them are much more clever as
well. And while they're all playable as stand-alones, there's more
story, and much more of a sense of progressing through a plot. There
are villains with a villainous scheme; you first stumble across a small
sub-scheme, then interfere with a bigger one, then defeat a single
villain, then defeat all the rest of them together. And then finally
face the uber-bad-guy behind it all.

I haven't read all of the Shackled City adventures, but I've been
favorably impressed by the ones I have seen. They varied from OK to
very good.

The Shackled City will be coming out as a hardcover in July, BTW. It
will include the original 10 modules from _Dungeon_ magazine, plus
errata, some rearrangement and tweaking for smoother play, some new
artwork, and about another module's worth of new material.

The cover price will be $60. That seems steepish but not outrageous,
given that you're buying a fat hardcover that can take your PCs from
1st level to 20th. In terms of dollars per hour of game time, it's
actually pretty reasonable, once you get past the initial sticker
shock. If I were starting a new campaign, I'd seriously consider it.

Oh, and _Dungeon_ has just started publishing a /third/ Adventure Path.
I think it's called "The Way of the Worm". Only the first couple of
adventures are out, so it won't be complete until sometime next year.


Waldo

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Is that anything like "the Walk of the Swollen Ass"?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

One of the voices in my head - or was it Waldo? - just said...
>
> Kaos wrote:
>
> > The "Adventure Path" series were once described to me as a sort of
> > training set for adventurers, with valuable lessons like "don't go
> > through when you can go around," and "dragons come in weenie varieties
> > that are meant to be butchered."
>
> Well, there are two APs. <snip correction I was about to make>

> The Shackled City will be coming out as a hardcover in July, BTW. It
> will include the original 10 modules from _Dungeon_ magazine, plus

11 modules.

> errata, some rearrangement and tweaking for smoother play, some new
> artwork, and about another module's worth of new material.

That will be explicitly labeled as a new adventure, set between "Life's
Bazaar" and "Flood Season", as I understand it.

> Oh, and _Dungeon_ has just started publishing a /third/ Adventure Path.
> I think it's called "The Way of the Worm". Only the first couple of

Age of Worms, unless they've changed it from what they've consistently
been saying for months on the eve of publishing the first adventure.

> adventures are out, so it won't be complete until sometime next year.

One part, at most, is out by now, surely?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Jeff Heikkinen wrote:
> One of the voices in my head - or was it Waldo? - just said...
> >
> > Oh, and _Dungeon_ has just started publishing a /third/
> > Adventure Path. I think it's called "The Way of the
> > Worm". Only the first couple of
>
> Age of Worms, unless they've changed it from what
> they've consistently been saying for months on the
> eve of publishing the first adventure.

No change. It's "The Age of Worms".

> > adventures are out, so it won't be complete until
> > sometime next year.
>
> One part, at most, is out by now, surely?

Dungeon #124 includes Age of Worms adventure #1.

--
Nik
- remove vermin from email address to reply.

 

[Waldo]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

Jeff Heikkinen wrote:

> > errata, some rearrangement and tweaking for smoother play, some new
> > artwork, and about another module's worth of new material.
>
> That will be explicitly labeled as a new adventure, set between "Life's
> Bazaar" and "Flood Season", as I understand it.

You mean there's /also/ a new adventure? Cool.

-- Because I was referring to transition stuff between the adventures,
more development of NPCs, more linking material, that sort of thing.
According to the thread over at the paizo.com forum, there's going to
be quite a lot of that.

So, roughly a module's worth of new stuff, _plus_ a new module. That
would be roughly 20% new material.


> > Oh, and _Dungeon_ has just started publishing a /third/ Adventure Path.
> > I think it's called "The Way of the Worm". Only the first couple of
>
> Age of Worms, unless they've changed it from what they've consistently
> been saying for months on the eve of publishing the first adventure.

No, you're right. It's "Age of Worms", and only the first module is
out so far. My bad.

Waldo