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  1. - Top - End - #871
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    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 RHOD Handbook for DMs [Players keep out!] - WIP

    Quote Originally Posted by Saintheart View Post

    Running RHOD in other settings
    ...Taking suggestions, people!
    ...Dragonlance? I would love to run this for my players. You've got Eberron and Forgotten Realms...I feel like Dragonlance deserve a spot up there too. :P

  2. - Top - End - #872
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    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Here's just an update on what my rebuilds are doing for RHoD in Golarion.

    Hravek Kharn- Initially, I had him as a cleric 11, but that just didn't sit right with me given that the next Wyrmlord over-top of him is just the same thing (I rebuilt Kul as an Oracle of Battle with a glaive) with a few different features. So I started thinking how each of the Wyrmlords contributes something. Koth gives a little sorcery, Stormcaller brings up morale (as much as plausible), Kul gives "spiritual guidance", but what does Kharn do? Saarvith adds a little sneakiness, so that leaves brute-force and tactics. That to me screams "Cavalier."
    So the build I'm looking at doing, to fit in with this concept that Kharn was an expert leader and warrior, is start him out like one of the Veterans, with Phalanx Fighter 3. Then crank the remaining levels (I'm making him Level 11, subject to change) into Cavalier with the Beast Rider ACF (I really, really liked the fluff on Fell Rider, but not impressed with the animals I could us). I've got him using a lance, refluffed as a giant spear (because lances I think look silly, and for the most part, a longspear is very statisically similar in trading off the brace for the lances double damage on a charge).
    For his animal, I was thinking Tiger for the base animal, refluffed as a giant worg or something similar. His feat build had the usual Mounted Combat, Ride-By-Attack, Spirited Charge combo. But I also picked up Improved Shield Bash with the idea of having a strong melee weapon to use for adjacent foes. A heavy shield with the bashing enchantment (I didn't want spikes to keep the characters open) works wonders I think. I'm can't remember how many feats I've burned on him so far, but I know there is a shield bash option that involves a free bull rush against a hit foe.
    My only concern is if I need to pick up TWF feats to alternate between the shield and the lance in one hand (due to Phalanx Fighting); since I'm not getting the extra attack out of it, I think no. Does anyone have a RAW answer to that?

    -Ghostlord; I'm building him trying to keep as much of the lion focused flavor as I could, so I picked up the Lion Shaman (not optimal, but flavorful and still packs a punch). But going the darkened route, I picked up Shade of the Uskwood, Natural Spell, Wild Speech, and I decided on hading Powerful Wild Shape and Planar Wild Shape. Adding the Fiendish template to a Dire Lion undead form seemed pretty awesome to me.
    His spells are mostly battlefield control and self-buffs. I'm looking through the bestiaries for a few good plant creatures to populate outside his lair as well as inside. My only issue is giving up fire spells for Shade of the Uskwood. Since from as I read it, I can't alter it at all; I lose the spells like Flame Strike (meh), Fire Lash (depressing), Produce Flame (solid spell), and the ability to give myself the resistance to the only real element I'm likely to see as an issue. But a ring of fire resist is cheap and would fix this issue.
    Spells like Strong-Jaw, Greater Magic Fang on the claws, Barkskin,and a few other ones are good combat spells.
    Does anyone have a good 6th level or lower buff that is in the core books to get my STR/DEX up? Also, does anyone have any ideas for self-healing for the Ghostlord? Since the druid list lacks any negative energy spells, I'm at a loss.

    -Azarr Kul; I'm still torn between doing him as a cleric or an Oracle of Battle. But either way, I swapped out a glaive for the heavy pick, though I may switch it back. He is all about getting big and beastly (divine favor, divine power, and righteous might will help with that end). I've got him wearing adamantine full plate, since I don't have the time or energy to program the dragoncraft items into Hero Lab for Pathfinder.
    Quote Originally Posted by Vknight View Post
    GM'ing is like handling a roasting pork shoulder; the adventure is long, fraught with peril, and when done well delicious in its payoff.
    It's best with friends, something to drink (alcohol if you need/want), jokes and a good sense to accept and enjoy everything with one another for the full experience.
    Mistakes get made sometimes, laugh it off, make up, and go kill the monster to take his loot.

  3. - Top - End - #873
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    ...Dragonlance? I would love to run this for my players. You've got Eberron and Forgotten Realms...I feel like Dragonlance deserve a spot up there too. :P
    I can agree with that assessment. It's not too hard. We just call the module "Dragons of Autumn Twilight."

    Any references to Bahamut or Tiamat would be Paladine or Takhisis. Of all the conversions, I think this would be the simplest one. The trick would just be deciding where to place Drellins Ferry/Brindol.
    Quote Originally Posted by Vknight View Post
    GM'ing is like handling a roasting pork shoulder; the adventure is long, fraught with peril, and when done well delicious in its payoff.
    It's best with friends, something to drink (alcohol if you need/want), jokes and a good sense to accept and enjoy everything with one another for the full experience.
    Mistakes get made sometimes, laugh it off, make up, and go kill the monster to take his loot.

  4. - Top - End - #874
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    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Ugh... hydra fight is rather messy so far, 1 round in, 1 PC dead, another only a hit or so away...

  5. - Top - End - #875
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    deuxhero's Avatar

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Quote Originally Posted by ArendK View Post
    Also, does anyone have any ideas for self-healing for the Ghostlord? Since the druid list lacks any negative energy spells, I'm at a loss.
    For out of combat, there is Anatomy Doll (it's an infinite use item that deals 1 point of negative energy), the problem is it needs to be anointed to his blood, but he can just do that before lichdom (and possibiliy during wildshape if he needs to redo it)

    For in combat, you shouldn't be healing.

  6. - Top - End - #876
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    @deuxhero

    I'll look into that; I know in-combat healing is a general bad idea unless it is doing something highly useful in the process. Negative levels, a high amount of negative energy, etc. etc.
    Quote Originally Posted by Vknight View Post
    GM'ing is like handling a roasting pork shoulder; the adventure is long, fraught with peril, and when done well delicious in its payoff.
    It's best with friends, something to drink (alcohol if you need/want), jokes and a good sense to accept and enjoy everything with one another for the full experience.
    Mistakes get made sometimes, laugh it off, make up, and go kill the monster to take his loot.

  7. - Top - End - #877
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    deuxhero's Avatar

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Another option is the Pallid Crystal from Gods and Magic (3.5 material from Paizo, updated in some PFS document I think) that lets you restore HP from both inflict and cure spells (it's also not introducing the players to a rules oversight they can use in the future) It has a deity requirement that conflicts with the feat though, forcing UMD (but with charisma "replacing" con for undead and the +2 from the lich template, he should be able to swing it as long as he has the skillpoints).

  8. - Top - End - #878
    Pixie in the Playground
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    has any one covert this module to Next? I am planning on doing so and want to know how to restat the villians and other monsters propper.

  9. - Top - End - #879
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Quote Originally Posted by gieli0 View Post
    has any one covert this module to Next? I am planning on doing so and want to know how to restat the villians and other monsters propper.
    I don't believe anything has been posted in this thread about doing so, no, and I haven't heard about it elsewhere. Might wanna just start a thread on the D&D 5e/Next sub-forum and see if anyone's heard anything there or has any ideas. I don't have any of the playtest materials so I have no idea myself, sorry.
    Last edited by Coidzor; 2014-05-17 at 02:54 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Keld Denar View Post
    +3 Girlfriend is totally unoptimized. You are better off with a +1 Keen Witty girlfriend and then appling Greater Magic Make-up to increase her enhancement bonus.
    Homebrew
    To Do: Reboot and finish Riptide

  10. - Top - End - #880
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    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    There is a canvas on an easel, covered by a sheet, in Koth's quarters. What is on the canvas? The module, as far as I can find, never says.

    Was he painting a self portrait?

    (my players are in the midst of the battle at the keep at the moment - link in my sig)

  11. - Top - End - #881
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Quote Originally Posted by broodax View Post
    There is a canvas on an easel, covered by a sheet, in Koth's quarters. What is on the canvas? The module, as far as I can find, never says.

    Was he painting a self portrait?

    (my players are in the midst of the battle at the keep at the moment - link in my sig)
    If you really want to be a pain, turn it into a Mirror of Opposition.
    Quote Originally Posted by Vknight View Post
    GM'ing is like handling a roasting pork shoulder; the adventure is long, fraught with peril, and when done well delicious in its payoff.
    It's best with friends, something to drink (alcohol if you need/want), jokes and a good sense to accept and enjoy everything with one another for the full experience.
    Mistakes get made sometimes, laugh it off, make up, and go kill the monster to take his loot.

  12. - Top - End - #882
    Halfling in the Playground
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Quote Originally Posted by broodax View Post
    There is a canvas on an easel, covered by a sheet, in Koth's quarters. What is on the canvas? The module, as far as I can find, never says.

    Was he painting a self portrait?
    You know, I kind of like the idea of Koth as a painter. It hints to the players that he's not part of some dumb, marauding horde, but rather an organized collective with culture. Instead of a self-portrait, you could also have him be working a scene of Tiamat wreaking havoc on the land, killing humans, and doing all sorts of other terrible things, in order to give the impression that he is a religious fanatic (and linked to Tiamat), which is another big important clue to the players at this stage in the game. Also, I think it ties in nicely with Ulwai's opera, which maybe says something about the traits Azarr Kul favors in his commanders?
    Last edited by Adam...?; 2014-05-21 at 02:26 AM.

  13. - Top - End - #883
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    deuxhero's Avatar

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    And how much does that sell for?

  14. - Top - End - #884
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    Zombie

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Tonight I ran into this image. It is from the new adventure 'the rise of Tiamat' of the new D&D series (5th/next?) It shows Tiamat arising from a portal or the ground.

    Considering the adventure you can use it in the temple, with the arrival of the aspect of Tiamat. You can also use it as the painting Wyrmlord Koth has just finished. It would be a some nice foreshadowing to what to come



    source: http://www.madadventurers.com/wp-con.../05/Tiamat.jpg
    Last edited by BerronBrightaxe; 2014-05-21 at 10:11 PM.

  15. - Top - End - #885
    Halfling in the Playground
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    First off: thanks to everyone who's been participating in this thread. I've been DMing a group through RHoD over the last few months, and this has been a gold mine of wisdom and fun ideas.

    So I've got two issues I could use a little help with. Issue #1 relates to encounter balance. We're right in the middle of the Battle of Brindol (just finished the Streets of Blood encounters), and I'm worried about that final encounter with Kharn. I've restatted him as a Cleric/Ordained Champion, but even still his defenses seem less than stellar. Even pre-buffed, I'm looking at AC26, and less than 90 HP.

    Meanwhile, the party includes an archer ranger with Favored Enemy: Goblinoid, and a bard who likes buffing his Inspire Courage. Between the two of them, it seems entirely possible that Kharn won't live to see his first turn, and almost definitely won't get more than that. Even if he survives a full round arrow barrage, the sorcerer still has a fireball or two left, and I don't see how any number of mooks and/or bodyguards could stop that from happening. Am I missing something obvious, or do you guys have any clever plans (hopefully other than expensive magic items) that could help extend the combat and make it some climatic than a "turn 1: kill, turn 2-3: mop up"?


    As for issue #2, people have been asking me what the plan is for when we finish the module. I'm thinking of working on my own post-RHoD adventure, and I really like the previously suggested idea of a late-coming white dragon coming in to claim the Vale for himself. So after the long, hot summer of the Red Hand of Doom, Elsir vale has a few months to start to rebuild, but then comes an early and unnatural winter. A perpetual blizzard covers the Wyvernwatch Mountains, and relief supplies from the Great Unnamed Eastern Kingdom never arrive.

    It strikes me as a great hook, but I'm drawing a blank as for what could actually make up the meat of the adventure. In my game, the players were so scared of the Ghostlord that they didn't stick around long enough to really learn any of his background, and they let him take Ulwai prisoner, so I'm thinking he could have an interesting role to play, either as a now-level-appropriate enemy, or as a part of a "help the lich atone to beat the greater evil" plot line. Either way, I could bring Ulwai back as a special lightning-banshee thing, which sounds pretty awesome.

    Anybody else try to run this idea? Anyone have other interesting ideas? What sort of minions would a white dragon have? What could explain a white dragon, usually pretty stupid and bestial, having powerful weather controlling magic? What would be his overall plan for conquering the Elsir Vale be?

  16. - Top - End - #886
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    fishyfishyfishy's Avatar

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    First off: thanks to everyone who's been participating in this thread. I've been DMing a group through RHoD over the last few months, and this has been a gold mine of wisdom and fun ideas.

    So I've got two issues I could use a little help with. Issue #1 relates to encounter balance. We're right in the middle of the Battle of Brindol (just finished the Streets of Blood encounters), and I'm worried about that final encounter with Kharn. I've restatted him as a Cleric/Ordained Champion, but even still his defenses seem less than stellar. Even pre-buffed, I'm looking at AC26, and less than 90 HP.

    Meanwhile, the party includes an archer ranger with Favored Enemy: Goblinoid, and a bard who likes buffing his Inspire Courage. Between the two of them, it seems entirely possible that Kharn won't live to see his first turn, and almost definitely won't get more than that. Even if he survives a full round arrow barrage, the sorcerer still has a fireball or two left, and I don't see how any number of mooks and/or bodyguards could stop that from happening. Am I missing something obvious, or do you guys have any clever plans (hopefully other than expensive magic items) that could help extend the combat and make it some climatic than a "turn 1: kill, turn 2-3: mop up"?
    I had a similar issue. I gave him a couple backup clerics, one that had cast Shield Other on Kharn to reduce the damage he took. Round one the party Artificer//Warblade (we play Gestalt) charged him and dealt 200 points of damage. Enough to kill Kharn and the unnamed minion in a single hit. You know what I did? I went with it. He got off a spectacular attack and slew him in one hit. So the following round when he used Intimidate to scare the stunned Hobgobs, I gave him a +10 circumstance bonus. He's now known across Khorvaire as the guy who is so good with a blade that he can kill two people with a single strike. The point is don't be afraid to let the BBEG just die in the first round. It can lead to great stories in the future. Give Kharn some standard buffs ahead of time and maybe have a backup Cleric cast wind wall to protect them from the stream of deadly arrows and see how things turn out.


    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    As for issue #2, people have been asking me what the plan is for when we finish the module. I'm thinking of working on my own post-RHoD adventure, and I really like the previously suggested idea of a late-coming white dragon coming in to claim the Vale for himself. So after the long, hot summer of the Red Hand of Doom, Elsir vale has a few months to start to rebuild, but then comes an early and unnatural winter. A perpetual blizzard covers the Wyvernwatch Mountains, and relief supplies from the Great Unnamed Eastern Kingdom never arrive.

    It strikes me as a great hook, but I'm drawing a blank as for what could actually make up the meat of the adventure. In my game, the players were so scared of the Ghostlord that they didn't stick around long enough to really learn any of his background, and they let him take Ulwai prisoner, so I'm thinking he could have an interesting role to play, either as a now-level-appropriate enemy, or as a part of a "help the lich atone to beat the greater evil" plot line. Either way, I could bring Ulwai back as a special lightning-banshee thing, which sounds pretty awesome.

    Anybody else try to run this idea? Anyone have other interesting ideas? What sort of minions would a white dragon have? What could explain a white dragon, usually pretty stupid and bestial, having powerful weather controlling magic? What would be his overall plan for conquering the Elsir Vale be?
    My players are just now getting around to dealing with the Ghostlord, and we finished the RHoD months ago. I made him a Planar Shepherd (linked to Mabar, the Endless Night) and gave him Corrupted Wild Shape feat. He's a major threat to the safety of everyone in the area due to being crazy and having ambitions to unite Mabar with Eberron.

    A white dragon would be pretty cool to use. I would plunge the land into an endless winter and use tons of undead. They won't be bothered by the cold and can move about just fine, killing and destroying much needed winter supplies left and right. Starvation can indirectly become a threat to the PC's at a level where it's usually ignored. And white dragons get a really bad rep they don't deserve. They may have the lowest mental ability scores but they are way more intelligent than most other types of creatures. Finding a way to control the weather is easy, just say it got a Fimbulwinter scroll and succeeded on the UMD/CL check.
    Most of my posts are made on my mobile device. Please excuse any errors from auto correct.

  17. - Top - End - #887
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    NecromancerGuy

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Well, a Windwall would prevent the archer from 1-rounding Kharn, I suppose.

    As for the White Dragon... Maybe make it a Xorvintaal Dragon with a small army of Frost Giants and a set of Exarchs that rally the remnants of the horde and give protection from the unnatural winter to the surviving towns & villages in the vale in exchange for tribute, possibly even bolstering their crops and extending the growing season in spite of the winter in the surrounding countryside?
    Quote Originally Posted by Keld Denar View Post
    +3 Girlfriend is totally unoptimized. You are better off with a +1 Keen Witty girlfriend and then appling Greater Magic Make-up to increase her enhancement bonus.
    Homebrew
    To Do: Reboot and finish Riptide

  18. - Top - End - #888
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    Zombie

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    First off: thanks to everyone who's been participating in this thread. I've been DMing a group through RHoD over the last few months, and this has been a gold mine of wisdom and fun ideas.
    thnx, it is always good to hear that people (especially Saintheart) are using the ideas presented here and enjoy them/give a better and more fun adventure.

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    So I've got two issues I could use a little help with. Issue #1 relates to encounter balance. We're right in the middle of the Battle of Brindol (just finished the Streets of Blood encounters), and I'm worried about that final encounter with Kharn. I've restatted him as a Cleric/Ordained Champion, but even still his defenses seem less than stellar. Even pre-buffed, I'm looking at AC26, and less than 90 HP.

    Meanwhile, the party includes an archer ranger with Favored Enemy: Goblinoid, and a bard who likes buffing his Inspire Courage. Between the two of them, it seems entirely possible that Kharn won't live to see his first turn, and almost definitely won't get more than that. Even if he survives a full round arrow barrage, the sorcerer still has a fireball or two left, and I don't see how any number of mooks and/or bodyguards could stop that from happening. Am I missing something obvious, or do you guys have any clever plans (hopefully other than expensive magic items) that could help extend the combat and make it some climatic than a "turn 1: kill, turn 2-3: mop up"?
    Well, first off (like fishyfishyfishy stated) don't be afraid to have them kill off the BBEG in the first round. When it happens, it happens. Second (and just as important) the horde have been fighting the adventures for a while now, they know the characters and know their specialities/professions. The horde will anticipate on the adventures based on what they saw and heard, the more they saw and heard the more they anticipate. Also the more time the horde has to prepare, the better they are prepared. A spellcaster? have some archers and counterspellers readied on spellcasting. An archer? Windwall and a potion of protection of arrows does wonders. A charger? Have the BBEG ready on that charge and flanked by some heavy hitters (fg giants). 5 foot before the charge is complete, have the BBEG sidestep and the giants step in to attack and have some other minions throw some tanglefoot bags. Play the horde smart and play them 'honest'.

    You can have people with knowlegde in warfare, favored enemy (goblinoid), etc. make a sense motive check vs the hordes 'bluff'. Those who make the check you can tell them something like: "although the horde moves slowly and chaotic while they are setting up, you can see that the chaos seems a lot less chaotic then it seems at first glance". For those who beat the DC by much add something like: "on second glance you can tell that they keep a close look on you (the adventures) and seems ready to react to your every move. A bit like a lion readied to pounce." If the adventures do nothing, have the horde set up in their most tactical favorable way. Else just anticipate accordingly.

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    As for issue #2, people have been asking me what the plan is for when we finish the module. I'm thinking of working on my own post-RHoD adventure, and I really like the previously suggested idea of a late-coming white dragon coming in to claim the Vale for himself. So after the long, hot summer of the Red Hand of Doom, Elsir vale has a few months to start to rebuild, but then comes an early and unnatural winter. A perpetual blizzard covers the Wyvernwatch Mountains, and relief supplies from the Great Unnamed Eastern Kingdom never arrive.

    It strikes me as a great hook, but I'm drawing a blank as for what could actually make up the meat of the adventure. In my game, the players were so scared of the Ghostlord that they didn't stick around long enough to really learn any of his background, and they let him take Ulwai prisoner, so I'm thinking he could have an interesting role to play, either as a now-level-appropriate enemy, or as a part of a "help the lich atone to beat the greater evil" plot line. Either way, I could bring Ulwai back as a special lightning-banshee thing, which sounds pretty awesome.

    Anybody else try to run this idea? Anyone have other interesting ideas? What sort of minions would a white dragon have? What could explain a white dragon, usually pretty stupid and bestial, having powerful weather controlling magic? What would be his overall plan for conquering the Elsir Vale be?
    I don't intent to run the white dragon but I'll throw some options at you. Give the dragon a connection to Baator (Tiamat's home plane). you can give him the half-fiend template, some devil-touched feats , etc. The White Dragon retakes the Fane (if the adventures didn't destroy it) and restarts the portal building. Tiamat wants the portal to open, because Tiamat wants to exact revenge or there is something hidden in Vale Tiamat wants.

  19. - Top - End - #889
    Halfling in the Playground
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Thanks again for the help, folks. I backed up Kharn with four skullcrusher ogres, and two lvl4 clerics: one using Shield Other and the other stocked up with Windwalls. Even after most of the ogres were taken out of the equation by the Bard's Confusion, the combat turned out to be a real nail-biter. The Sorcerer didn't prepare anything defensively, so got one-shotted when Kharn charged in and unleashed a channeled Inflict Critical Wounds into his face (which was convenient, since he wanted to die to access the Blood Magus PrC anyways, and they still had the Staff of Life floating around). Next round, the Ranger hit the negatives after failing the save versus a Sound Lance, and the battle turned into a slug-fest between Kharn and the party Fighter, while the bard tried repeatedly to break through Kharn's ridiculous will save. There was much cheering when the Fighter finally landed the last hit and Kharn collapsed in a bloody heap.

    Side note: Ordained Champion is a crazy fun PrC. I'll have to try it out if I'm ever on the other side of the DM screen.

    Next week, we get to enjoy a city-wide celebration in Brindol, the PCs get heaps of praise for their badass and/or bravestupid actions during the Battle of Brindol, and then I send them off to the Fane of Tiamat.

    In the meantime, I'm still mulling over ideas for the post-RHoD thing. I definitely like some of the ideas you guys have thrown out, but I'm still putting the pieces together in my mind. Maybe I'll post a loose adventure path up here once I have something a little more concrete.
    Last edited by Adam...?; 2014-06-11 at 03:32 AM.

  20. - Top - End - #890
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    Zombie

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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    Thanks again for the help, folks. I backed up Kharn with four skullcrusher ogres, and two lvl4 clerics: one using Shield Other and the other stocked up with Windwalls. Even after most of the ogres were taken out of the equation by the Bard's Confusion, the combat turned out to be a real nail-biter. The Sorcerer didn't prepare anything defensively, so got one-shotted when Kharn charged in and unleashed a channeled Inflict Critical Wounds into his face (which was convenient, since he wanted to die to access the Blood Magus PrC anyways, and they still had the Staff of Life floating around). Next round, the Ranger hit the negatives after failing the save versus a Sound Lance, and the battle turned into a slug-fest between Kharn and the party Fighter, while the bard tried repeatedly to break through Kharn's ridiculous will save. There was much cheering when the Fighter finally landed the last hit and Kharn collapsed in a bloody heap.

    Side note: Ordained Champion is a crazy fun PrC. I'll have to try it out if I'm ever on the other side of the DM screen.
    Seems you had a nice battle.. Hardwon battles are always the best.

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    Next week, we get to enjoy a city-wide celebration in Brindol, the PCs get heaps of praise for their badass and/or bravestupid actions during the Battle of Brindol, and then I send them off to the Fane of Tiamat.
    Celebration is indeed in order... Liberation of tyranny and war is a good cause. There are some nice videos of the liberation of Europe during the second WW, which give nice impression about what is going on

    Quote Originally Posted by Adam...? View Post
    In the meantime, I'm still mulling over ideas for the post-RHoD thing. I definitely like some of the ideas you guys have thrown out, but I'm still putting the pieces together in my mind. Maybe I'll post a loose adventure path up here once I have something a little more concrete.
    It doesn't need to happen right away. You can throw something completely unrelated, as a change of pace (something with a completely different 'fightstyle' then a army/melee fighters). Or something related to a personal quest of one of the players. feel free to PM me, if you want to go more in depth (although I'm short on time this week, but better next week).

  21. - Top - End - #891
    Pixie in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Hey guys, I started running a RHoD campaign in early July, and it seems to have degenerated into a clustermug. I need some outside perspective. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    My campaign Journal is posted here.

  22. - Top - End - #892
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    In case anyone is interested: I made some improvements on the Elsir Vale maps I created a year ago. Nothing major, more like fine-tuning, but I think the final result looks a lot better than the old version. This will very likely be the final edit on my part - I know there are still errors and spots that could use some work, but I have a whole new map in the works that I rather like to spend time on.

    Elsir Vale (Original) GM Version



    Elsir Vale (Original) Player Version (no Vraath Keep, Ghostlord's Lair, Fane of Tiamat)



    Elsir Vale (Forgotten Realms) GM Version



    Elsir Vale (Forgotten Realms) Player Version (no Vraath Keep, Ghostlord's Lair, Fane of Tiamat)



    Enjoy!
    "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." - Steven Brust
    Fallschaden. (Red Hand of Doom Materials!)

  23. - Top - End - #893
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    If it helps anyone, I've got a campaign log going over here. Hopefully it can help out anyone considering running the campaign - I've streamlined portions of it for less combat focused groups, and worked on tightening up the hooks.

  24. - Top - End - #894
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Merry Xmas everyone!

    Originally I wanted to share my Pathfinder Bestiary for RHoD with you, but since my RPG harddrive crashed and burned I am busy with reconstructing everything from early notes. Meanwhile, I have some new maps, if you still can be bothered about them :)

    First, the final version of my ElsirVale/Cannath Vale map. I corrected a few spots, remade some of the hills, and fiddled with a few details, but overall it's the same map as before.

    Elsir Vale GM Version



    Elsir Vale Player Version



    Cannath Vale GM Version



    Cannath Vale Player Version




    Second, my own version of the Brindol map. I was very disappointed with RHoD's original map of Brindol because it was too small for a city supposed to have 10,000 people in it, and there was too much open ground within the city walls. Also, the layout of the streets felt very unnatural to me.

    This version of Brindol has the same general shape, but is much larger, has more districts and looks a bit more like a town that grew over time and crept onto the central keep. I added a few more sites/landmarks like additonal inns, shops, or NPC residences, most of them in the south-eastern part of the city. I also named the city gates and added street names, since it makes coordination and communication during the battle of Brindol much easier ("The enemy has taken Corner Street and is advancing through Wall Street" sounds much better than "The enemy is now here and advances through.. that spot there").
    For your convenience, there are four version for Brindol (and Rethmar, in case you play in the Forgotten Realms), with labels and names or without.

    Brindol - No Labels/Names



    Brindol - Labels



    Brindol - Street Names



    Brindol - Labels and Street Names



    Rethmar - No Labels/Names



    Rethmar - Labels



    Rethmar - Street Names



    Rethmar - Labels and Street Names



    Last but not least I made my own version of Vraath Keep, since I found the original layout to be utterly boring. The keep's wall is not rectangular anymore, and I added a new floor to the tower since wanted it to rise above the outer walls, as any proper tower should.

    Vraath Keep - Blank



    Vraath Keep - Labeled



    Enjoy!
    "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." - Steven Brust
    Fallschaden. (Red Hand of Doom Materials!)

  25. - Top - End - #895
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    I figure this is the safest thread to post this on. So my party just finished the battle of Rhest last night and I gotta say, for the first time since I started this campaign it felt like I really got the difficulty level right and it was a satisfying fight for all. This handbook has really made a difference, in addition to watching Acquisitions Inc. :D

    It doesn't look like they're gonna get the owls, but they're so ahead of the horde, I actually think that'll be a good thing.

    Antariuk, your reworked Brindol map is awesome and I think I'm going to use it, especially since they will likely be heading there before heading south to the Ghostlord.


    Duncan by Abardam, Spike by Quincunx

  26. - Top - End - #896
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Congrats on a successful Rhest encounter, I think from a GM's perspective it's the most difficult one because of the unusual environment. What does the party look like?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kanthalion View Post
    Antariuk, your reworked Brindol map is awesome and I think I'm going to use it, especially since they will likely be heading there before heading south to the Ghostlord.
    Thanks a lot! If you need a custom feature or something changed to fit your game, drop me a line and I'll see to it.
    "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." - Steven Brust
    Fallschaden. (Red Hand of Doom Materials!)

  27. - Top - End - #897
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    A human Fighter 1/cleric 6, a Cat folk monk 1/scout 5, a Dwarf fighter 1/barbarian 5, an Aasimar sorcerer 6, and a human bard 7.


    Duncan by Abardam, Spike by Quincunx

  28. - Top - End - #898
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    I suppose I should add some details:

    After taking out two of the lizard folk huts, they snuck up on the bell tower by night and, through clever use of a silence spell, took the bell out of the picture. They weren't able to prevent the Sargent from flying away and assumed he was just fleeing. So while they were still fighting the hobbos there (I had doubled the number of them) Reggie and Saarvith arrived (in retrospect, this might have been a mistake.) I nearly took out the Barbarian, but they got Reggie low enough to make him run back to the town hall. They had found the fly potions so they gave chase.

    In the meantime, the town hall had gone on full alert and called in the lizard folk. When the party got close enough to see, they decided to just take out Reggie then run to lick their wounds. (Another oops on my part was not having him beat it at 40 HP) after they took him out, they decided to try to quickly sneak in via the bottom to see if his hoard was underneath. They made their stealth and got into Reggie's lair. (Or at least b the scout did with the rest waiting underwater Via some water breathing potions) He was able to get most of the stuff before he was discovered and they ran.

    The next day, after they were all rested up, they decided to try to use the same entrance, but little did they know Saarvith had had the greenspawn posted in that room.

    The rest of the battle was then slowly fighting their way up to the roof, with one of the highlights being a confused barbarian nearly killing the cleric. :D


    Duncan by Abardam, Spike by Quincunx

  29. - Top - End - #899
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    Nice one.
    I especially like that you involved the lizardfolk into the encounter, which I might totally steal (makes so much sense for Regiarix and the Red Hand to use the lizardfolk as expendable mooks). Sounds like your players were engaged and invested in seeing Rhest being cleared of the Red Hand's presence. The barbarian nearly killing the cleric sounds very familiar to me, I'm playing a 10th level sorcerer in a Serpent's Skull game and last session he became dominated and decided to fling a few fireballs at the rest of the party. Good times :)

    Keep us posted about how your game progresses!
    "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style." - Steven Brust
    Fallschaden. (Red Hand of Doom Materials!)

  30. - Top - End - #900
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    Default Re: The 3.5 Red Hand Of Doom Handbook for DMs [Major spoilers!] - WIP, PEACH!

    I'm currently running Red Hand of Doom (Pathfinder style) set in good ol' Mystara. Norwold was an ideal place for a location of the Elsir Vale, you just have to change things like temperature and such to be more akin to a northern European summer.
    Biggest issue there was a lack of a suitable Immortal to replace Tiamat. There are some Dragon Immortals, but I didn't feel like any of them fit, and I wanted to maintain the theme of Tiamat's five chromatic heads and such, so what I did was to make her a Demon Overlord aspiring to become an Entropy Immortal (with the backing of Thanatos). The horde's attack on the Elsir Vale was to create a lot of destruction and entropy which would fuel the ritual for her ascendance.

    Some minor changes were made to the NPC cast. No Planetouched in the setting, so Tredora Goldbrow was changed from Aasimar to a Human with Eldritch Heritage (Celestial).

    For the Wyrmlords, Koth remained largely unchanged except for a few changes in spells. He was given the Draconic (Green) Bloodline, to tie him closer to Ozzy and the Red Hand horde.
    Saarvith is a Ranger with Ranger-tricks instead of spells (Hobling Attack to slow movement and Trick Shot to avoid Concealement), and with the improvement of archery in Pathfinder, keeping him on a mobile Regiarix should make him deadly. His favored terrain also gives him an upper hand.
    Hravek Kharn was changed to Antipaladin 5/Oracle of Battle 5.
    Azar-Kul was changed to an Oracle of Battle 12.


    EDIT: Love the maps, Antariuk!
    Last edited by Faily; 2015-01-11 at 12:32 PM.
    RHoD: Soah | SC: Green Sparrow | WotBS: Sheliya |RoW: Raani | SA: Ariste | IG: Hemali | RoA: Abelia | WftC: Elize | Zeitgeist: Rutile
    Mystara: Othariel | Vette | Scarlet

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