Thoughts on Night of the Walking Dead - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Thoughts on Night of the Walking Dead

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Mar 20, 2004 16:00:06 Anyone have any advice on running Night of the Walking Dead? Or changes to make it scarier or creepier than it already is?

The party I'll be running through it is higher level than recommended, but most of those levels are in NPC classes and they're pretty non-combat, so it should still be very challenging:

Master William Belgrave, eldest son of Lord Belgrave of Mordent(Aristocrat 1/Expert 1/Wizard 2/Fighter 1)
Rachel Rose Belgrave, daughter of Lord Belgrave
(Aristocrat 2/Bard 3)
Magdeline Belgrave, cousin
(Aristocrat 1/Thief 4)
Hannah Coates, their governess
(Commoner 1/Expert 3)
Sammi, their loyal guardswoman and headbasher
(Fighter 4)

If you strip out their NPC class levels, we've got a Wizard 2/Fighter 1, a Bard 3, a Thief 4, and a Fighter 4. Notice the distinct lack of a cleric - so I'm worried the adventure will be too hard, not too easy. That being said, for plot reasons I will be including an NPC cleric who might work with them, but I don't want the spotlight to be too much on him - NPCs belong outside center stage. ;)

At any rate, whatever I do, I've got to make sure Night of the Walking Dead is as scary as it can be. My players are due for a good scare. Can't let 'em get too complacent.
#2
zombiegleemax
Mar 22, 2004 15:11:33 Prepare for a double posts *sound of rumble*
#3
zombiegleemax
Mar 22, 2004 15:12:25 I'd take the old graveyard out of the new graveyard and put it somewhere else. I've just ran that module and theres no reason that the PCs wont climb the wall on day 1 and blow the whole scenerio. stick it in the swamp or somewhere not too ovious.
#4
zombiegleemax
Mar 22, 2004 15:24:06 It's an oldie but a goodie -- substitute Chicken Bone for Shaman Brucien. It's waaaay iller that way.
#5
zombiegleemax
Mar 23, 2004 8:39:14 I have to agree with MadStepDad on this one--We seem to have very similar tastes in adventure and very dissimilar tastes in diction--Night of the Walking Dead is a classic. And, substituting Chicken Bone would be a nice touch, though that would involve removing the divine spellcaster from the village, I believe. Even so, a couple of treks out into the swamp could not only heighten the sense of desperation but also advance the timeline a bit when the module threatens to lag.

I think the most important thing about running Night of the Walking Dead for scares is to be very, very well prepared before each encounter. Think about how the encounter with six-foot frogs can be scary. Imagine one of those things rising out of the darkness before your raft; try to figure out what warning signs the swamp might provide in the instants before they rise up. Shake the raft the heroes are piloting, threaten their spellbooks and spare clothes with immersion during the battle (but don't wipe them out; Not in the introductory melee!).

A lot of folks have ridiculed some of the encounters in the module, but a six-foot frog is a horrifying image if communicated well. The Vistani are much the same. A group of gaily dressed wanderers is nothing much, but a group of cryptic Vistani huddled in the swamp, seeming to know something the heroes don't...That's a memorable encounter!

Jean can be used again and again before the final confrontation, and a very public murder of the village constable, as lightning flashed overhead, worked as a neat punctuation for my game. Of course, that was after they had captured Jean and left him bound, only to find that he escaped when their back was turned.

And then the big revelation at the end...What a great adventure!

Oh, and don't forget the ominous juju zombie, who was around long before the brothers found the scroll. He seems to be a guardian of the scroll, in fact, leading towards some interesting subplots as to why a juju zombie was guarding Hyskosa's scroll.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Mar 20, 2004 16:00:06	Anyone have any advice on running Night of the Walking Dead? Or changes to make it scarier or creepier than it already is? The party I'll be running through it is higher level than recommended, but most of those levels are in NPC classes and they're pretty non-combat, so it should still be very challenging: Master William Belgrave, eldest son of Lord Belgrave of Mordent(Aristocrat 1/Expert 1/Wizard 2/Fighter 1) Rachel Rose Belgrave, daughter of Lord Belgrave (Aristocrat 2/Bard 3) Magdeline Belgrave, cousin (Aristocrat 1/Thief 4) Hannah Coates, their governess (Commoner 1/Expert 3) Sammi, their loyal guardswoman and headbasher (Fighter 4) If you strip out their NPC class levels, we've got a Wizard 2/Fighter 1, a Bard 3, a Thief 4, and a Fighter 4. Notice the distinct lack of a cleric - so I'm worried the adventure will be too hard, not too easy. That being said, for plot reasons I will be including an NPC cleric who might work with them, but I don't want the spotlight to be too much on him - NPCs belong outside center stage. ;) At any rate, whatever I do, I've got to make sure Night of the Walking Dead is as scary as it can be. My players are due for a good scare. Can't let 'em get too complacent.
#2 zombiegleemax Mar 22, 2004 15:11:33	Prepare for a double posts sound of rumble
#3 zombiegleemax Mar 22, 2004 15:12:25	I'd take the old graveyard out of the new graveyard and put it somewhere else. I've just ran that module and theres no reason that the PCs wont climb the wall on day 1 and blow the whole scenerio. stick it in the swamp or somewhere not too ovious.
#4 zombiegleemax Mar 22, 2004 15:24:06	It's an oldie but a goodie -- substitute Chicken Bone for Shaman Brucien. It's waaaay iller that way.
#5 zombiegleemax Mar 23, 2004 8:39:14	I have to agree with MadStepDad on this one--We seem to have very similar tastes in adventure and very dissimilar tastes in diction--Night of the Walking Dead is a classic. And, substituting Chicken Bone would be a nice touch, though that would involve removing the divine spellcaster from the village, I believe. Even so, a couple of treks out into the swamp could not only heighten the sense of desperation but also advance the timeline a bit when the module threatens to lag. I think the most important thing about running Night of the Walking Dead for scares is to be very, very well prepared before each encounter. Think about how the encounter with six-foot frogs can be scary. Imagine one of those things rising out of the darkness before your raft; try to figure out what warning signs the swamp might provide in the instants before they rise up. Shake the raft the heroes are piloting, threaten their spellbooks and spare clothes with immersion during the battle (but don't wipe them out; Not in the introductory melee!). A lot of folks have ridiculed some of the encounters in the module, but a six-foot frog is a horrifying image if communicated well. The Vistani are much the same. A group of gaily dressed wanderers is nothing much, but a group of cryptic Vistani huddled in the swamp, seeming to know something the heroes don't...That's a memorable encounter! Jean can be used again and again before the final confrontation, and a very public murder of the village constable, as lightning flashed overhead, worked as a neat punctuation for my game. Of course, that was after they had captured Jean and left him bound, only to find that he escaped when their back was turned. And then the big revelation at the end...What a great adventure! Oh, and don't forget the ominous juju zombie, who was around long before the brothers found the scroll. He seems to be a guardian of the scroll, in fact, leading towards some interesting subplots as to why a juju zombie was guarding Hyskosa's scroll.