So I'm having at least the leader Feetla return in A4. My players managed to kill 2 lords at the end of A3, the monk and Mordrammo, so it works out that Stalman Klim has time to take over the high priesthood. Perhaps his inexperience in the role will be the reason the sacrifice to the Earth Dragon goes badly. (He skipped step 2 in the manual, "chain sacrificial victims to wall").
Seriously, they seem to be enjoying it. Not so much last session when they got the royal smackdown by the Slave Lords. I really wanted to end the night with them being defeated(and some obviously killed), but the dwarf's player was on the verge of a breakdown I think, so I was nice and told them they didn't have to roll up new characters. I think they view me as a pretty nice DM, and so were totally unprepared for a TPK.
I know it's harsh, and it definitely is railroading, but it will all pay off at the end of A4. Nothing beats avenging your own death.
They'll run into the wall of force at the end of the corridor and have a gate slam shut behind them, one of the options discussed if you don't want the PCs to fight the Slavelords. But, one of the PCs will have a scroll of disintegrate at that time, assuming they haven't used it. I plan on planting it in the preceding module.
That way, the PCs have the option of trying to run for it or fight the Slavelords, but it will definitely delay them enough that they can reasonably be exposed to the poison gas.
One nice thing about 3E is that poisons are done in an interesting way with primary and secondary effects. I'm thinking of statting the "Smoke of the Little Death" out with a DC of 15 or 16, primary effect 1d6 non-lethal damage, secondary effect unconsciousness. This allows me to get them with 1d6 non-lethal damage per vial, a very useful thing if you want to capture the PCs alive. Not only could some of them drop from that damage if their hp are already low, but it gives them an extra buffer zone between when they drop unconscious from regular damage and death at -10 hp. And 10 rounds later, they get a 2nd save to see if they pass out. So they might be able to get a few licks in (and build up righteous satisfaction), but still succumb.
I'm trying to make it not feel too much like a railroad but still not give them much of a chance of winning while also still giving them a decent chance of not being butched by an encounter stacked highly against them.
As far as the differences between the original modules and the supermodule, I'm pretty happy with them. Some names changed (like Feetla to Eanwulf and Mordrammo's role is completely filled by Stalman Klim) but that's OK with me. I wouldn't be surprised if TSR had gotten a bit more savvy about intellectual property by the time the supermodule came out and decided to just avoid the use of a name like Mordrammo entirely, lest Marvel comics get their back up and sue.
Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn
Are there any plans to update these modules to 3.5?
WotC won't touch that issue with a 10 ft pole, I am afraid.
There are some conversions available at ENWorld, about 70% are 3.0E though.
Of course, with Erik at the helm of Dungeon, there is no telling what will happen...
After all, he was planning on an update of module S3 before they settled on WG5 for issue #112.
EDIT: Oh, and the setting described in module X1 (Isle of Dread) is getting an update to 3.5E in Dungeon #114. It's not GH but I confess it's a module I really like
or .. When AD&D meets Gamma World :D
Check it here
Actually, it was as far from RL as you could get.
Basically, weird monsters start plaguing the Barrier Peaks. A team of explorers go look why and find a .. crashed starship full of crazy robots, laser guns and alien monsters.
I liked the pic. The one where a Bulette is thrown out of the cargo hold along with the players was hilarious.
The one with the illithid wasn't bad either :D
Oh, and it introduced the good ol' Froghemoth to the AD&D universe
That old red-cover mega-module? Aye, correct, t'was part of it.
Bah! That will teach me to always check my references
Originally posted by cwslyclgh
Realms of Horror was not a ravenloft product, in fact IIRC it was released before ravenloft became a campaign setting... it complied S1, S2, S3, and S4 (the way GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders compiled the giant, drow, queen series, or that scourge of the slavelords compiled A1-4... Although I have heard that RoH linked the adventures together rather poorly).
Unfortunately, the S3 version in S1-4 is incomplete: it contains only levels 1-4 of the 6-level spaceship. So, pick up the individual module if you're looking for the full adventure.
OTOH, S4 in S1-4 has some additions to it that are worthwhile as well....
What additions does the S4 LCoT have in S1-4? Very intriguing . . .
Originally posted by dzubak
What additions does the S4 LCoT have in S1-4? Very intriguing . . .
There's more detail on some of the wilderness encounters, such as the naming of various NPCs who may be encountered as part of partrols, more detail in general on the blue dragon, etc. I sold my copy of S1-4 years ago, so I owe this revelation to Greytalk list member Kai Frederking.
If you can get a copy second hand or from one of the download sites I'd recommend it to anyone.