Madness in Freeport: The hour is at hand...

[psionotic]

Spoilers below, don't read if you will be playing MiF!




So the party has just defeated the gibbering mouther, and is one floor away from the final encounter vs N'Tal, Gorn, Maeorgan, and Drac. I have two questions that I hope those who have run MiF can help me with:

1) How do I prevent a TPK? My party members are all only 5th level, and are comprised of a Bard, a Ranger, a Rogue, a Wizard, and a Shaman (the OA one, not the Master Class one) The wizard is completely out of spells, and the bard and shaman are both fairly poor healers. They have average-ish equipment for their party level, but nothing especially great.

Luckily, the wizard just found a wand of dispel magic with about 15 charges. The player is an awesome DM, but is new to playing, so I don't know if he'll think to use it to its true potential. (By readying actions to counterspell N'Tal and Drac's spells with it) Any suggestions on a non-cheesy in-game way to mention this to him?

Should I let them face the odds in the book as written, or should I nerf the last encounter a bit? I don't want to touch N'Tal and especially Drac if I can help it, because they should be tough. Would dropping Maeorgan down to 2nd level make the whole thing too easy, do you think? How hard was this encounter for your group?

2) More for fun factor than anything else, but I want this last encounter to be memorable, especially because one of the players might not be able to play in the group much longer. Any thoughts on how this encounter went for groups while you ran it and suggestions as to how to really boost the cinematic feel of the scene would also be more than welcome.

Thanks!

-psi

[Nhoj]

Ideas:

Been a while since I ran this, and my party was down a lot as well, but they won. I remember they picked up some good potions from the Specter in the caves in TiF that got used up on this fight.

There are a bunch of flunkies that try and get in the PCs way in the battle w/ Natal. They can be reaching for healing potions just as they are cut down. Maybe the first one gets a gulp in and starts healing, just so the PCs get the message.

Natal has a big attack, fireball and/or lightning bolt, I forget. If the Ranger can take it (you are short of tanks, I have a tank heavy party), make sure the first one hits only him. Let the others see him take a hit that would kill them, to get them to concentrate on him as enemy number one. It took forver for my party to get the flying Natal, I think they hit him over and over with arrows, a few spells, and rocks. Some of Natal's area of affect spells got his own guys, which helped.

Remember, Drac leaves after taunting, so Natal and flunkies go at it alone. Natal could have a few scrolls on his body that could be of use vs. Drac.

Also, your party may be in with Lady Elise and/or others who want Drac taken down. Not to mention the Temple of Knowledge (and Yig!) gang. Help could be in an NPC and/or magical aid. They could hear footsteps coming from down below, and not know that it's a friend at first...

I had Drac summon a flying horror just as the party opened the door, then nailed it to the side of the tower with a balistta shot by Captain Scarbelly's trigger happy crew. I did this just to for fun "Oh we're doomed! Oh, no we're OK. Get Drac!" Remember there is a party of sorts going on below, and pirates may take a potshot at just about anybody.

My party did in Drac before his sidekick, Maeorgan, and it was late, they had won, so I had the guy just leap off the tower. There was much rejoycing down below "Nice Dive, your Lordship!"

Afterwards, the suggested ending didn't fit with the roleplaying my party had done. They had a lot of contacts and allies. Captain Xavier, Lady Elise, Sister Gyendolyn, K'Stallo, Egal... They were even on speaking terms with Capt. Scarbelly (2 PCs are halforcs). So when the green Yig light went on, Elise announced that Drac was dead, and the mob turned on Drac's estate, and the party were heros.

Months later, the Yig light still shines, and the party is recognized as heros. I'm about to send them into the adventure I used for my contest entry last spring. Then off for a bit, then back for the trip to Hell. Can't wait!

[psionotic]

Thanks, Nhoj. Are you doing Hell in Freeport next? I'm leaning towards Monte Cooks' excellent "The Banewarrens" for the party's next exploit, followed by HiF.

[Nhoj]

I've heard excelant things about the Banewarens, and will probably buy it just for ideas, but 4 level adventures feel a bit to constricting for my tastes. There is so much interesting stuff out there in d20 land, that I want to sample it all. After MiF I ran some Firey Dragon adventures, the two from Nature's Fury and one from To Stand on Hollowed Ground.

I do use Monte's Eldrich Might books, and one of my players is a "Monte" Ranger.

My players are from 5th to 8th level, and some will hit 9th soon.

So next is "Broken Fang," my (winning! yea!!!) entry for the Green Ronin adventure design contest last spring. That's a one nighter.

Then "Song of Storms" from Monkey God. *Very* nice plot, not so nice editing, and a bit too generous with treasure, but great NPCs and encounters. Rated for 7th level, somewhat Bard focused, but an NPC bard is there if you don't have a player one.

Then, I'm torn between which to do first. Hell in Freeport or Queen of Lies (another Monte, for Firey Dragon), assuming they are high enough level for either. I've heard that HiF requires a lot of power on the PC's part to survive, so I might do Queen of Lies first. My player death rate is high enough, and they haven't been able to resurect yet. The Druid can now reincarnate!

If I have an 8th to 10th level party, I'll either roll my own or find something that fits. Any suggestions? I might change the Banewarens to where they show up for only the 2nd half... Let me know how it plays out!