| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| freyar |
Posted - 30 Dec 2009 : 20:52:34
Perhaps I am taking on an impossible task, but here are a couple of questions for you all. The context: I'm currently running a (long-standing but slow-paced) game in the Erlkazar area, with the PCs on a mission for the king to Hlondeth for a while. It's mid-Nightal 1357DR. My plan has been to transition to the avatar modules (from the start of 2e) after a few months game time, as their business wraps up in Hlondeth. (I know, they're unpopular, but they were my introduction to FR, and they can also give a nice tour of the heartlands of Faerun.) My questions:
1) Good ideas to launch the PCs toward Cormyr? I've thought about a portal they're using starting to malfunction just after the start of the ToT. Or meeting Mystra's intended avatar as they're riding back from Hlondeth. Any thoughts on how to get them permission from the Erlkazar monarchy to go traipsing off to the north?
2) Is there any way to make the avatar trilogy of modules less rail-roady and get rid of the bad character portrayals of Storm and Sharantyr at the end of Shadowdale? Rather than the whole trial, etc, I was thinking of having Cyric go CE a bit earlier and head off down the Ashaba (kidnapping someone?). How's that sound?
Any other opinions? |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Jorkens |
Posted - 05 Jan 2010 : 12:44:15
Theres a lot of great ideas and details in the modules, but if played as written hey can be a bit railroady, not as much as Ravenloft or Dragonlance at its worst, but enough to be a hindrance.
For some reason I hallways liked the actions of the leadership in Shadowdale I know that its out of character with how Ed has described and imagined them, but it fits it how they would act in my game. |
| Faraer |
Posted - 02 Jan 2010 : 20:20:36
Speaking rather generally, making a linear module more dynamic is just a matter of letting the players do what they like, improvising where they move off script, and building in real motivation for them to congregate at the big set-piece scenes. (The people who screech at 'railroading' tend to be the same ones proclaiming how they never run modules as written anyway!) But I find the road encounters and rumours in the FRE scenarios much more compelling than the characters and plot of the Avatar novels, and would be tempted to weave quite different adventures around those elements and the premise of the Godswar.
I agree that the trial is rather out of character not just for Storm and Sharantyr but for Shadowdale, and your fix sounds fine. |
| Alisttair |
Posted - 02 Jan 2010 : 03:24:03
I ran it adapted for 3 e but all I can say is that I skipped a lotof random encounters and went quicker into the important stuff. Typing this from my iPhone pardon the mistakes |
| wintermute27 |
Posted - 30 Dec 2009 : 22:44:24
I'm actually working on a Pre-Time of Troubles game myself, and I'm planning to use those modules in a pretty heavily edited form. They are really railroady. I'm planning to use them, along with the novels, mainly as a timeline of what will happen without the PC's involvement, and adapt them as the players get involved. My goal for this campaign is to set up a giant what-if game where I'm dialing back to the "Old Grey Box" and creating my own canon with the help of my players. I'm almost hoping that someone kills Cyric or Kelemvor, or even replaces them. 
As for getting them to Cormyr, you could always just force them there. I'm reminded of the bit from "The Swords of Eveningstar" where, while exploring the now famous Haunted Halls, one of the Knights of Myth Drannor accidentally trips a teleport "trap" and ends up in Arabel and they have to spend quite some time figuring out where they ended up and explaining what they are doing there without permission. Also, you could have some fun for when they eventually go back to Erlkazar trying to explain their absence. This could also give you the chance to develop a nice bit of court intrigue for them to get pulled into once they finally go back.
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