Kobold Hall

I started playing this little adventure (found in the back of DMG1); with the kiddos. Had a lot of fun.

We only got through area 1 so far. Early on, the wizard and the paladin were trying to concoct a scheme where the paladin would jump out over the sludge pit, to get to thekobold slinger, and the wizard would ready an action to hit the paladin with "thunder wave", doing some damage but also pushing the paladin to the other side. Unfortunately, the paladin got hit with a gluepot, and was immobilized.

Looking back, I think I should have made a couple of the squares in front of the sludge pit a sliding trap--when a character enters the space, the floor rile collapses and drops them into the pit. There is another sludge pit later on, so I will try it then.

SPOILERS:


There is a young white dragon in the final secret chamber. I plan to use the Monster Vault version of this monster. Also, I plan to use this adventure to set up the characters to go through the Keep on the Shadowfell.

Kalarel, in that adventure, is trying to summon Orcus in order to reestablish a death cult. I think I will change his motivation to his trying to summon Orcus to fight Demogorgon, who has appeared in the Nentir Vale recently.

Sounds like a great time! It's slow around here lately, but there are still people reading posts and playing 4e.

Interesting that you are summoning Orcus to fight Demogorgon - is there a background story you have going that caused this to happen (Demogorgon coming to the Vale)?

I am thinking about making Kalarel a lawful-good cleric who is disillusioned by the apparent non-involvement of the gods ("Elders" in my setting), and knows that Orcus and Demogorgon are enemies.

I haven't decided whether Demogorgon is truly a threat, or if Kalarel is into conspiracy theories.

cavalier973 wrote:

I haven't decided whether Demogorgon is truly a threat, or if Kalarel is into conspiracy theories.

Given what modern times and the internet have revealed about people ... the latter is altogether too reasonable.

From what I can see, conspiracy theories arise when the official account doesn't make sense.
So, Weird Things occur over a period of days or weeks. Things that fit a pattern of prior incursions by Demogorgon and/or her minions. Kalarel can't get a straight answer from government officials; people mysteriously die or disappear; he pieces clues together, some valid and some false, and concludes that Demogorgon is back. There are attempts on Kalarel's life from unknown assailants. He doesnt know who to trust. He concocts a scheme based on an off-hand comment about Demogorgon and Orcus being sworn enemies. If the Elders won't intervene, Kalarel knows what he must do, even if he is damned for it...

ALTERNATELY: Kalarel and his adventuring company are Epic Tier adventurers, and they are calling out Orcus to have an Epic Tier throw-down, just for kicks and giggles.

The adventurers must Stop the Madness, before Things Go Too Far.

cavalier973 wrote:

From what I can see, conspiracy theories arise when the official account doesn't make sense.

No they arise from people wanting to feel special and think they know something everyone else doesn't it is a form of self aggrandizing rebellion. It typically claims huge numbers of people are keeping some secret that is entirely impractical in practice due to human nature itself (ie it is pretty naive).

Ofcourse none of that really matters for your story being fun

The next idea I have concerns the white dragon at the end: I may finagle the PC's into blinding the dragon in one eye, and introducing it later as Bitterstrike, the white dragon described in the "Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale" manual.

In my setting, the descriptors "ancient dragon", "young dragon", etc. are used, but do not necessarily describe the dragon's actual age. A dragon's size and power depend on the amount of treasure in its hoard. So, if a young dragon somehow, against all odds, manages to take ownership of an elder dragon's treasure hoard, then the young dragon swells in size and power over the next several weeks, and becomes an elder dragon itself. This does not work in reverse; an elder dragon doesn't get smaller, just furiously vengeful. Dragons are always trying to hire adventurers to help steal another dragon's treasure hoard, when they are unable to accumulate a hoard the old-fashioned way--ravaging kingdoms.