Problems with DCC7 Secret of Smugglers *spoilers - DMs only!

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guslandt
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Problems with DCC7 Secret of Smugglers *spoilers - DMs only!

Post by guslandt »

First off, let me say that I am a HUGE fan of DCCs. The are the ONLY adventures I run. However...

I'm almost done running DCC #7, and I've got 2 issues with it. First, the whole concept of someone going to light the lighthouse during low-tide, which is described on page 17 as being bi-weekly. Maybe I'm missing something, but doesn't low-tide happen twice a day? I know on Earth low tides happen every 12 hours and 25 minutes. This pretty much destroys the whole concept of the adventure. Do the smugglers drag Corwin out of his cell twice a day to nullify the Allip?

My second problem is with the amount of treasure in this adventure. It's absolutely insane! Lets take a look at room 4-9. My PC's took this dude out in 1 round with some very creative spell casting and a critical hit from the Barbarian (although a single Hold Person is all that would have been necessary). So what reward do they get for their 6 seconds of effort? 75,950gp's worth of loot! That is completely nuts. Obviously I only let my players find a fraction of this, but why would the author put this insane amount of loot in a single room?
I hope the author didn't assume an average PC would actually return Jared's stuff to him. Even if they did, that's only a small portion of the loot.

Room 4-9 loot:

Ivory Coffer - 350gp
+2 Studded Leather - 4175gp
+2 Rapier - 8320gp
Potion of Cure Light Wounds (5th Level) - 250gp
Potion of Haste - 750gp
55pp - 275gp
5 gems - 1000gp
Silver Necklace - 1250gp
Platinum tiara - 2200gp
Gold snuff box - 125gp
+1 Light Crossbow of Distance - 8335gp
+2 Chain shirt - 4250gp
+2 Keen Scimitar - 18,315gp
Bottle of Air - 7250gp
Folding Boat - 7200gp
Potion of Cat's Grace - 300gp
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds (10th Level) - 1000gp
Cape of the Mountebank - 10,080gp
3 gold earings - 450gp
15pp - 75gp
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Warduke
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Post by Warduke »

i've had the same problem with this one. i just toned it down in play ........ pcs never knew the difference.
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guslandt
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Post by guslandt »

yeah, I toned the treasure down considerably. Many times, if a bad guy has a powerful item, but the PCs manage to defeat him right away, I just remove the powerful item. Not only does it keep the campaign balanced, but my players always seem to enjoy acquiring a powerful item that was just used against them VS just finding it 'for free'.

However, the tide thing is my main problem. Treasure can EASILY be adjusted. This entire adventure though, just makes no sense if low tide happens twice a day. If it happened twice a week, like the module suggests, then it all makes sense. But I don't see how Aereth can have biweekly low tides...
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Mike_Ferguson
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Post by Mike_Ferguson »

guslandt wrote:However, the tide thing is my main problem. Treasure can EASILY be adjusted. This entire adventure though, just makes no sense if low tide happens twice a day. If it happened twice a week, like the module suggests, then it all makes sense. But I don't see how Aereth can have biweekly low tides...
It doesn't say that the low tide itself happens biweekly ... high and low tide (presumably) occurs every day. If you read the GM's Eyes only section in the beginning of the module, though, it should state that "Once every ten to 17 days, to coincide with the absolute lowest tide ..." (Italics mine for emphasis).

So, bi-weekly, the tide reaches its lowest possible point. At this time, the smugglers are able to do spoiler-ific sorts of things.

Hope this clarifies things! :D
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Rick Maffei
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Post by Rick Maffei »

Mike makes a good clarification.

Keep in mind too, that tidal patterns vary, even in our "real" world.
On the east coast, where I'm located, we experience the popular semidiurnal tidal pattern (two highs & lows each tidal day), but elsewhere (the Gulf of Mexico is one) they have a diurnal, or one high and low per 24 hours. There are also semidiurnal mixed tides ... you get the idea! Most areas, as I understand it, actually experience a mixed tidal pattern in which only one "low tide" is the lowest.
It stands to reason that parts of Áereth, where magic and gods hold some sway, could have some pretty weird tidal patterns -- especially if the GM wills it! :wink:
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trancejeremy
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Post by trancejeremy »

The treasure level is a bit high in the module. But I think you ran the fight the wrong way. He's a fighter/rogue, he shouldn't be doing a stand up fight with an entire party. He should run away, get guards, fight with them, and when the guards are dead, run away again and repeat. And if a PC Barbarian can take him out in a single round, then the module is probably too low a level for them. (Actually, the cover says 5th-7th, but other than one encounter near the end, it's really more of a 4-6th level module, too easy for 7th level characters)
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