Problems with DCC7 Secret of Smugglers *spoilers - DMs only!
Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:23 am
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
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