Questions on running Shadoes of the Deep (Level Up #2)
Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:11 pm
Not sure if this is the right area to put this question or not, if not please move it wherever it should go
I'm running the Shadows of the Deep adventure from Level Up! magazine issue #2 Please don't go any further unless you are ok with the surprise being ruined..
spoiler space.
Really loving the adventure!!!
more spoiler space.
Nifty battle on the island, excellent use of the Speak with Dead ritual to learn that there is a ritual of summoning going on. Attached below are pix of the foamcore/cardstock version of the room I put together, the colored rings are from pop/water bottles are work well to show which pc/npcs are marked/bloodied/etc. Pix are towards the end of the battle inside the temple (2-2) in which one players daily power has a storm raging and slowly damaging/destroying the trapped pillars ((markers) to either side of the opening leading further down into the temple) after having killed the enemy in the room, and another players power having blocked off the pools the deep one raiders were entering through with a wall of thorns.
In any case, the party is in room 2-2 in the temple and has heard the chanting of a summoning ritual from the room below them. As they want to disrupt the summoning, they are planning on going directly forward without resting. With the room below being another encounter the storm and wall of thorns caused by the daily powers would normally end, but as they aren't planning on resting I'm figuring on letting it go on for a few more rounds at least. However I'm wondering how long I should let them go... I don't think I'm going to tell the players whatever I decide or roll, as I don't think the chars would know as the powers are being stretched. The party doesn't want to wait and rest, but I'm still figuring on it being a new encounter, with encounter powers refreshing.
Any thoughts? am I being unreasonable if I don't let him know how long his power is going to last? (he has to keep spending minor actions on it, I would just tell him that the storm was breaking apart and would likely dissipate at the end of the round) They are going up against some rather nasty customers already, and if they are not able to stop the ritual, are going to be facing a Shoggoth as well as the Deep ones already in the room, as well as three more from the last room who will either be breaking in through the wall of thorns (taking damage as they do) and hitting them from behind, or will have turned back from the last room and will be joining/re-enforcing the leaders in the last room.
I picked up the Lovecraftian Bestiary pdf and am loving it what I've read so far, the party is definitely going to be facing the upgraded versions this Sat night...
So far both the players and I have been having fun, and I think the adventure has tested the pc's enough that the players will remember the adventure for awhile, which imho at least is always a good thing, I'm not one to hand things to the pc's without them having earned them by blood, sweat, tears, and damn good thinking.
I figured I'd post and ask for thoughts on things as I'm already stretching/breaking the rules as it is.
I'm running the Shadows of the Deep adventure from Level Up! magazine issue #2 Please don't go any further unless you are ok with the surprise being ruined..
spoiler space.
Really loving the adventure!!!
more spoiler space.
Nifty battle on the island, excellent use of the Speak with Dead ritual to learn that there is a ritual of summoning going on. Attached below are pix of the foamcore/cardstock version of the room I put together, the colored rings are from pop/water bottles are work well to show which pc/npcs are marked/bloodied/etc. Pix are towards the end of the battle inside the temple (2-2) in which one players daily power has a storm raging and slowly damaging/destroying the trapped pillars ((markers) to either side of the opening leading further down into the temple) after having killed the enemy in the room, and another players power having blocked off the pools the deep one raiders were entering through with a wall of thorns.
In any case, the party is in room 2-2 in the temple and has heard the chanting of a summoning ritual from the room below them. As they want to disrupt the summoning, they are planning on going directly forward without resting. With the room below being another encounter the storm and wall of thorns caused by the daily powers would normally end, but as they aren't planning on resting I'm figuring on letting it go on for a few more rounds at least. However I'm wondering how long I should let them go... I don't think I'm going to tell the players whatever I decide or roll, as I don't think the chars would know as the powers are being stretched. The party doesn't want to wait and rest, but I'm still figuring on it being a new encounter, with encounter powers refreshing.
Any thoughts? am I being unreasonable if I don't let him know how long his power is going to last? (he has to keep spending minor actions on it, I would just tell him that the storm was breaking apart and would likely dissipate at the end of the round) They are going up against some rather nasty customers already, and if they are not able to stop the ritual, are going to be facing a Shoggoth as well as the Deep ones already in the room, as well as three more from the last room who will either be breaking in through the wall of thorns (taking damage as they do) and hitting them from behind, or will have turned back from the last room and will be joining/re-enforcing the leaders in the last room.
I picked up the Lovecraftian Bestiary pdf and am loving it what I've read so far, the party is definitely going to be facing the upgraded versions this Sat night...
So far both the players and I have been having fun, and I think the adventure has tested the pc's enough that the players will remember the adventure for awhile, which imho at least is always a good thing, I'm not one to hand things to the pc's without them having earned them by blood, sweat, tears, and damn good thinking.
I figured I'd post and ask for thoughts on things as I'm already stretching/breaking the rules as it is.