Go to Part 1

SPOILER WARNING!

The following thoughts contain minor spoilers for Keep on the Shadowfell. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read it. And if you’re in my gaming group then you definitely shouldn’t be reading it.

STARTING THE ADVENTURE

I’m not using the default adventure hooks for Keep on the Shadowfell because I feel they give away too much of the mystery before the adventure even starts. Basically, one of the ways in which I want to enrich this adventure is to give the PCs more freedom and more initiative. And the way to do that is to give them some mysteries to explore and some problem solving. The default adventure hooks, in general, short circuit this process by jumping them either blatantly or directly to the solutions.

Instead I’m using the following set-up and hook for the adventure:

You are known as rune warriors. Each of you was born with a runic birthmark somewhere on your bodies. The runes are believed to be marks of the gods or the fates, and under ancient Imperial Law, it was required that the runeborn be given into the care of the Order of the Rune. The Empire is gone now, but the Order still seeks out the runeborn.

You are members of a balatek. You were raised together, trained together, and prepared against the day when you would journey forth into the world and use your unique gifts and talents to fulfill the Order’s mission.

Historically, the Order’s mission has been to “help the common people”. But since the Empire’s fall, the Order has been forced to find many different patrons throughout the world. (To a large extent, the Order has fragmented just like the remnants of the Empire have fragmented.)

Which is why, as a young balatek, you find yourselves seeking Winterhaven – a tiny village on the edge of civilization. The last heir of a minor noble family has died. The heir’s great-uncle, Sir Caliban, was a knight banished for transgressions of the chivalric code. Mystic divinations indicate that the knight’s son – the current heir of the noble house – lives in Winterhaven.

You traveled more than a thousand leagues, but your journey had only just begun: It took you many months of questioning, in city after city and village after village, before you finally found someone who knew of the village of Winterhaven . They described the village as “lying in the shadow of the Cairngorms”. The ancient and (as you discovered) wildly inaccurate maps the Order had given you indicated that the Cairngorm Peaks lay even further to the west.

Now, at last, you are drawing near to your goal: You are on the King’s Road (although there has been no king in these parts in living memory), traveling west towards Winterhaven.

ARRIVING AT WINTERHAVEN

After using the On the Road: Kobold Brigands ambush to jump-start the adventure, read the following:

You continue down the King’s Road to Winterhaven. After another mile, you see smoke on the horizon. A little while later you round a corner in the road and look down into a clearing: A small farmhouse has been burnt to the ground, its ruins still sending a trail of smoke into the air.

Over the next few miles you see several more isolated farms like this one, all destroyed.

Abruptly you find yourself at the end of the King’s Road: It crosses a north-south road and then runs up a broad hill that holds a walled village that must be Winterhaven. The village is nestled in the southern foothills of the Cairngorm Peaks. The walls are weathered stone topped by defensive palisades.

To the south and the west you can see rolling farmland with small, thatched homes fronting a small pasture or crop. Beyond the farms lie dark woods and, to the north, tall mountain peaks.

LOCAL GEOGRAPHY

I have modified the map found in the adventure so that it can be used as a player handout without spoiling the adventure.

However, there is a problem with this map: According to the module, this village has a population of 977, mostly farmers living in the surrounding area. But where are the farms?

FARMS: There are a couple dozens farms in the area immediately around Winterhaven (primarily to the south and west of the city). However, most of the local farmers are located about five miles southwest of the city.

TRADE: There is a large city (Fallcrest) about a hundred miles distant along the King’s Road to the east and a smaller city (Wintermist) on the banks of Lake Wintermist on the road north out of Winterhaven. As a result, the village is something of a natural nexus for trade — the farms from the south; the fishermen from the north; and the craftsmen from Fallcrest all naturally at the crossroads in Winterhaven.

Continued…

Go to Part 1

If you own the 4th Edition Monster Manual, you can add the following encounter:

• 1 kobold slyblade
• 2 kobold dragonshields
• 6 kobold minions

This is a kobold cansatak — a “war party which hunts vengeance”. They could be dispatched to kill the PCs by Kalarel, Irontooth, or even Issitek (if he finds out the PCs are responsible for wiping out the clan).

Use this encounter when the PCs are resting or traveling. It’s a good way to jack up the energy levels at the table if things are starting to lag. The cansatak could even attack them in the ruins of the keep if you feel that the PCs are getting too complacent in the sections they’ve already cleared out.

TRIGGER: The kobold slyblade tracks the PCs, moving two hundred feet ahead of the rest of the cansatak. When the encounter is triggered, the PCs can make a Perception check (DC 23) to notice the slyblade watching them from 50 feet away. A few moments later, the slyblade slips away and heads back to the rest of the cansatak. (If the PCs attack, the slyblade will turn and run with harsh reptilian cries which are quickly answered by the rest of the cansatak.)

If the PCs don’t notice the slyblade, a few minutes later the entire cansatak attacks: The dragonshields and minions charge in and surround the PCs, engaging them in melee. Once the PCs are fully engaged, the slyblade follows (allowing it to use its sly dodge ability to maximum effectiveness).

Continued…

Go to Part 1

We’re going to continue our remix of Keep on the Shadowfell by looking at the kobold lair. This is the area made up of encounters A2 and A3 in the original module.

KOBOLDS – BACKGROUND

The kobold tribe is known as the Clan of the Withered Arm. Once in every generation a child of the clan is born with a withered arm, marking them as the future leader of the clan. The clan’s history in the area around Winterhaven actually dates back more than 25 years to a time period when they were driven from their ancestral lands by Necross the Black Mage. The villagers in Winterhaven, however, were largely unaware of their presence: They survived by hunting wild game and generally shunned contact with the civilized races (who they had learned to fear).

Kalarel’s arrival in the area changed all that. He sent one of his goblin lackeys — brutish oaf named Irontooth — with a band of thugs to take control of the kobolds. They took the kobolds by surprise, overpowered their leader (a kobold named Issitik), and chopped off his arm. Irontooth now wears the withered arm on a chain about his neck.

THE KOBOLD LAIR – OUTSIDE

Encounter A2: The Kobold Lair – Outside is going to remain largely unchanged. In fact, the only major thing we’re going to do here is add a little extra flavor to the sacred circle:

Sacred Circle: A circle of worn stone monoliths stands on the ground in this location. When a creature steps within the circle, blue runes glow softly on the surface of the stones and the creature gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls. A Nature check (DC 10) recognizes the circle as a druidic friendship circle. A DC 20 check allows a character to decipher enough of the runes to identify the circle as having once belonged to the Vassals of the Verdant Lord.

TRACKS: A successful Perception check (DC 10) allows a character to notice the large number of kobold tracks in the soft mud along the river bank leading to and from the waterfall. A DC 22 check reveals a few goblin tracks mixed in with the kobold tracks.

WATERFALL: In addition to acting as difficult terrain, the roaring noise of the waterfall imposes a -5 penalty to Perception checks on characters within 4 squares. It imposes a -20 penalty to Perception checks made to hear anything happening on the other side of the waterfall.

THE KOBOLD LAIR – PROBLEM AREAS

This inside of the kobold lair, however, needs a lot more work. Notable problems include:

(1) The encounter descriptions claim that the only entrance into the lair is through the waterfall. The actual battlemap, however, depicts two other entrances.

(2) The edges of the map are left completely open. In fact, you can come in through one entrance, turn immediately to the left, move one square, and… disappear off the edge of the map. Not only does this imply that there’s more to the lair than what’s described in the module, it also makes this encounter almost impossible to run: Players are going to immediately be asking what they’re not seeing off the edges of the map. Can they maneuver back there? Is there anything valuable? Are there more creatures? And so forth.

(3) The map also shows a huge pile of treasure that fills 400 square feet.

However, the module claims — and I wish I was kidding about this — that abolutely none of the gold you see there is valuable. The only valuable stuff is in the chest: 420 gp and a suit of magical armor.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the amount of treasure listed in the module. (Although why Irontooth isn’t wearing the magical armor instead of sticking it in the chest is a bit of an open question.) But you just cannot show your players a picture of 400 square feet of gold and then say, “Ha ha! Just kidding!”

(4) The kobolds are supposed to attack in two waves spaced 3 rounds apart. But a single move action from any of the entrances into the lair will put a PC in a location where they can see the kobolds in the second wave. What are these kobolds doing? Are they just standing there? Are they putting on their armor (giving the PCs a potential advantage if they engage early)? The players are going to want to know.

For the most part we’re not going to change the fundamental dynamic of this encounter, but we are going to clean it up.

First, when running the outside portion of the encounter leave the battlemap folded in half (so that the inside portion of the lair cannot be seen by the players). Ignore the two additional entrances to the kobold lair and describe that entire side of the area as being a mossy cliff face.

Second, the beautiful color illustration of the waterfall in the module doesn’t match the battlemap. (Yet another example of the sloppy production quality of this product.) However, if you can make a high-quality copy of this illustration and then trim the left half of the image you should end up with a pretty good handout.

Third, we’re going to scrap the entire interior map of the kobold lair and replace it with a new one that actually makes sense; supports the attack waves designed into the encounter; and also includes more flavor.

THE KOBOLD LAIR – INSIDE THE LAIR

TACTICS – SURPRISED: If the kobolds are surprised in their lair, the kobolds attack in two waves as described in the module. The initial locations of the first wave are indicated on the map in green and the initial locations of the second wave are indicated in red.

The dragonshields and Irontooth are sleeping when the PCs arrive. It takes them 1 round to wake up; 1 round to realize what’s happening; and then 1 round to grab their weapons. (If the PCs reach them before the second wave is triggered, they probably won’t be armed.)

The wyrmpriest’s delay is merely due to hesitation. If the PCs burst in on him, he is fully prepared to defend himself.

TACTICS – FOREWARNED: If any of the kobolds outside the lair manage to flee into the lair, this encounter becomes much more difficult. The minions and skirmishers will have all gathered in area 1. The wyrmpriest will have moved to the archway leading from area 1 to area 2, positioning himself so that he can use both his energy orb and incite faith abilities to aid the other kobods. Irontooth, flanked by the dragonshields, will be sitting in the throne in area 2 wearing the withered arm about his neck. (“You fools. Orcus will not tolerate your meddling. Kill them all.”) The dragonshields and Irontooth will hold back, but if it looks like the PCs are getting the upper hand (or if the PCs try to attack Irontooth) they’ll move to engage.

AREA 1 – THE UNNATURAL CAVE: The pool behind the waterfall is relatively calm and shallow, allowing characters to pass through it normally (although the squares of the waterfall itself are difficult terrain, see Outside the Lair). The kobolds will immediately move to attack intruders (see Tactics, above).

The rough, moisture-slicked walls of the cavern behind the waterfall give way to walls of ancient, worked stone. Here and there can be seen what appear to have once been bas relief statues — but years of moisture have worn them away to unrecognizable lumps. Through the archway to the east can be seen another large chamber, in the center of which stands a great throne of stone. Set into the back of the throne is a giant fire glowgem, casting an eery red light thorughout the chambers.

A few of the more favored kobolds roost in the antechambers here. (The rest of the kobolds make their nests in treetops throughout the area.)

AREA 2 – THE THRONE ROOM: The fire glowgem on the back of the throne casts a bright light to a distance of 20 squares. It can be pried loose and is worth 500 gp. A Nature check (DC 18) reveals that such thrones are often used as part of druidic initiation rituals.

AREA 3 – DRAGONSHIELD LAIR: The two dragonshields here betrayed Issitik when Irontooth and the goblins came. As a result, they were given a place of honor.

Two thick mats of straw are laid out on the floor in this otherwise nondescript room of plain stone.

AREA 4 – IRONTOOTH’S LAIR: This was once a library maintained by the Vassals of the Verdant Lord. The books here were protected by powerful magicks before the kobolds arrived and broke the seals.

A great, mounded nest of shredded paper has been built up in one corner of the room. It looks surprisingly comfortable. A variety of braziers, each burning a different scented incense, are lit here and there and around the room. The walls are lined with empty stone shelves. A large iron chest has been shoved into a corner.

The nest here is made from the shredded remains of the books. The chest can be opened with the key Irontooth keeps in his pouch or a Thievery check (DC 20). It contains 420 gp and a suit of +1 dwarven chain mail (see module).

AREA 5 – THE WYRMPRIEST’S CHAMBER: This chamber was once a shrine dedicated to the goddess Tiamat (who is held sacred by the Clan of the Withered Arm). Once Irontooth took control of the clan, he forced a conversion of the shrine to the worship of Orcus.

The walls of this crooked chamber appear to have once been covered in colorful mosaics, but these have recently been defaced beyond recognition. In one corner of the room there is a shallow depression in the floor before a plain altar of stone. Atop the altar a golden skull with ram’s horns sits in honor.

The far side of the chamber gives way once more to the natural walls of the cavern, in a series of tiered steps leading down into the darkness.

The golden skull is worth 150 gp.

A character making a successful Perception check (DC 15) will notice the following symbol carved into the wall behind the altar:

A Religion check (DC 15) will recognize this as a holy symbol of Tiamat. Characters taking a closer look at the symbol can make an additional Perception check (DC 15) to realize that the hole in the center of the symbol is actually a depressed button. Pushing the button causes a section of the wall to slide back, revealing a stone idol:

AREA 6 – THE DESECRATED TOMB: The stairs leading down to area 6 are uneven and slick with condensation. Characters must make a Balance check (DC 10) while moving down the stairs.

The stairs bottom out into a large, square chamber. In each corner a thick ionic column stands between roof and ceiling. The walls here are covered in small niches. In a few of these niches there are ceramic urns, but it appears that most of these urns have been destroyed: The floor is covered in ash and broken shards of pottery.

In the center of the room, the floor sinks into a circular depression. In the center of this depression a 15-foot wide mass of thick roots run between the floor and the ceiling.

This area was once a tomb for the Vassals of the Verdant Lord. When the kobolds moved in, they desecrated the burial chamber. Their thoughtless and spiteful destruction created a vengeful druidic spirit which still lurks here. The kobolds avoid this entire area now.

If a PC moves more than 15 feet into the room, the druidic spirit will manifest itself:

A howling wind suddenly whips through the chamber. Shards of light burst forth from somewhere within the tangled mass of roots in the center of the chamber, and then the roots begin to move of their own accord — drawing apart and forming a cage-like sphere in the center of the room. Looking through the gaps between the roots you can see a translucent spirit in the form of a human figure floating in the center of the sphere.

“LEAVE US TO OUR ETERNAL REST.”

PCs can attempt a skill challenge (4/2, with Diplomacy and Nature as primary skills) to convince the spirit that they are friendly. Knowing of the Vassals of the Verdant Lord counts as an automatic success in this skill challenge. Swearing fealty or otherwise pledging themselves to the druidic cause also counts as an automatic success.

If the PCs fail, the light in the center of the chamber grows and the spirit begins lashing out with lightning bolts (Range 20, 1d6+2 damage). There is no way for the PCs to exorcise this spirit at this time. (Alternatively, if you have the 4th Edition MM, use the stats for a phantom warrior but add the lightning bolt attack. The roots will move to defend the spirit from attacks, granting it — but not its targets — cover.)

If the PCs succeed, the spirit can give them the history of the kobold lair. In addition, the druids have found a greater connection to the spirit of the land through their death. They are aware of Kalarel’s ritual, which they describe as “a gaping wound in the natural world”. They are also aware that there is a powerful artifact at the dragon burial site which and can tell the PCs where to find it. The artifact is “resonating” with Kalarel’s ritual and they know that he seeks it.

TREASURE: The dragonshields and Irontooth each wear necklaces from which dangle dragon figurines carved of obsidian. On the bottom of the figure is etched the outline of a skull with ram’s horns. Anyone who succeeds on a Religion check (DC 15) recognizes the etching as an abstract representation of the demon lord of the undead, Orcus. PCs can sell the necklaces for 40 gp each in Winterhaven. The rest of the kobolds, in addition to their meager equipment, have 7 gp in loose coin on them.

WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN?

The Clan of the Withered Arm lives in what is known as a bassabal by the kobolds: The nest-mates of the clan live more than a hundred miles to the south in the clan’s “maternal nests”. Once per year, during the bassasurnal (“the season of egg-laying”), a large portion of the clan will make the journey south to meet with their nest-mates.

The kobold young are raised in the maternal nests until their year of ascension, at which time the clan males will test them through the rites of manhood and then bring them back to the hunter nests.

WHAT HAPPENED TO ISSITIK?

Issitik was taken to Area 2 of the keep and thrown in a cell. He’s being held as a hostage to help keep the kobolds in line.

If Issitik is freed, he will attempt to enlist the aid of the PCs in freeing his people. If he is brought to the kobold lair, all of the kobolds — except for the two dragonshields — will turn against Irontooth. Issitik will thank the PCs and gift them with the fire glowgem from the throne and the +1 dwarven chain mail from the chest. He will also tell them this: “While I lay in pain and captivity, I saw great visions of darkness. The thing beyond the veil brings death with its grip, and Kalarel hopes to open all these lands to its grasp. He must be stopped before his power grows too great.”

If Issitik discovers that his clan has been wiped out (or largely wiped out), he will lay a curse upon the valley and the village of Winterhaven. If he knows the PCs were responsible, he will give them a cold epithet in kobold and say: “May the grasp of the veil-thing find your soul!” Later, if the PCs investigate the kobold lair again, they will find a message written in blood on the wall behind the throne. The runes require an Arcana check (DC 15) to decipher and read:

THIS VALLEY SHALL BE CURSED FOR THE BLOOD IT HAS SPILT

(The consequences of that curse, if any, could, of course, lead to other adventures.)

Either way, Issitik seeks to lead as many of his followers as possible back to the maternal nests. He has become convinced that the lands of this valley have become cursed for his people. However, if the PCs helped the kobolds, two kobold slingers — named Dassesek and Trigassas — volunteer to join the PCs in fighting Kalarel.

Continued…

After studying Keep on the Shadowfell, I came to the conclusion that the only way I could run the module would be if I remixed the module in an effort to overcome some of its shortcomings. I previously demonstrated some detail work on a particularly troublesome encounter, but now I’m going to be taking a look at the big picture: Giving the adventure a stronger backbone and a richer mythology; rearranging the setpieces; fleshing out Winterhaven to give it some unique character and depth; adding extra encounters where possible; and so forth.

SPOILER WARNING!

The following thoughts contain minor spoilers for Keep on the Shadowfell. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read it. And if you’re in my gaming group then you definitely shouldn’t be reading it.

RAW RESOURCES

While working with the kobolds, we basically have the following resources to pillage from Keep on the Shadowfell:

(1) On the Road: Kobold Brigands

(2) A1: Kobold Ambush

(3) A2: Kobold Lair – Outside

(4) A3: Kobold Lair – Inside

Or, to look at that another way, we have the following encounter builds:

(1) Kobold Dragonshields (x2), Kobold Slinger, Kobold Minions (x5)

(2) Kobold Dragonshields (x3), Kobold Skirmisher, Kobold Wyrmpriest

(3) Kobold Dragonshield, Kobold Skirmisher, Kobold Slinger, Kobold Minions (x10)

(4) Irontooth (goblin), Kobold Dragonshields (x2), Kobold Skirmisher (x3), Kobold Wyrmpriest, Kobold Minions (x10) (in two waves)

ON THE ROAD: KOBOLD BRIGANDS

We’re going to leave this encounter largely unchanged. From a conceptual standpoint it serves as a nice introduction to the problems besetting the village of Winterhaven. And from a design standpoint, it’s a relatively simple encounter that serves as a nice way to introduce players and DM alike to the new rules.

However, we do need to make one slight adjustment because of some sloppy design. There are two separate triggers for starting this encounter. The PCs are approaching from the east and trigger #1 is:

The minions make themselves visible, darting from their hiding places, when one or more PCs reach the place in the road between the two easternmost boulder piles.

And trigger #2 is:

Alternatively, if one or more of the PCs decide to move off the road and travel through the grassy terrain, it’s possible that some of the kobolds will be spotted in their hiding places. If a PC moves to a square that provides line of sight to a kobold, that creature lets out a screech that alerts its companions.

Sounds good, but look at the map:

All of these kobolds are going to be visible to PCs traveling along the road long before they reach the easternmost boulders. There is some forest just off the right of the map shown here that will help to obscure the northern minion, but this doesn’t help the southern minion (who can be spotted from the road 30 feet before the boulders) nor the dragonshields and skirmisher (who appear to have been placed on the wrong side of the boulders they’re supposed to be hiding behind).

Worst. Ambush. Ever.

MOVE THE MONSTERS: Obviously we need to move the monsters.

Minions: Put all the kobold minions and hide them behind the western boulders where they can’t be seen before the ambush is sprung.

Slingers: You can’t see it in the picture here, but on the battlemap there’s a small patch of forest just to the west (on the north side of the road). Put the slinger in this patch of forest (where he benefits from cover, but can shoot at the PCs freely).

Dragonshields: Off the east side of the map there is a forest south of the road. Put both dragonshields inside this forest.

PRE-COMBAT: The module suggests the following set-up:

Have the players place the miniatures of their characters on the road within 2 squares of the eastern edge of the map, then give them two rounds to move their characters westward.

I absolutely hate this. First, they’ve gotten their miniature skirmish game all over my roleplaying game. Second, the setup invites metagaming and ruins any element of surprise. (“Gee, I wonder if we’re going to be ambushed…”) Third, it creates two really boring rounds of “action” in which the players all take turns with no motivation beyond “head west… I guess”.

It’s just a poor gameplay experience.

So here’s what you do:

(1) You lay out the scenario: “You are on the King’s Road traveling west towards Winterhaven. How are you travelling?”

(2) At the very least, you want to establish a marching order (sequence and relative positioning). But, without prompting the players, you also want to find out what active precautions they’re taking.

(3) If nobody states that they’re specifically watching out for an ambush, use their passive Perception checks (10 + Perception modifier) to determine whether or not they spot the kobold dragonshields hiding in the woods (DC 19). (This is a bit of a cheat because, given the pregenerated characters, I know none of them will detect the dragonshields with a passive Perception check.)

(4) If they do state they’re watching out for an ambush, allow them to make an active Perception check (d20 + Perception modifier) to determine whether or not they spot the kobold dragonshields hiding in the woods (DC 19).

(5) If they detect the dragonshields, the encounter starts when they get within 30 feet of where the dragonshields are hiding. Lay out the battlemap, position them according to their marching order, and inform whoever rolled high enough on their Perception checks that they’ve spotted the dragonshields lurking in the woods.

(6) If they don’t detect the dragonshields, the encounter starts when they reach the easternmost boulders. Lay out the battlemap, position them according to their marching order, and describe the kobold minions pouring out of their hiding spots to attack them (see below).

TACTICS: Ideally, the PCs are surprised. The minions will swarm out and engage them. The dragonshields will emerge from the forest onto the road behind them, cutting off their escape. The slinger will being shooting at them from the cover of the forest.

If the PCs detect the dragonshields and attack, the minions will swarm out and come to the dragonshields’ defense. The slinger will also emerge from cover, move close enough to attack, and begin firing.

GOALS: Make the ambush actually work as an ambush. Make the start of combat more dramatic, immediate, and exciting.

GUARDING THE KEEP

I talked about this briefly before, but the first two combat encounters in Keep on the Shadowfell are extremely repetitive: In the first, kobolds ambush the PCs on the road. In the second, kobolds ambush the PCs on the road. (And, even worse, if you follow the internal logic of the module, it’s highly unlikely that the PCs will actually be on the road at the time that you’re supposed to use the second encounter.)

So we’re going to completely scrap A1: Kobold Ambush. Instead, we’re going to remix this encounter — using the same opponents in a slightly different scenario.

SETUP: Instead of an ambush, these kobolds are going to be manning a barricade blocking the road leading to the Keep. (Kalarel has placed them here to ensure that he’s not disturbed at the Keep.)

BARRICADE: The wooden barricade is 15 feet high (requiring characters to make an Athletics check to climb over it). There is a 10-foot wide platform at the top of the barricade and a ladder leading down the other side.

TACTICS: The wyrmpriest stands atop the barricade, using his energy orb to attack those drawing near the barricade. The dragonshields and skirmishers ready actions to attack anyone attempting to climb the barricade.

If the PCs reach the top of the barricade, the wyrmpriest will blast them with his dragon breath and then jump down on the other side of the barricade. From there the wyrmpriest will continue using his energy orb, while the dragonshields and skirmishers engage the PCs atop the barricade.

THE SECOND GUARD

An identical barricade is located on the road north of the Keep, too.

DEVELOPMENT: If the PCs wipe out either barricade, the kobolds at the second barricade are pulled back 1d2 days later and lay an ambush in the ruins of the Keep. (I’ll be discussing the ruined keep in a later entry.)

In practice, this likely means that the PCs will head towards the keep, overcome one of the barricades, and then spend some time exploring the keep. Then they’ll pull back to Winterhaven and, when they return, a kobold ambush will have been laid for them at the keep.

If the PCs completely bypass the barricades on their way to the keep (by circling through the woods), Kalarel might end up pulling back both patrols to lay an ambush in the ruins of the keep. (This depends on how threatened Kalarel feels.)

INTERLUDE: FARMER’S JEOPARDY

This encounter is designed to build on the crisis facing the village of Winterhaven (which I’ll be discussing at greater length: The farmers southwest of Winterhaven have been cut off from the village by the kobolds. A dwarven farmer named Terrik Sabanar, however, has attempted to break the blockade and reach Winterhaven with a wagon full of supplies.

FARMERS: Terrik Sabanar is a good-hearted dwarf. While he plans to sell the food he’s hauling for a fair price (he can’t afford not to), his primary motivation for trying to break the blockade is because he knows the people of Winterhaven must be in fairly dire straits.

Terrik was once a member of the Iridescent Guard, a powerful order of dwarven knights. He became disenchanted with the order, however, when his superior officer seduced his wife. Taking his infant son, Alric, Terrik left the dwarven kingdoms and came to Winterhaven. He has adopted the simple lifestyle of a farmer and left his past behind him.

For this dangerous mission, however, Terrik pried up the floorboards of his cottage and took out the +2 resounding warhammer he had once wielded as a knight. Those making a History check (DC 15) can recognize the hilt-marks on the warhammer as belonging to the Iridescent Guard — a strange sight to see in these lands.

Terrik is accompanied by his son, Alric. Alric knows nothing of his father’s history with the Iridescent Guard. Terrik didn’t want to bring Alric along, but the boy begged him until he finally relented (fearing, in fact, that if he refused Alric would merely follow him and be in even greater danger).

STATS: For Terrik, use the stats for the pregenerated fighter PC. However, Terrik wields the +2 resounding warhammer (dealing base damage of 1d10+5 and +2d6 thunder damage on a critical hit). For Alric use the stats for the pregenerated fighter PC, but treat him as a minion.

(If you’ve got the core rulebooks available, feel free to give them unique and/or more appropriate stats as you feel fit.)

SITUATION: Terrik and Alric are ambushed by kobolds along the road. Their wagon is disabled.

KOBOLDS: Use the kobolds from the On the Road: Kobold Brigands encounter, but add two more slingers.

MAP: We can reuse the map from the same encounter, or draw a new one on an erasable battlemap. Roads are easy.

TRIGGER: This encounter can be triggered in several ways:

(1) The PCs are traveling along the road when they hear shouts and the sounds of combat. When they reach the scene, they see the kobold minions and dragonshields clustered around the wagon. Terrik stands atop the wagon, swinging his warhammer.

(2) The PCs in Winterhaven when Alric rides up to the gate begging for help. (As the ambush broke, Terrik dumped Alric onto one of the horses and sent him riding for safety.) The city guard seems confused… perhaps somebody runs to ask permission from Lord Padraig before leaving their posts. (Padraig will be furious that none of his mean seized the initiative, but meanwhile…)

If the PCs think of it, let them make an Intimidate check (DC 20) to convince two of the guards to go with them to help Terrik. If the guards do accompany them, you’ll need to figure out stats for them. (Easy to do if you’ve got the core rulebooks. Otherwise, just use the same stats as Alric.)

If the PCs return with Alric, they see two dead kobolds lying near the wagon. The minions and dragonshields have pulled back, and the kobold slingers are pelting the wagon with their slingstones. Terrik is hiding in the wagon, trying to stay behing cover. (This trigger can be used particularly effectively if Alric rides up to Winterhaven just as the PCs are leaving or entering the village.)

(3) While traveling along the road away from Winterhaven, the PCs pass Terrik and Alric heading in the opposite direction. If they choose to accompany the dwarves, they’ll be there when the ambush breaks out a few minutes later. If they continue on their way, just a couple minutes later they hear shouts and the sounds of combat coming from behind them. (If they need further prompting, have Alric ride after them.)

REWARD: If the PCs rescue them, Terrik will gift them with this +2 resounding warhammer. The weapon deals 1d10 damage, +2d6 thunder damage on critical hits, and has a daily power that can be used as a free action when a target is hit with the warhammer, rendering the target dazed.

FOLLOW-UP: Once the ambush has been dealt with, it takes Terrik about 5 minutes to fix the wagon wheel. (If it was 3rd Edition, we could let the PCs help. But, hey, there’s no Craft skill in 4th Edition. Who would ever need such a thing? It’s not like we could ever be in a situation where you might want to fix a wagon wheel before more kobolds show up. Feel free to throw an ability check in there to compensate for the dumbed down rules.)

The villagers in Winterhaven are thrilled when the supplies, meager as they are, arrive. Terrik, Alric, and the PCs are greeted as heroes.

Continued…

Go to Part 1

SPOILER WARNING!

The following thoughts contain minor spoilers for Keep on the Shadowfell. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t read it. And if you’re in my gaming group then you definitely shouldn’t be reading it.

THE CHERUB STATUES

When I remixed the first part of the Chamber of Statues, I didn’t think I’d be discussing the second part of that encounter. Why? Because there was nothing seriously wrong with that section of the encounter.

… or so I thought.

I’ve been cross-posting these mini-essays on Keep of the Shadowfell to WotC’s forums, and the discussion there revealed there was actually a rather serious problem with that section of the encounter.

In this section of the encounter, there are four cherub statues. When triggered, the cherubs create an arcane cage to trap a victim. The cherubs then pour water into the arcane cage, which triggers a whirlpool effect that smashes the victim into the cherub statues and cause them to take damage.

The key element to this encounter is the arcane cage that the statues create:

ARCANE CAGE (immediate interrupt, when a creature walks past the northern two statues; encounter)
The statues create a wall of arcane magic to enclose the area between the four statues. The wall lasts as long as at least three statues remain intact. The wall cannot be damaged and is affected only through the destruction or disabling of the cherub statues.

The key problem here is the phrase “create a wall of arcane magic to enclose the area between the four statues”. When I first read that phrase, I interpreted it as meaning that the arcane cage enclosed the entire 4×6 hallway, including the cherub statues. But then I realized that the other half of the encounter talks about the dragon statues reacting to characters outside the arcane cage attacking the cherub statues, so I concluded that the arcane cage must only enclose the 2×4 area between the cherubs.

I thought the phrasing was a little unclear, but no big deal.

Except it turned out I wasn’t the only one who had interpreted that phrase differently. In no time at all, in fact, the conversation included four mutually incompatible interpretations of what the arcane cage did and they were all legitimate interpretations of the phrase “create a wall of arcane magic to enclose the area between the four statues”:

To this muddle we can also add some confusion from the phrase “when a creature walks past the northern two statues”. There seem to be two meaningful possibilities for this:

(Of course, if you go with the second possibility for the arcane cage, the answer to this question is pretty obvious — it’ll be the one that actually traps the triggering character inside the cage.)

PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS

In trying to work out how this encounter is supposed to work, we can try to narrow the possibilities down by taking two facts into consideration:

(1) Barrier effects “run along the edge of a specified number of squares”. Since each statue is entirely within one square, the statues either have to be inside the barrier or they have to be outside the barrier — they can’t be both.

(2) The dragon statues are supposed to be able to use their force shot ability against characters outside the barrier making attacks against the statues. Therefore, the statues have to be outside the barrier. (And even if this wasn’t true, you wouldn’t want a scenario where the only character who can lower the cage is the character trapped inside the cage: If they get killed by the whirlpool effect, not only are the irretrievable, but the location of the cage effectively prevents the rest of the group from reaching the end of the adventure.)

Thus we can conclude that it must be one of these two scenarios:

… except these doesn’t actually work.

First, because the cherubs have to be inside the cage (they’re pouring water into the cage and the trapped character is slammed against them for damage).

Second, because under this interpretation the guy inside the cage is effectively taken out of the game: There’s nothing they can do to escape. All they can do is hang tight, soak up the damage each round, and hope somebody gets them out. (This second problem isn’t necessarily unworkable, it’s just a questionable design choice.)

In short, the encounter doesn’t work. The cherubs have to both inside and outside the cage and, according to the rules of the game, that can’t happen.

As I see it, there are two options:

(1) Use the 2×4 option and then break the rules, basically creating an ad hoc ruling that the character inside the force cage can attack and destroy the cherubs even though they shouldn’t be able to.

(2) Redesign the encounter so that each cherub statue takes up 2 squares (and, thus, you can have them half-in and half-out of the arcane cage without breaking the rules).

FUEL ON THE FIRE

After writing up this whole analysis, I was looking through my friend’s copy of the Player’s Handbook and discovered something that only serves to deepen the confusion over what the arcane cage is supposed to be doing.

In the Quick Start Rules that came with Keep on the Shadowfell, there were three areas of effect defined: Barriers, Blasts, and Bursts. In the PHB, on the other hand, barriers no longer exist. They’ve been replaced by walls.

Here are the rules from Keep on the Shadowfell:

Barrier: A barrier runs along the edge of a specified number of squares. A barrier must cross at least one edge of the origin square.

And here are the rules from the PHB:

Wall: A wall fills a specified number of contiguous squares within range, starting from an origin square. Each square of the wall must share a side—not just a corner—with at least one other square of the wall, but a square can share no more than two sides with other squares in the wall (this limitation does not apply when stacking squares on top of each other). You can shape the wall however you like within those limitations. A solid wall, such as a wall of ice, cannot be created in occupied squares.

I have two reactions to this:

(1) Why wasn’t this fixed in the Quick Start Rules? Yet another example of sloppy editing.

(2) The encounter still doesn’t work.

It can’t be option #1 because the arcane cage is a solid wall (otherwise you could walk through it and the trap would be pointless), and therefore it can’t be formed in the squares occupied by the cherub statues.

It can’t be option #2 because walls must fill contiguous squares and each square must share a side — not just a corner — with at least one other square of the wall.

It can’t be option #3, obviously, because then there’s no interior of the cage for someone to be trapped in.

It can’t be option #4 because the trigger for the arcane cage would either result in no one being trapped inside or would make it impossible for the wall to form (since the triggering character would be occupying one of the squares the wall has to fill).

There are two possible ways of handling this:

(1) You can use option #4, change the trigger for the trap (so that it goes off when a character enters one of the squares inside the arcane cage), and then ignore the rules so that the cherubs are somehow inside the cage (despite the fact that they’re nowhere near the inside of the cage).

(2) You can use option #2 and rewrite the effect so that it creates multiple walls. Unfortunately, it’s not clear whether or not a character inside the arcane cage can attack the cherubs. (There’s a clear rule that says you can’t move across a diagonal if one of the squares bordering the diagonal has a solid barrier in it, but I can’t find any rule that tells you whether or not you can attack through a diagonal where two solid barriers meet.)

THIS IS RIDICULOUS

Needless to say, I consider this to be ridiculous. I consider the complete inability for this encounter to work as written just further evidence that Keep on the Shadowfell was never playtested. Such a shoddily designed encounter would, frankly, be inexcusable in any professional product. But it completely baffles me that WotC evidently spent so little effort and care on the product they chose to serve as the flagship for 4th Edition.