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2 years ago ::
Jul 29, 2011 - 8:40AM
#1
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Date Joined:
Aug 10, 2007
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For now, this thread will focus on questions from judges preparing for GenCon.
Please use spoiler blocks when appropriate.
Dan Anderson
@EpicUthrac
Living Forgotten Realms Calimshan Writing Director
Living Forgotten Realms Epic Writing Director
Meet me at TotalConfusion:
http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 5:44AM
#2
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As a new author and co-author of CALI 3-3, I would be very interested to hear feedback about what aspects of the adventure people liked or disliked and how it went overall. There are a couple of unique things we tried out in this adventure - did they work well and were they fun? Specific feedback, both positive and negative, is very helpful to authors. Thanks in advance!
Lori Anderson
WotC Freelancer, LFR author
@LittleLorika
CALI3-3 The Agony of Almraiven (co-author)
NETH4-1 Containing Shadow (co-author)
CALI4-1 Plain of Stone Spiders (author)
QUES4-1 Liberation (co-author)
EPIC5-1 Plaguewrought Prism (co-author)
TotalCon: http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 6:10AM
#3
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I liked it as a capstone to the trilogy and possible lead in to others. The encounters were generally good with only two very minor nits. Spoiler:
Show
1. The ambush felt a bit like it was just an XP filler encounter and didn't feel like it fit in the right place inside the city. Okay encounter I suppose, just not on par with the rest of the module.
2. The rival house "choice" given for surrendering the cloak didn't feel like much of a choice. The idea was cool, but there was not a lot to give him full creedence and change who we were giving the cloak to following a quick questioning of Al-Amar.
I really enjoyed the dragon encounter and the layout of it as well as potential benefits. I suppose the desert endurance/fatigue system is a bit overly harsh on non-Con classes that don't have the option to train in endurance but I still felt is was easy enough to overcome.
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 6:37AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Aug 10, 2007
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Gunthar, Thanks for taking the time to provide your feedback! To address your specific very minor nits: Spoiler:
Show
1. I suspect the final combat encounter will surprise many groups, because it's counter to the design of most LFR adventures (big climactic fight at the end). The writing team felt that it would be good to allow groups who survived this far to "end on a high note" with an encounter that could be cut short without cheating the players out of an important victory. The way LFR action point economy works, I suspect just about every group who plays this encounter will have an easy time of it. (Blow APs and remaining daily powers.) The "challenge" of this adventure definitely lies in the first 2 combats. 
2. As you noticed ("possible lead in to others"), the purpose of this scene is to introduce another mover-and-shaker in the region and add color to the NPCs, rather than painting them in black or white. (A potential villain with a sympathetic backstory, for example.) It also adds some role-playing opportunity.
The desert system was designed to address non-Con/Endurance PCs. We wanted it to be "deeper" than "you're crossing a desert; make a bunch of Endurance checks."
Glad you enjoyed the adventure. Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience!
Dan Anderson
@EpicUthrac
Living Forgotten Realms Calimshan Writing Director
Living Forgotten Realms Epic Writing Director
Meet me at TotalConfusion:
http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 9:11AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Aug 16, 2007
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This was my final LFR adventure of the con, and the most disappointing. Our mustering left us with an unbalanced party of mostly defenders. Our GM either received the adventure at the last minute or wasn't prepared. As a result, it felt like a series of poorly linked encounters. This may very well have been the lack of prep of the DM, or the adventure and it's hard to tell. Spoiler:
Show
The encounter with the dragon: I enjoyed the combat portion of this encounter. But the skill challenge portion wasn't presented to us well. We were given a list of skills we could use, but weren't allowed to improvise, and were never told what using those skills would do. For a party of six we required so many successes to make it through that it was pretty much hopeless to succeed while fighting such a large group of creatures (part of this was party structure though... with mostly defenders we had no easy way of addressing the minion problem).
We mysteriously succeeded on the skill challenge and then went into the next encounter. This was over the top deadly for us. I expect that it was being run incorrectly, however. The monsters surprised us and won initiative, so we were hurting before we even got to go. We were being hit by the bulettes every round for 4d8 damage at AL 4, and the entire battlefield was difficult terrain by round 2. This made a miserable situation for our one ranged striker (who was taking opportunity attacks every round in an effort to escape so he could use his attack powers). I expect the bulettes are intended to be lurkers who set up for this sort of damage on alternate rounds, which would have made this encounter bearable. On the other hand, this was one encounter where having a lot of defenders helped in that we were capable of soaking the massive damage done and we got through it.
Third encounter was fun... a little easy perhaps, but with so many resources spent to survive the second encounter, that was almost a relief.
I also struggled through with the ambiguity introduced. I liked the ambiguity, but didn't feel it worked. Al-Amar had been set up too well as a righteous man, and our party simply wasn't given compelling reasons to trust this guy from the rival clan (in fact we had every reason not to).
Over all I did not enjoy this adventure - BUT I don't think it was the adventure's fault. Group mix and an unprepared DM can really skew a person's perspective. I am looking forward to playing this whole series again at my local gaming store, and when I've run through it a second time there with a DM I know took the time to prepare, I'll give it another review.
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 10:58AM
#6
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This was my final LFR adventure of the con, and the most disappointing. Our mustering left us with an unbalanced party of mostly defenders. Our GM either received the adventure at the last minute or wasn't prepared. As a result, it felt like a series of poorly linked encounters. This may very well have been the lack of prep of the DM, or the adventure and it's hard to tell.
I'm sorry to hear that you did not have an enjoyable time. Hopefully when you play it again with a prepared DM you will enjoy the adventure more.
Spoiler:
Show
The encounter with the dragon: I enjoyed the combat portion of this encounter. But the skill challenge portion wasn't presented to us well. We were given a list of skills we could use, but weren't allowed to improvise, and were never told what using those skills would do. For a party of six we required so many successes to make it through that it was pretty much hopeless to succeed while fighting such a large group of creatures (part of this was party structure though... with mostly defenders we had no easy way of addressing the minion problem).
Spoiler:
Show
Perhaps the DM did not run the encounter correctly since he was unprepared. Did your DM inform you that the goal of the encounter was simply to reach the other side of the map and you did not need to kill any of the monsters? To successfully complete this encounter, every party member needs to reach the far side of the map before the sandstorm completely covers the area. Killing the monsters is optional (although killing at least some of the monsters may make it easier for the party to achieve the goal of getting across the map). The monsters are simply there to slow the party down.
Completing the skill challenge to free the dragon is also completely optional. The action costs of freeing the dragon are high, but the rewards for doing so are also high. There's a player's handout with details about the skill challenge (including flavor text about what each skill does). I don't think there's a need to allow other skills to be used for this particular skill challenge. There are already skill options for all 6 stats and the DCs are moderate, so every single PC should be able to have a reasonable chance at succeeding on at least one of the available skills, even if they are not trained in it. The skill challenge is designed to be difficult because it is optional (and provides a big bonus if it is completed successfully) and because killing the monsters is also optional. I'm wondering if the problem at your table was that the DM did not communicate clearly that you just had to make it to the other side of the map and did not need to kill the monsters. Did you end up freeing the dragon? (And, if so, what did you think of the rewards for doing so?) Spoiler:
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We mysteriously succeeded on the skill challenge and then went into the next encounter. This was over the top deadly for us. I expect that it was being run incorrectly, however. The monsters surprised us and won initiative, so we were hurting before we even got to go. We were being hit by the bulettes every round for 4d8 damage at AL 4, and the entire battlefield was difficult terrain by round 2. This made a miserable situation for our one ranged striker (who was taking opportunity attacks every round in an effort to escape so he could use his attack powers). I expect the bulettes are intended to be lurkers who set up for this sort of damage on alternate rounds, which would have made this encounter bearable. On the other hand, this was one encounter where having a lot of defenders helped in that we were capable of soaking the massive damage done and we got through it.
Spoiler:
Show
Yes, the DM ran that incorrectly. The bulettes are lurkers and can only do that damage every other round, instead of every round. Doubling the damage output of an encounter certainly makes it more difficult! The bulettes don't get a surprise round. Also, the bulettes can't do their burrow attack through the rocks (although they can climb on top of them), so if PCs can get onto the rocks the encounter is less deadly. Spoiler:
Show
Third encounter was fun... a little easy perhaps, but with so many resources spent to survive the second encounter, that was almost a relief.
Spoiler:
Show
The third encounter was intended to be easy. After two difficult encounters and a rough skill challenge, the final encounter was supposed to be a nice, easy, "look how awesome we are, we're slaughtering everything!" kind of encounter. Also, a DM can cut the final encounter short if they're running out of time without the players feeling like they've been cheated. Spoiler:
Show
I also struggled through with the ambiguity introduced. I liked the ambiguity, but didn't feel it worked. Al-Amar had been set up too well as a righteous man, and our party simply wasn't given compelling reasons to trust this guy from the rival clan (in fact we had every reason not to).
Spoiler:
Show
Part of that may have been the way the DMs (from all three modules) presented the two rivals. It seems like a lot of times players automatically side with whoever hired them. The friendly nomads you meet during the skill challenge talk highly of the guy from the rival clan (Jamah Husyen) and describe many of the good works he has done freeing slaves. Since your DM wasn't well prepared, he or she may have missed that part. If nothing else, it at least introduces another key NPC that may have an impact on future adventures. Over all I did not enjoy this adventure - BUT I don't think it was the adventure's fault. Group mix and an unprepared DM can really skew a person's perspective. I am looking forward to playing this whole series again at my local gaming store, and when I've run through it a second time there with a DM I know took the time to prepare, I'll give it another review.
I look forward to reading your review after you have played it with a prepared DM. It is a shame you didn't have fun the first time. I hope your second time through is more enjoyable. Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback.
Lori Anderson
WotC Freelancer, LFR author
@LittleLorika
CALI3-3 The Agony of Almraiven (co-author)
NETH4-1 Containing Shadow (co-author)
CALI4-1 Plain of Stone Spiders (author)
QUES4-1 Liberation (co-author)
EPIC5-1 Plaguewrought Prism (co-author)
TotalCon: http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 11:25AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Aug 16, 2007
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Spoiler:
Show
I expect I probably would have enjoyed it a great deal if I was playing with a group of friends and a DM who was not only prepared but also willing to take the time for actual role playing. I didn't feel like I was playing a character in this adventure, and when I tried I felt like the DM was busy just wanting me to roll dice. The role playing aspect of the friendly nomads was entirely glossed over when I played, and often I was just being pointed at and told to roll a skill without any idea of what I was rolling and why. Like I said, I don't think this was the adventure's fault. I'll play it again, hopefully sometime soon, and post another set of impressions then. Because of our local store's LFR schedule, it may be a few months before I can complete the cycle, but when I do I'll post more feedback.
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 12:34PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Mar 23, 2007
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I ran Calim 3-2 and 3-3 for 8 slots during Gencon. I received a lot of positive player feedback, and everyone I ran seemed to really have enjoyed the series. One small problem I had with the end of 3-3 (and the series): players asked if the cloak glowed when Al'Ammar put it on. I ASSUMED it did, but I could not find a place in the mod where that is specifically stated. I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be left ambiguous, or was simply accidentally left out. It's kind of a letdown to go through three adventures, and then have no closure. Also, I ran this mod 3 times, was well prepped for it, and somehow missed the part where the nomads talk up Jamal (I'm just now reading through the other comments above, and seeing it). Should probably have been underlined? It seems important that this NPC gets a mention so players have a basis when he stops them outside the city, and I certainly would have included it if I had noticed it. I really liked the trapped dragon "skill challenge in the middle of combat" mechanic; two of my three tables freed him. The third didn't even consider it a viable option, based I think upon being mostly slowed with the storm closing in. The storm itself was a really fun addition to the encounter, and definitely had all my tables worried. I felt like the reward/penalty for the mod-long skill challenge was too light. I may have gone with some sort of slowed or dazed mechanic for failure - you're super tired from crossing the desert. Maybe everyone gets a second action point for high success (they can spend both in the encounter!) and nothing for moderate success. Just my opinion. I did like that the combat was really easy, and figured that "look how awesome we are" was the point of that combat. Overall well done, and I had a blast running both of them.
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 12:53PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Aug 10, 2007
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Thanks for the great feedback! One small problem I had with the end of 3-3 (and the series): players asked if the cloak glowed when Al'Ammar put it on.
Spoiler:
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Al'Ammar does not try on the cloak in the presence of the PCs, for fear of word getting out if it doesn't glow.
The PCs certainly recovered the Battlecloak of Vycaena, but whether Al'Ammar is a true descendant and how he decides to handle this new knowledge is yet to be determined. 
The answers to survey questions #2 and #4 will go a long way to shape the next chapter (if any).
Dan Anderson
@EpicUthrac
Living Forgotten Realms Calimshan Writing Director
Living Forgotten Realms Epic Writing Director
Meet me at TotalConfusion:
http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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2 years ago ::
Aug 08, 2011 - 12:56PM
#10
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Date Joined:
Aug 10, 2007
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Should probably have been underlined?
We tried to save underlining for core concepts that, if overlooked, would drastically impact enjoyment of the adventure. While this particular detail is interesting, missing it will not lessen the experience for players. (There's a LOT going on in this adventure!)
Dan Anderson
@EpicUthrac
Living Forgotten Realms Calimshan Writing Director
Living Forgotten Realms Epic Writing Director
Meet me at TotalConfusion:
http://www.totalcon.com/RolePlaying.html
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