Q2: "Chasing Glory" by TMU & MrBigB [SUPER EARLY VERSION]

[gootchute]

I'm actually more concerned about the heroes being able to make it to the center room this early with all those monsters...

You should replace the basilisk special rule (whatever it may end up being) with one which simply makes an attack from one automatically turn them to stone. (or do the narrated unsatisfying route, I'm honestly torn about the no-win idea)

Problems here:

1) They could get lucky and kill the beasts before all 4 heroes turn to stone.

2) The last hero could run away and continually roll higher than the basilisk move.

There are many ways the Heroes could mess up the plan. Regardless of how you solve the issue, here is the part I REALLY like:

The basilisks turning them all to stone is a great way to make them really fear the beasts when they turn up later in the dragonkin quests I'll write! By that point the heroes can defeat them, because in my quest notes Mentor will have explained how to properly fight a basilisk (don't look it in the eyes, don't breath in its noxious vapors, etc...). On the initial encounter here in quest 2 they were inexperienced, so getting revenge on the same creature type will make the heroes feel awesome!

[Count Mohawk]

I'm actually more concerned about the heroes being able to make it to the center room this early with all those monsters...

If you discount the monsters in the center room, the rest of the Quest is about on par with most of the Quests in the Base System. But there's an easy way to tone down difficulty even without removing monsters: add a Potion of Healing or two somewhere. Given there's already one in the cupboard in the fourth room, you're probably OK.

Also, if you choose to let the Heroes fight for a round or two before the basilisks petrify them, you can give the Chaos Sorcerer in the center room a teleport spell to chase anyone who runs away. (Escape is the classic, and I think one of the Wizards of Morcar had a different one as well) My take? Probably scripting the event sans fighting is for the best, although Bellthor is the precedent to fall back on and the Heroes had to actually fight him.

[MrBigB]

Lots of great input, keep it coming! Thanks for the constructive criticism guys

[Goblin-King]

Just a reminder that this has in fact been done before when the heroes battled the poisonous Gargoyle BELLTHOR!!! -que: Guitar solo!
He was just a single powerful monster that knocked out any heroes it "killed".
If the heroes actually managed to kill it it exploded and released toxic fumes which knocked out any hero still standing.

[Gold Bearer]

I'm actually more concerned about the heroes being able to make it to the center room this early with all those monsters...

Where?

The basilisks turning them all to stone is a great way to make them really fear the beasts when they turn up later in the dragonkin quests I'll write! By that point the heroes can defeat them, because in my quest notes Mentor will have explained how to properly fight a basilisk (don't look it in the eyes, don't breath in its noxious vapors, etc...). On the initial encounter here in quest 2 they were inexperienced, so getting revenge on the same creature type will make the heroes feel awesome!

This! I pretty much insist.

But there's an easy way to tone down difficulty even without removing monsters: add a Potion of Healing or two somewhere.

Exactly! You can make the monsters as tough and numerous as you like without having to worry abut it and just use items to balance it afterwards.

[gootchute]

yeah i guess if you ignore the center room it is easier than the trial, I didn't look close enough before making the statement.

[Daedalus]

A - [insert offensive spell] scroll found in the desk.

My personal feeling is it is too early to place an artifact at this point in the expansion. On the other hand, the upcoming big battle will likely require it to be used up.

D - Traps doors are linked, and can be used to travel both ways between rooms. Weapon rack in top room is empty. Chest in lower room has more stolen villager jewelry. Value 75g

E - Trap chest is empty.

The two routes from the entrance to objective are pretty well exactly balanced (though the rewards are heavy on one side). I don't see the point of this trap door choice. Maybe some monsters could be shifted to intervening rooms to make one more combat oriented, while some trap-guarding Goblins could make the other path more tricky. The trapped chest in room E is a good candidate for moving onto the tricky route after the trap doors. You could then move the two corridor Fimirs into the vacated room, opening up that fight.

H - Chaos sorcerer has [insert list of debilitating spells like petrify]. Note for Zargon: Your goal is to debilitate all Hero's at once. Once accomplished, regardless of BP left, announce the Hero's have been captured. As their vision slowly fades to black the last thing they see is the horrible faces of their merciless captors. **immediately start Quest 3**

I'd prefer to see an Orc Shaman in the greenskin adventures. I'd be for choosing a number from these Chaos Spell Cards: Summon Orcs, Fear, Cloud of Chaos, Sleep, Tempest, and Command. Basilisks wouldn't be as needed if the Orc Shaman cast these spells which also can take out a Hero for 1 or more turns. I prefer to save the Basilisk for its home ground, the swamps of the Fimir/Kobold chapter. I also personally envisioned the Basilisk as the single Big Swamp Creature mentioned months ago, but affordable multiples are a possiblility. If you keep the Basilisk, maybe one will do.

I was pondering allowing the final battle to go either way, so as to differentiate it from the auto-capture in Return of the Witch Lord. If the Heroes lose Quest 2, they end up incapacitated somehow and start in the jail cells as planned. Other prisoners from the raid of Quest 1 are kept with them. If the Heroes manage a Quest 2 win, they instead start with their weapons and must fight through from the entrance of Quest 3 to find and rescue prisoners from the original raid of Quest 1 (perhaps sounding an alarm). Either way, the Quest 3 Parchment Section would describe the rescue of the villagers from the greenskins. The notes at the end of Quest 2 and the beginning of Quest 3 would sort out the two eventualities. The exit/entrance route of Quest 3 would also need to be modified. I mentioned something that may help in the Quest 3 thread.

The 2 Chaos Warriors at the exit are going to make for a drawn out battle. Why not place them in the room just to the east, so all the Heroes can get in on the action? In that case, you'd need to block off the exit corridor and rerout the Heroes into the northeastern quadrant.

[Sjeng]

So, did you guys come up with a story for these first 3 quests? I need something to build on for the greenskin chapter.

[TMU]

Not Q1 done yet, and Q2 and Q3 still need to be tweaked some.

[Sjeng]

okay, because I think the greenskin chapter would be best as a direct follow up of the introduction, as greenskins aren't such a big threat (only in great numbers). So they'd do well as a first story chapter, a little tougher than the intro's, but not yet as hard as the dragonkin and after that the chaos beastmen/dwarves chapters.
So I'd like to start my chapter with an orc raid, following your last quest.