Campaign: The Arden Daredevils

[mikemacdee]

Thanks for the detailed feedback! This was way more than I'd hoped for from the internet. A lot of your suggestions are really good and I'll certainly implement them. Thanks for the offer to move it to the other sub-forum, too: when I feel it's ready I'll message you.

Hope you can find the time to proofread The Changeling, too!

I don't feel it is necessary to change the power of Orc's Bane.

That was unintentional: I somehow misremembered what that artifact did...

More on Quest 7A. It's not clear how rooms D, E, and the lower G adjacent to D are reached. There's a door in D, but the Quest notes don't tell about it or where the spiral stairway leads. Does the spiral stairway connect to this door like trap doors, situating rooms D, E, and G above the other section? This could explain why the pit trap dumps a Hero into the room with the "X". If this is the case, I'd suggest adding another room to the left of room E and moving the pit trap and a door 3 squares to the left. That would leave the pit and landing spot just 2 squares apart. Can a Hero climb out of this pit trap? If not, it would be useful to say so. It can't be searched for, so someone is definitely taking the trip. Others must jump it to get to the Quest objective--is this your intent?

That was my intent, yeah. Failing to mention that the stairway connects to the arrow door was not my intent, however....that was just me being dumb...

In Quest 7B, it could be pretty rough on the Heroes before they find they're equipment, especially if they open the wrong door in room C and find the 2 Orcs and Fimir. Do spells and a shortsword compensate enough--maybe. Also, I'm not a fan of a blind search for equipment, as it is so necessary for success. Maybe a clue in the Parchment Text would help, so the Heroes don't wander too far without it. Just my

Last time i tested this quest it was rough, but totally manageable, and it's why I added an arbitrary shortsword. However, I also had spellcasters in the party, so maybe I could remove the fimir in area C and the monsters in the armory?

The secret door mechanism in room C makes it seem escape is impossible, indeed. I like the do-this-to-open-that effect, but having it blindly opening and closing doesn't clue the Heroes. Why would they leave a useful broadsword behind on this trigger? There should be a click or something.

I might've expected too much of Zargon here: if they haven't revealed that block yet, I'll add to the description that the heroes hear stones grinding further up the hallway, or something to that effect.

How are the Heroes supposed to get to room E and the connecting corridors? The only way I can figure is if 2 Pass through Rock spells were available and the casting Hero made a lucky guess.

Remember if the sword is removed from the fireplace, the stone block moves back to its original position, allowing access to the super secret room. The downside being that one hero will have to stay behind...

[Daedalus]

Hope you can find the time to proofread The Changeling, too!

I'll see if I can get to that one later. I didn't attempt a full proofread with grammar and stylization edits, as your Quests already work fine. If you choose to bother, here are a few quick suggestions: Either capitalize all equipment, or leave it all lower case (both styles are used in the expansions). Capitalize scrolls and potions. Capitalize game terms such as Body Points.

In Quest 7B, it could be pretty rough on the Heroes before they find they're equipment, especially if they open the wrong door in room C and find the 2 Orcs and Fimir. Do spells and a shortsword compensate enough--maybe. Also, I'm not a fan of a blind search for equipment, as it is so necessary for success. Maybe a clue in the Parchment Text would help, so the Heroes don't wander too far without it. Just my

Last time i tested this quest it was rough, but totally manageable, and it's why I added an arbitrary shortsword. However, I also had spellcasters in the party, so maybe I could remove the fimir in area C and the monsters in the armory?

Well, if it worked, then you probably have it balanced. You could remove the Fimir to be safe, allowing the Heroes to conserve some Body Points for later, but a rough escape probably is more fun (excepting bad luck). If you want the focus to be on a tough, early fight, then keep things as they are. Another option could be to remove both the shortsword and the Fimir in the secret room, and to switch the Fimir in room C with an Orc. This would highlight the spellcasters even more for the first part of the Quest, but hopefully not cause too much damage.

How are the Heroes supposed to get to room E and the connecting corridors? The only way I can figure is if 2 Pass through Rock spells were available and the casting Hero made a lucky guess.

Remember if the sword is removed from the fireplace, the stone block moves back to its original position, allowing access to the super secret room. The downside being that one hero will have to stay behind...

Ah, I see. I guess I would have missed that one, Mr. Evil Wizard. (I used this kind of moving wall years back in a Quest, but I never played it and totally forgot about the access behind a moving wall.) I'd allow a Genie spell to move the stone block, as well. Here's a rare chance for the spell to actually open something useful.

[mikemacdee]

I'd allow a Genie spell to move the stone block, as well. Here's a rare chance for the spell to actually open something useful.

That would be really cool. I'll make a note of that too.

After a bit of thought I've decided to leave the shortsword in (because it probably makes more sense logically that the guard would've been armed), swapped the fimir in Area C with an orc, and basically moved the monsters in the armory to the lunchroom across the hall. Might make it a little less brutal but still keep the heroes on their toes. Had a bit of trouble uploading it yesterday though so we'll see if I do better today.

EDIT: The new version is up. I also updated The Changeling to include a similar House Rules page.

[Daedalus]

A working link to The Arden Daredevils can be found here.