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Nyarlath
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Everything (I find) wrong with the Symbaroum adventures... And how I fixed it

Sat 02 Jan 2021, 16:06

Hello everyone, this is a tread about the official adventures so +++SPOILER WARNING+++

Ok so the idea here is to highlight all the little (or big) inconsistencies and the things that didn’t fit to the tastes of my table, in the copper crown chronicle and the Throne of Thorns campaign. Not to bash anyone or say it’s trash but to find a way to fix them, or change things to make them better, or find possible explanations to questions that had my players.
I have GMed 2 times the Cupper crown and the start of the campaign and I start it a third time (hopping going all over it, and confident about it by the experience of the 2 previous attempts).

1. The promised land
The starting is a bit weird for me. The fight to prove your valor is not satisfying for me but is here to explain the fighting rules to the player… So, what I did is to start the adventure in Alberetor, like less than a week from the mountain, with them in line of sight at the horizon. At the beginning, the players are in a caravan of refugees and they are listening an old man telling the story of their lost land and why they have to flee. They are resting for the night in the ruins of a village, precisely in what was once the church of Prios. At a moment, some bandits attack the refugees, and the PC have to fight to protect the chariots, the goods, their road companions and their lives (if they investigate after the fight and in the refugee camp, they will find that the attackers were part of a big bandit group lurking in the region, the band of Mal-Rogan).
Then arriving in the refugee camp, the PC can interact with Master Argasto as they want… any good idea means they can join… at least paying is ok. They don’t have to fight because they already had a fight and this one explains also why they are fleeing a dangerous and dead land (the other possibility is to make the group attacked by some zombies but I think it would change the tone of the game, especially for a first encounter).
After that the rest is good, just why Keri-Las is attacking alone if two other elves are with her? I answer that by the fact that she is very young and so, very impulsive on her behaviors so when she saw an opportunity she didn’t think twice and attacks…
Nothing more for this one.
 
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Nyarlath
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Re: Everything (I find) wrong with the Symbaroum adventures... And how I fixed it

Sat 02 Jan 2021, 16:53

2. The mark of the beast

There is a little more here.

First the teleport in between Prios pass and Thistle hold wasn’t satisfying for me, so I added a little something in Prios pass using the description of the town made in the Adventure pack 3, not much just a couple of days waiting in the refugee camp, with no goal at all but waiting their names are called to be questioned in the village. So they have to look at their character sheet and find out what they can do with their abilities (helping to heal people with Medicus, ok; go in the mountain around to find plants to make potions with Alchemy good; or hunt to bring food to the soup kitchen why not; or even do nothing and study old magical grimoires bring along from Alberetor …). After having defend their case in the Legation, they are allowed to stay in the walls of the Prios pass if they have made good impression but not to enter the new kingdom, at least not yet or not all the group… So, they will have to use their past and their connections with the factions (the Church; the Ordo magica; queen aligence at the Legation; Nobility; or thieves’ acquaintances in the Trout). A simple little quest (and even not one for each PC but 1 or 2 in total, especially if some are already allowed to enter Ambria by the Legation) is enough and then they can finally take that damn boat to cross the Veloma!

One more thing here, use an NPC they speak with to recommand them to Master Vernam in Thistle Hold: saying that he could be a good person to answer their questions about the ring they found on the elf in the mountains, or jut a kind person that can help them as new commers in Ambria. AND make ALL the NPC the PC are kind with tell them that Yndaros is a bad place to go, already crowded and the land of opportunities is Thistle Hold.


Then the start of the adventure. Well, starting as strangers in Thistle Hold (described as a town where the order reigns) with a fight to death with servants of a black coat… Not possible in my opinion. What I did is just to relocate this encounter in Blackmoor that the PC are crossing before arriving in the city… So that way, problem solved.

Then in the order of the murder and the statements, my players get confused with the statement of Delker, because he said he bumped a woman, but this victim is a guy killed with the appearance of the woman Shanda (it’s her skin that is on the ground here) so it should have been a man that have been bumped. First time I just finally said that this woman is another witness and she said she saw 2 men one walking out and the other running into her… but it took half an hour of game. So, for the other times, I just went for changing that in the statement of Delker to bump into a man with black marks on the face…

I also didn’t give the letter from Vernam before they kind of figure out everything. Like 2 days after the death when peoples or family of Master Vernam are putting order on his papers.

And there it’s for this one.
 
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Falenthal
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Re: Everything (I find) wrong with the Symbaroum adventures... And how I fixed it

Sat 02 Jan 2021, 21:49

I like your ideas. Don't want to post personal opinions or some options I've done because I don't want to clutter the thread before you finish with yours.
But wanted to encourage you to keep posting your experience with the published adventures.
 
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Nyarlath
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Re: Everything (I find) wrong with the Symbaroum adventures... And how I fixed it

Sun 03 Jan 2021, 01:09

2. The mark of the beast (part 2)

To finish with this one:

My players get confused with the fact that a Changeling had to use a ritual and take the skin of someone to change appearance… and that not a lot of people knows the ritual and immediately think about that when multiple dead people are found flayed. For the first part, the ritual is much more efficient in the time (like more than 10 minutes) and consumes less energy. For the second part, the reason I give to my players (using Grand Master Kullinan or Father Elfeno) is that the ritual is forbidden because it needs to kill someone of course but also because the change can cause sever mental troubles… but changelings who are used to change appearance don’t have this problem.

Last, Gerek, the zombie of the first guy flayed by Alahara still have a leather harness? I removed it. Easy kill for the players but better for the coherence in my opinion.

Will continue with the Tomb of the dying dreams when I found time to put together my notes…

Fill free to do the same of course.
 
Kastor
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Joined: Thu 30 Dec 2021, 01:00

Re: Everything (I find) wrong with the Symbaroum adventures... And how I fixed it

Sat 26 Aug 2023, 11:51

Good points, I agree100%

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