• Registered: 2010-07-22
  • Posts: 4

Topic: Help me with Death Frost Doom

***** SPOILER ALERT ******
If you are planning on playing DFD, don't read this. I'll try to be vague, but I'm looking for very specific help here.
****************

What happened:

So I just ran DFD for my players after carefully prepping things to mesh the background into my campaign as best I could.

Once they get up the to graveyard, they decide to figure out where the sound is coming from. So after a while, they find the source. Which they promptly pour oil on and drop a torch (note for others - a grate should have holes smaller than a torch). As soon as they figure out things are going south, they hightail it off down the ridge, find a rocky area off the trail and cast an illusion that makes them look a part of the mountain.

Then then hunker down and wait for things things to pass. I blame my being a bit flustered at having to make this part up on the fly, that I forget about some barriers that would slow those below down for at least 24 hours or more - instead they get out too.

So I left it so eventually everything clears out. They then head to the cabin and are suitably freaked out by things inside. Finally make their way down the (smashed open) trap door. They are now at the foot of the trapdoor and can see the far door has been opened.

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So - here's what's bothering me. The key tension of the module that I've waited so patiently for is gone - oh well stuff happens. But does anyone have any suggestions I could use other than just let them explore 'as-is'?

Anyway, still a great module. I have no idea how they're going to get down the mountain alive.

  • JimLotFP
  • Lord of All Fevers and Plagues
  • Offline
  • From: Helsinki, Finland
  • Registered: 2009-10-07
  • Posts: 275

Re: Help me with Death Frost Doom

HarbingerX wrote:

So - here's what's bothering me. The key tension of the module that I've waited so patiently for is gone - oh well stuff happens. But does anyone have any suggestions I could use other than just let them explore 'as-is'?

Anyway, still a great module. I have no idea how they're going to get down the mountain alive.

I'd think that even if 99% of the undead have cleared out, there would still be a significant amount still hanging around...

So the surface wouldn't be safe because there are the faster ghouls who will be popping around now and again, and I'd think moving around the dungeon area would be a running battle with the slower undead.

I'd think this would make for a different experience. As set up, DFD is a "slow-going" module... there's not a lot to discourage PCs from taking their sweet time turning over every stone (with both rewards and penalties for doing so).

With the undead, they'll probably want to move more quickly through as best they can, until they get to the Greater Tombs, where if they get to the vampire they can find their way out even with the undead horde having spread out...

(funny that when deciding to publish the module I was worried to death that it was too railroady with a too-ridigly enforced expected flow - that map is pretty linear - but my first playtest of the final version had the PCs do stuff I never expected, and it's rare to see any play report where things happened as I expected...!)

JimLotFP's Website

  • Registered: 2010-07-22
  • Posts: 4

Re: Help me with Death Frost Doom

Thanks! I'll populate the crypts with a few stragglers, and of course sounds will attract the others. Then they'll have to decide how badly they want to get further into the crypts.

The decision to run away down the mountain was actually a 50/50 split, the others wanted to run to the cabin. Then someone pointed out that's exactly what the people do in horror movies only to die terrible deaths.

Now stop answering my questions and get CARCOSA to the printers!

  • Registered: 2011-06-04
  • Posts: 34

Re: Help me with Death Frost Doom

Plus making it back to civilization would be a "Predators"-style survival race as well. Loot is heavy.