Great job FFG, that was a really fun adventure. lots of opportunities for roleplaying and a challenging climax
just played black fire pass
This is a great, free, full-blown scenario with the really neat idea of having a 100% dwarven group. From reading it and listening to Gitzman's Podcast play session ( http://recklessdice.com/2011/08/live-session-journey-to-black-fire-pass/ ) though, there are two things that don't work here, to my eyes:
***SPOILER ALERT****
a) How can Barnock's dwarf rangers possibly leave the mutilated dwarf bodies at the pass to rot? They get to the place, take the rune shield, but leave the orcs camping and bodies rotting unmolested for days or weeks? That's a logic flaw in the adventure.
b) Motivation: It's quite a challenge for a demo game to make it clear to the group that the secret plans in the rune shield should NOT go to Barnock and the High King. You can see that in the podcast I mentioned: The players just don't understand the tricky question of honour at stake here, and simply relinquish the documents to Barnock. In doing so, the inadvertently fail at their adventure - and what's worse, they miss out on some really interesting roleplaying.
So, if you play this, watch out for the background story, it's quite intricate.
Have fun, Imrazor
Ran a good deal of it this week.
*SPOILER ALERT*
This has been the first time my party ran into Orcs. They made it through The Gathering Storm just fine. (Albeit missing a leg)
I wasn't expecting this to be any different - just something to run as we were returning a hammer. But wow - Orcs are tough!
Party was a physician, an Ironshield (both just hit rank 3) and a Taalite preist (mid rank 2). They alerted the Orcs, and stumbled straight into the ambush.
The goblins missed a lot (as usual). But Gnashrukk when he hit - hit hard. In one round he knocked out the priest unconscious -causing a crit ("Intimidating scar" I think. Severite 4 - permanent) - then issued a challenge to the only Dwarf in the party.
Challenge lasted about 7 rounds. (Impossible to hit this ironbreaker!) Ironbreaker got 2 comets(!!!) in his first attack with a Duelists strike and then spent the rest of the duel dealing 1 wound.
After the duel, the Goblins fled - leaving the 3 orcs: I offered a rally step party declined. As per initiative before the combat the physician made his turn - (my plan was to have the orcs fight everything in range - including each other. so all the party had to do was steer clear and let them kill themselves), but he physician forced a healing potion down the taalites neck, followed by a "Splints & Bandages" check.
Orc attacked the physician as he was near (KO'd in 1 hit, +2 crits). The second orc took a swing at the Taalite, who was now sitting on a respectable 6 wounds. He was KO'd +1 Crit. Crit required him to take crits equal to his highest severity crit. So +4 crits.
The room fell silent - this was the first player death.
Pc1 "That's me dead".
PC 2 :"****".
Me: "That is harsh man - Orcs are tougher than I was expecting"
PC 3: "Are you sure you are dead?"
PC 1: "I'm unconscious with 6 criticals".
PC 3: "Oh: maybe you'll roll something useful next time then..."
True to style, the Ironbreaker (equipt with a biting axe) proceeded to literally one shot the remaining Orcs.
And we called it there for the week.
Epic end to the day ; but a few too many foolish decisions; Spending a manoeuvre to go to Long range to shoot the single Goblin on top of a hill? Then when he runs no-one rolled observation upon finding a bunch of spiked heads?!?
I daresay this party got a wakeup call. (Not the Dwarf tho- he still feels invincible)