#THE SLAYING STONE PDF SERIES#

This is just one of many near-hits by Logan Bonner to make this module matter. Unless the PCs decided to interrogate a captured orc to find out why they want the Slaying Stone (because orcs killing and stealing is sooooo out of character), Dreus Matrand will be Keyser Soze: non-existent. Her orcs never mention her name in the module. Of course, she does not appear in the module. She hopes to study it to produce new Stones (remember, in 4th Edition, villians don't have to play by the rules). At the very same time, an evil elementalist is sending a band of orcs to Gorzibadd (Kiris Dahn's goblin name) to procure the Stone for herself. To be fair, there is a reason why the PCs should search for the Slaying Stone. So, to review, an exiled monarch's advisor wants you to explore a town filled with savage monsters to retrieve an item that can kill one person in said town before breaking down.

Its creators designed it to only work within 5 miles of the town, which is 10 miles from the nearest major roadway. Its description states that it cannot be disenchanted, and new one cannot be enchanted. This deadly, supposedly evil, item could kill a person with one magical blast, then shatter. While searching through old historical documents, Treona discovered the existence of an unused slaying stone in Kiris Dahn. The reason why you are hired is as follows. Or maybe Treona asks you to venture into the fallen city to find Alkirk's family banner, a magical item that can inspire him to reclaim the city? No. I know what you're thinking: Treona hires you to liberate Kiris Dahn from its evil invaders. The last ruler of Kiris Dahn, Kiris Alkirk, lives apart from his people, supported by his loyal ritualist Treona, and has given up all hope of reclaiming his town. Its human inhabitants scattered to the world while goblins and kobolds live in the town's remains. For the life of me, I can't imagine why PCs would care about HS1's plot.Д®ight years ago, the town of Kiris Dahn was overrun by goblins. Treasure is always a good motivator, but having a quest that is meaningful to the world helps PCs become invested in it. Starting a campaign, getting players invested in their missions and the world, is always a difficult proposition. HS1 has a medicore plot that diminishes not only the encounters within, but the setting and NPCs in it. This time, instead of a weak plot holding good encounters together, the weak plot makes most of the encounter in the adventure unnecessary, if the PCs face them at all. Encounter 11 has an anti-lycanthrope inquisition interrupt some very important exposition. Encounter 7 with the Goblin who summons oozes and casts spells by ripping pages out of tomes.

Encounter 6 has a scrapyard artificer fling vials of ankheg-attracting oil at PCs. What frustrates me is that HS1 has some of those scenes.

The crude plot, like a summer blockbuster, gave licence for enjoyable scenes of action. Many of them portrayed odd characters or intriguing set-ups that made me re-evaluate how I could present an encounter to players. Some would deride its 'railroading' the players down one path, which I acknowledge, but I also appreciated the beauty of each individual encounter within. I will be honest and say that I love the KotS modules. However, when I read this adventure, I could not help but feel that his advice will not be sufficient. To be sure, Logan Bonner does give plenty of advice on how the adventure runs, and how a DM could alter it. The leftover space is devoted to providing information on the adventure's backdrop, the NPCs involved, and how best to run this adventure. It is half the price of these modules, but covers only one level of play as opposed to 3-4 levels.

In general terms, HS1 gives the players more options and approaches to completing their quest than the KotS modules did.

#THE SLAYING STONE PDF SERIES#

HS1: The Slaying Stone is a very different beast from WotC's previous series of adventures starting with Keep on the Shadowfell and ending with Prince of Undeath.

The slaying stone pdf