Download adventure HD2: The Shrine of the Black Ones

[Spectator]

Cheating or not, it didn't help them.
Realistically when you have 50+ bad guys with 50-70 hp each, against 6 10th level guys, annihilation is not far off.
In retrospect To make it a fighting chance, I should have lowered the hp of the blackies to 30-20 hp/ each.

In any case it was a fun adventure until the end. It definitely reinforced the notion of playing smarter not harder.
That is the Key to Conan.

If you play your enemies smart, a 12 hp temptress can be very deadly.

 

[Aholibamah]

I absolutely agree--there's nothing like a nemesis who's clever.

BTW, did anyone get to show the pcs the horrible shrinking process? I'd like to show that part of the horror of the Black Ones when they are encountered.

I think this is meant to be tough--meant to reflect the fact that even Conan barely got out of it alive with just a handful of crewmen.

 

[Spectator]

As an aside, I want to Complement Thulsa, publicly, on his yeoman efforts and ability into making this a terrific adventure. I would tweak one thing; this is an adenture for at least a party of 6 15th level characters.

I suppose if there is a Conan-esque type character that could win over the loyaties of the marauding pirates, a group of 12th level guys might have a chance.

6 10th level characters wont cut it.

great job.

I only hope that someone can mod the "Jewels of Gwahlur" into an adventure! Actually its not too hard! the crey devils are already statted and you could use the stats from Vincent D's conan page of the rogues who conan encountered!

Oh yeah Blackies from Vincent D's terrific Conan page:
http://www.enworld.org/Inzeladun/conan/blackone.htm
I think my players would have much preferred the 26 hp version.

 

[thulsa]

As an aside, I want to Complement Thulsa, publicly, on his yeoman efforts and ability into making this a terrific adventure.

Thanks, I had a lot of fun writing/editing it. Actually, it's rather uncanny how well the original fit into the sword and sorcery concept. But then again, Howard was always a big part of Gygax's inspiration behind D&D. (Too bad it's been completely overshadowed by Tolkien et al in the recent editions.)

I only hope that someone can mod the "Jewels of Gwahlur" into an adventure! Actually its not too hard! the crey devils are already statted and you could use the stats from Vincent D's conan page of the rogues who conan encountered!

Jewels of Gwahlur is one of my personal favorites as well, and it would make an excellent RPG adventure. What you need is a map of a ruined city in a jungled valley, a temple map, and the caverns and tunnels beneath it. But I can't really think of one of the classic modules that fits the bill -- perhaps the one coming closest is "Caverns of Thracia" by Judges Guild.

Of course, the maps and locations could be done from scratch easily enough as well.

- thulsa

 

[Style]

I'm actually considering running this with a lower level party. The PCs will be roughly the equivalent of third level (Seasoned in Savage Worlds). How will this not be a mass slaughter? One, I plan on significantly weakening the black ones. Two, they will have many allies. They will have a ship full of comrades, plus there will be a second ship of people on the island. They will start off as rival treasure hunters competing for the prize, but once the black ones are discovered the hope is they will make an alliance verses a common enemy. Three, I'm banking on smart play from group. This means scouting. This means stealth. This means allying with the rival treasure hunters. This means retreating when necessary. Etc. If they go in all guns blazing, no stealth, with a full frontal assault, then they get what they deserve. Last time they did that, I didn't hesitate to dole out the tpk, so hopefully they've learned their lesson.