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Rabel
United Kingdom
37 Posts
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 Posted - 25 Apr 2003 : 20:31:51  
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Just some thoughts to try to kick off a discussion:
One of the things I've been mulling over is the difficulty of organising some of the different FF books into a coherent campaign.
One of the problems of the gamebooks, in this regard, is that they are usually 'epic' tasks, after which your characters generally live happily ever after (unless, of course, they were killed in the process).
They include a variety of encounters that, if directly converted to d20, would provide a gross imbalance in juxtaposed Challenged Ratings: a couple of orc guards at one door, a vampire in the next room, a goblin or two, then a dragon. You know what I'm talking about.
Obviously, a realistic (if I can use that word when talking about this subject matter) conversion is going to have to draw some sensible conclusions about CRs and use quite a bit of artistic licence in balancing this issue against staying true to the original material.
How are these issues best tackled, do you think? I have to admit that, only having discovered that the FF books were being d20'd today, then I haven't yet had chance to see what has been done with WoFM and CotSW. How has this issue been approached?
A similar issue would be the sort of items that the adventurers tend to end up with in the gamebooks - sometimes they are extremely powerful and would introduce an imbalance in the power levels of the characters with respect to their character levels.
With these issues in mind, there are some difficulties in being able to string together several of the FF books into a coherent campaign although I'm sure it can be done. Are there any plans to try to provide links from one adventure to the next (as was done with the first arc of WotC 3e modules) or are they all going to be stand-alone and of similar levels?
In the former case, it would be interesting to see which of the books were deemed to be for higher-level play, and which for lower.
Obviously, Trial of Champions, for instance, should end up having a higher-level party requisite than Deathtrap Dungeon. Which books would you say should be up there at, say, 15th- to 20th-level of play? I'm sure that a few could quite easily be modified to provide a difficult challenge for characters of those levels. |
Edited by - Rabel on 25 Apr 2003 20:40:38
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Yaztromo
United Kingdom
18 Posts
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Posted - 26 Apr 2003 : 06:52:52
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With certain books there's a natural progression- i.e Deathtrap Dungeon, Trial of Champions then Armies of Death, and others could be a campaign in their own right. Something like Masks of Mayhem or Seas of Blood could very well serve as a decent length campaign if they were planned out carefully. As for monsters- upping numbers for low level critters, or adding class levels could work, and high power monsters could be downgraded easily enough. A Vampire becomes a Vampire Spawn, a Dragon being replaced by a Wyrmling etc..just a few idead anyway.
Witty phrase pending. |
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Eternalknight
Australia
106 Posts
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Posted - 26 Apr 2003 : 15:23:32     
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| Actually, it would probably be very easy to string a campaign together, you'd just need to be picky and choose the correct order to do things in. All of the Allansia based books would cross-over quite easily. It really is a mtter of waiting to see what party levels the adventures will be for, then choosing them in ascending order. |
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Rabel
United Kingdom
37 Posts
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Posted - 26 Apr 2003 : 16:41:34
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OK, so which books do you think would make up good campaign arcs?
We've already mentioned:
Deathtrap Dungeon -> Trial of Champions -> Armies of Death.
but, of course, other books could be slotted in there in intermediate positions. Other arcs that spring to mind are:
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain -> Return to Firetop Mountain -> Legend of Zagor.
and
Vault of the Vampire -> Revenge of the Vampire.
The Warlock thread could be extended to include going after his student mates as well, so Citadel of Chaos would slot in, as would Creature of Havoc which would introduce the interesting idea of how you'd get your players transformed into monsters halfway through the campaign. |
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jamie
United Kingdom
168 Posts
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Posted - 26 Apr 2003 : 18:55:27
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Having just done Caverns of the Snow Witch, there are a couple of links to other adventures in there:
Within the caverns you meet Stub the Dwarf who is from Stonebridge. Once the Queen is Killed and you are effected by the Death spell, you must travel to the Moonstone Mountains via Stonebridge. On the way, ypu must cross the River Kok where Redswift the Wood Elf mentions Fang and the Trial of Champions (The First Link to DtD)At Stonebridge the Dwarves are in dispair because King Gillibran's fabeled Warhammer has been stolen (so... theres a link to Forest of Doom which you can return to after you are cured). And at the end of CotSN you must travel to Firetop Mountain to be cured (because CotSW is a higher level adventure than WoFTM, then maybe you could incorperate a 'Return to Firetop Mountain?)
Just some thoughts guys 
Jamie Wallis
Author
Myriador LTD |
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Eternalknight
Australia
106 Posts
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Posted - 27 Apr 2003 : 05:24:21
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Here you go, something I came up with:
1- Caverns of the Snow WitchYou complete the adventure, then go to help Stub at Stonebridge (Stub could even be the Dwarf you find that dies...
2 - Forest of Doom You help the Dwarves regain the hammer. While there, you hear about a mysterious Warlock (Stonebridge can be the village you leave at the beginning of The Warlock)
3 - The Warlock of Firetop MountainAfter defeating the Warlock, you find some corrispondance with a man named Balthus Dire...
4 - The Citadel of Chaosand so on and so on...
It's just a matter of thinking of a way to link them together, much like you would with any pre-written adventures. |
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GarethYaztromo
United Kingdom
2 Posts
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Posted - 29 Apr 2003 : 16:07:56
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I must admit I found this thread most interesting and thought I would share my versions of events that have been created for Advancedfightingfantasy.com. The following is a shortened breakdown of how the FF gamebooks can be connected into a multiple adventurer campaign. In the complete version of events created for the new AFF: 2nd edition game the events of the Trolltooth wars, Creature of Havoc, Shadowmaster, Demonstealer, Dungeoneer, Blacksand and Allansia volumes are also included.
CAMPAIGN TIMELINE AFF.COM
1) WARLOCK OF FIRETOP MOUNTAIN
The adventure begins...Zagor is defeated and the adventurers head north taking on the position as Strongarms.
2) CAVERNS OF THE SNOW WITCH
…The adventurers end the threat of Snow Queen and affected by the Death spell. On their journey to Stonebridge they cross the River Kok where REDSWIFT the Wood Elf mentions Fang and the Trial of Champions and they discover the body of Morri the Ironsmith. Stubb urges them onto Stonebridge. The Dwarves of Stonebridge are preparing for war knowing that the Hill Trolls are gathering to attack their village, although they have lost their will to defend themselves since the Dwarves of Mirewater stole their fabled war-hammer from King Gillibran. STUBB (NPC) is concerned by their loss of morale and takes you to the inn to meet his friend BIGLEG (NPC). He learns from Bigleg that an Eagle took the war-hammer but dropped it over Darkwood Forest. 'Then we must find it. Bigleg, we must leave immediately,' says Stubb. He stands up and extends his hand to you, saying, 'Well friends, I'm sorry, but I will not be able to offer you our hospitality after all. I hope you understand.' He walks out of the inn with Bigleg and that is the last that you see of the jolly old Dwarf."
REDSWIFT informs the adventurers that they must travel to the Moonstone Mountains to find Pen KY Tora, the HEALER (NPC) as they have been afflicted with the Death Spell that was read upon the walls of the Snow Witches caverns. Redswift passes during the quest to find the Healer. The adventurers are healed and return to Stonebridge to see if they can assist the Dwarves and help Stubb. During their stay in Stonebridge the Adventurers hear tales of the Demonic three: ZAGOR at Firetop Mountain, ZHARRADAN MARR in Coven and BALTHUS DIRE in the Craggen Heights. They make the Dwarves aware that they have defeated Zagor and that he is dead. The Dwarves are delighted and a clan of the Dwarves sets off immediately to search Firetop Mountain for a lost relic of REDWEED their ancient home in the depths of Firetop Mountain. One of the adventurers discovers that a Dwarf is setting off for the Trial of Champions at Fang to enter the DEATHTRAP DUNGEON.
3) Leads onto FOREST OF DOOM
Our adventurers decide to leave Stonebridge to find Stubb and then head for Salamonis in the south (intrigued by the rumours of Balthus Dire). Several days later and find the Stonebridge Dwarf, BIGLEG, who is dying from a powerful poison that has been tipped onto the bolts lodged in his stomach. They watch as he slumps down again to the ground, his eyes stare unblinkingly at them, and he starts to shout. 'Ambush! Look out! Ambush! Aagh! The hammer! Take the hammer to Gillibran! Save the dwarfs!" His eyes half close and the pain seems to ease a little, and as the delirium subsides, he speaks to you again in a low whisper. 'Help us friend... take the hammer to Gillibran... only the hammer will unite our people against the trolls...we were on our way to Darkwood in search of the hammer…ambushed by the little people…others killed…the map in my pouch will take you to the home of Yaztromo, the master mage of these parts…'"
There is no sign of Stubb so the adventures head to find YAZTROMO (NPC) and meet him for the first time. He becomes of great help and a thorn in the side of adventurers in the future. They also meet VERMINTHRAX the crow and TRUMBLE from Mirewater during the Forest adventure. They discover the Warhammer and return it to Stonebridge where they find an injured but well STUBB.
4) CITADEL OF CHAOS (Set after events of the TROLLTOOTH WARS Novel)
The adventurers’ head to Salamonis and on the way visit VERMINTHRAX MOONCHASER (NPC - Grand Wizard of Yore) in the Forest of Yore. One of the adventurers is revealed to be Verminthrax ‘s last star pupil and they are informed of the growing threat of Dire. With a sealed letter to see the King they head off to Salamonis are there are given the mission to assassinate Balthus Dire in the Black Tower. CHADDA DARKMANE (NPC) is met for the first time. In the Black Tower they uncover Balthus Dire’s plan of invasion. He is defeated and the adventurer’s head north for home.
5) Leads onto TEMPLE OF TERROR
The adventurers stop off at Stonebridge where they are welcomed warmly. While recovering from the rigours of their journey from Salamonis they are surprised by a visit from Yaztromo who reveals the danger posed by the evil MALBORDUS (NPC) who is poised to retrieve the five Dragon artefacts from the ancient city of Vatos in the Desert of Skulls and help rise of the Dark Elven kingdom of Tiranduil Kerithrion. Yaztromo advises they take a barge to Blacksand down the Catfish River and head south on a ship. They set off from Stonebridge and arrive at PORT BLACKSAND. They stay the night at the Black Lobster and are introduced to captain GARGO (NPC) of the Belladonna. The adventurers buy passage on the Belladonna and head off down the Skull Coast. The ship is attacked by a man-o-war and is destroyed. The adventurers are taken aboard and find the ship full of Dwarves from the far off land of FANGTHANE. The Dwarves aid the adventurers and drop them off two days later on the coastline of the Desert of Skulls and they set off to find Vatos. In Vatos a Messenger of Death curses the adventurers and with the legendary Warhammer of Gillibran given to them by a Dwarf messenger they defeat Malbordus and destroy the Dragon artefacts. They head back to Stonebridge and Yaztromo.
6) Leads to CITY OF THIEVES
The adventurers are journeying through the outlands home and arrive at SILVERTON, which lies at the crossroads of the main trading routes in these parts of Old Allansia. They are visited in the ‘Old Toad’ tavern by OWEN CARRALIF (NPC) and told of the Necromancer ZANBAR BONE, known as the Night Prince (NPC). He requests their help in finding the great Wizard NICODEMUS (NPC) and returning with him to Silverton to save the town.
The Adventurers set off for Port Blacksand. They meet Nicodemus who refuses to go to Silverton but advise’s them how to defeat the Night Prince. They learn more about Port Blacksand, Lord Azzur, and the Thieves Guild and then explore the city. Upon leaving the city they find Zanbar Bones black tower and defeat the Undead Liche Necromancer. Within the tower they defeat Zanbar Bone and return to Silverton as heroes. With payments received they journey back to Stonebridge with the Warhammer and after much discussion finally decide to enter the Deathtrap Dungeon.
7) Leads to DEATHTRAP DUNGEON
The adventurers rapidly becoming well known heroes decide to enter the Trial of Champions to win the DEATHTRAP DUNGEON. They set off for Chiang Mai on the banks of the River Kok and in Fang register to enter ‘the Walk.’
After many trials and tribulations they defeat Deathtrap Dungeon, much to Skumvit's annoyance. With 10,000 GP they set off home.
8) Leads onto ISLAND OF THE LIZARD KING
The adventures decide to head south from Fang to visit a friend known as MUNGO (NPC) in the village of Oyster Bay. Upon reaching the village the adventurers learn of events surrounding the Fire Island, which was once a Prison colony of Prince Olaf Twohorse who ruled the region and Port Blacksand before he was deposed almost a hundred years ago. The adventurers are persuaded to help the islanders throw off the lizard king's oppression and stop the surrounding villages being attacked by Lizard Men who rule the island and set sail. Upon the Island they learn of a Gonchong parasite that has attached itself to the Lizard King making him invincible. The adventurers search out the SHAMAN (NPC) and are informed they must undergo three tests if they are to retrieve information on how to defeat the Lizard King and Gonchong parasite. With the knowledge they defeat the Lizard King, destroy the Gonchong parasite and free the slaves.
8) Leads onto the CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
The adventurers decide to visit Salamonis and on their way stop off at Silverton. They are offered a position to protect a rich caravan of goods travelling east to the kingdom of Chalice. They decide to take the merchant up on the offer as they are going east to Salamonis. In Chalice the adventurers take several days of rest and hear learn of the Evil Necromancer Razaak's resurrection.
They decide to visit Yaztromo, whom they haven’t seen in a year to explain the rumours of plague, pestilence and disease moving west from the east. Yaztromo is dismayed and relates the story of the evil Sorcerer RAZAAK (NPC) who became a necromancer and in Allansia’s past almost brought several kingdoms to their knees. He tells them of the heroism of KULL (NPC) who succeeded in saving all of Allansia only to be cursed as a Skeleton and asks them to destroy Razaak. They are given the task of finding Razaak’s sword and a number of other talismans and amulets that they need to protect them from the necromancer’s magic.
The adventurers recover Razaak’s sword and in doing so meet the hunter/tracker SYMM (NPC) who becomes a valuable ally. They travel back to Yaztromo’s tower and discover he has been taken by Razaak’s growing influence over the forces of chaos in the area. The adventurers and Symm rescue Yaztromo and search for more talismans before making their way to Stonebridge to meet BORRI the Dwarf (NPC) on Yaztromo’s instruction. At Stonebridge Borri joins the adventurers and they air balloon to find the Gargantis and crypt of Razaak.
After finding and successfully killing the Gargantis the adventurers search and find Razaak’s crypt. With its horn they are able to destroy the necromancer for good and recuperate at Yaztromo’s tower. One of the adventurers discovers they have been cursed and Yaztromo is unable to aid them. He advises they visit Port Blacksand and Nicodemus. At Port Blacksand Nicodemus heals the adventurer in question and in payment requests they gather certain roots that can be found near Oyster Bay. They agree and having purchased a small boat set off to Oyster Bay.
9) Leads to TRIAL OF CHAMPIONS
As ill luck would have it, a galley appears on the horizon and the feared pirate CAPTAIN BARTELLA (NPC) rams the adventurers boat. They are captured and enslaved by the captain and taken to the small island of Blood Island ruled by the LORD CARNUSS (NPC). On Blood Island the adventurers are forced to take part in the Arena of Death. Each of the adventurers survives, however they refuse to fight one another even upon death and Lord Carnuss agrees to use them all as his entries for the next Trial of Champions.
Ten days later, sunburnt and exhausted they arrive with Lord Carnuss in Fang. The adventures succeed in defeating the Trial of Champions yet again to win the prize of DEATHTRAP DUNGEON. Upon claiming their prize they are given the chance to fight Lord Carnuss. He is defeated.
9) Leads onto ARMIES OF DEATH
As the adventurers recuperate in Fang, they learn of a new threat to Allansia in the Far East. They commission a castle to be built on the south bank of the river Kok and raise their own army to destroy the rise of chaos. The adventures travel across eastern Old Allansia and eventually use a crystal of Power to banish the Shadow Demon, Agglax who has been released into the world and will quickly take over the remains of Razaak's armies. The armies of chaos are left disorganized and in complete disarray and the adventurer’s head home to their new home in Fang.
10) Leads into RETURN TO FIRETOP MOUNTAIN
A year passes. The evil warlock Zagor returns from his long stay in Amarillia. The adventurers decide to visit their old friend Yaztromo, Stubb, Borri and Symm in southern Old Allansia. They depart from Fang and stop in Anvil on their way. They learn in Anvil that the Warlock has returned to Firetop Mountain and are advised to find Yaztromo. The adventurer’s travel to Stonebridge and from their travel by boast up the Red River to Kaad where a plague has developed believed to be the work of Zagor. Yaztromo welcomes them and informs them how they can defeat Zagor. They are introduced to ZOOT ZIMMER (NPC) and ride a Giant Eagle to Firetop Mountain. No longer vulnerable to the Eye of the Cyclops the adventurers destroy him through the use of Elementals in the form of Dragon’s Teeth.
11) Leads into NIGHT DRAGON
As the adventures make the most of their time in Stonebridge with Yaztromo they are shocked to receive a message from Symm in Port Blacksand. The message summons the adventures to the city and they go in search of Symm. Whilst in Blacksand, the adventurers learn of the threat posed by the Night Dragon. Symm cannot be found. They travel to the Dragon Reaches, in the far north ...
Just some thoughts guys 
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Rabel
United Kingdom
37 Posts
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Posted - 02 May 2003 : 18:37:14
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Thats absolutely fantastic. Great linkage and I loved the threads between the common NPCs.
It would suggest to me that perhaps it would be good if Myriador included notes for raising/lowering the d20 module CRs (much as it is done in Dungeon) to allow for the free connection of the adventures into a campaign (or do they do this already? Still to get my copies...).
The campaign arcs set out above indicate that great Titan-based campaigns are possible whilst also sticking to the classic gamebook adventures but it won't be easy unless the modules are easily scalable.
Has anything been done in this regard, or are there any plans to include such scaling notes in the future?
Suggestions on campaign linkage would be very useful as well, of course. |
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jamie
United Kingdom
168 Posts
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Posted - 02 May 2003 : 18:46:16
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Rabel
Rabel wrote: It would suggest to me that perhaps it would be good if Myriador included notes for raising/lowering the d20 module CRs (much as it is done in Dungeon) to allow for the free connection of the adventures into a campaign (or do they do this already?
We do indeed . In Appendix 3 - Campaign Playthere is a section on raising or lowering the encounter CRs so that it will fit into your campaign.
Jamie Wallis
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Myriador LTD |
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Kishin
USA
2 Posts
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Posted - 24 Sep 2003 : 13:08:39
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I actually had a problem with this at first too, and since I only have the first 4 modules I chose to link it this way:
The adventurers are young, slightly seasoned adventurers already (3rd levels) who have heard of the Trial Of Champions. Since the First of May is a ways off (I set the campaign in Early Fall to start), the party chooses to try their luck at Firetop Mountain first to gain valuable experience, magic items and the gold neccessary to begin the Journey to Fang.
Upon completing the Warlock of Firetop Mountain, the party rests for a while and begin their trek towards Fang. Hiring on as part of Big Jim sun's Caravan they figure to cross the mountains and gain a little wealth and experience in the process only to run afoul of Caverns Of The Snow Witch.
Though temporarily setback in the Snow Witches plot, and the subsequent rush to be healed. The party rests up and sets out again, finally arriving at Fang to test themselves in the Deathtrap Dungeon. Beyond this it will depend upon what other modules Myriador has planned.
The only reason I chose not to incorporate Shamutanti Hills into the games is because Sorcery is a quest all it's own and needs all 4 parts to really be played well (besides Hills is pretty short).
So Jaimie you and the guys at Myriador keep putting out the books!
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jamie
United Kingdom
168 Posts
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Posted - 24 Sep 2003 : 15:38:28
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Will do
Jamie Wallis
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Myriador LTD |
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A Titan Campaign
