I have collected a bunch of stuff from pages 11-20 of the BW forum so that it doesn't get lost. If others would like to pile on with stuff I missed, or points from page 1-10 that would be great. Hopefully it will help DM's new to the Banewarrens avoid some of the blank stares and flat-out mistakes I made.
(recent updates in yellow)
Section 1: Alternatives to Ptolus
Section 2: Changes to factions to fit your campaign
Section 3: Errata (for lack of a better term)
Section 4: Collected Wisdom of the Boards, layed-out to roughly match events in the adventure itself
NOTE: All this being said, read Snow's Campaign Journal
Also also note: Printable Battlemats (courtesy of Eric of Ptolus)
Section 1: Alternatives to Ptolus (as used by various DM's)
Where to stage the adventure:
Basics: Large City (30,000+); preferably cosmopolitan (good mix of races); need one or more strong churches; best is for the city to be quite old, and to have other ancient uderground complexes underneath the city
If explaining the spire towering over a city is too difficult, have the spire instead go downwards into the earth.
Another option is to have the first sealed door be a portal to another plane/dimension - the earth was so opposed to the BW it actually shifted it out of its own reality.
Specific Cities Used
Ptolus itself
Forgotten Realms
- Alaghon, Turmish
- Baldur's Gate
- Ankhapur, Lake of Steam
- Darromar, Tethyr
- Lyrabar, Impiltur
- Saelmur, Lake of Steam
- Shade, Anauroch (the spire reaching up to prevent the Phaerimm from reaching it)
- Skuld, Mulhorand
- Unthalass, old capital of Unther
- Westgate
- Zassespur, Amn
Greyhawk
- Chathold, Almor
- Irongate
- Rauxes, the Great Kingdom
- Verbobonc
Dark Sun
- Balic
Planescape
- Harmonium-controlled prime world of Ortho, Ptolus being a city on that world
Scarred Lands
- Fangsfall
- Hollofaust
- Ontenazu
- The Bridged City
Spycraft
- Rio de Janeiro (with the statue taking the place of the spire)
Section 2: Changes to factions to fit your campaign
Replacing the standard NPC groups
Greyhawk
- Church: St. Cuthbert
Scarred Lands
- Inverted Pyramid: the Necromancers of Hollowfaust
- Pactlords: directed by the Society of Immortals
- Church: Hedrada
Spycraft
- Inverted Pyramid: occult based organization
- Church: Roman Catholic
Forgotten Realms
- Church: Tyr, Torm, Helm, Lathander (a Lawful faction), Horus-Re
- Inverted Pyramid: Netherese Shades; the Enclave (Unther); the Harpers
- Vladaams: Zhent aligned (North); affiliated with Shadow Thieves'(Amn); church of Tiamat trying to summon Tiamat;
Mythic Europe
- Church: Roman Catholic
- Inverted Pyramid: a hermatic order
- Pactlords: Sons of Belial (or the like)
Dark Sun
- Church: the Earth Temple
- Inverted Pyramid: Veiled Alliance
- Vladaams: corrupt Balican noble family
Section 3: Errata (for lack of a better term)
Broken Seal Area
Room 12 - Estimated EL: 6
Chapel of St. Thessina
Ephitas the Naga: add a note about a used scroll (alter self or polymorph) as Change Self won't do the job to make her look human
Section 4: Collected Wisdom of the Boards
The Conclusion: Be sure you know how the BW are finally sealed. Does someone need to stay inside to activate the generator, as the ultimate sacrifice? Can you activate the generator, then build a wall that will become sealed when complete? Can the holder of the hand teleport out, or just in, or both?
The City
Know all about where PC's can get supplies (pages 13-14) and add your own color. They PC's could easily be in the city for a number of weeks, so the player's could come up with all sorts of questions. Names & locations of taverns, inns, weaponsmiths, guilds, city guard specifics, etc. Even weather appropriate to the time of year just to add color to the situation and bring the city to life.
Note: the active, bustling, city plays a large role in the color and life of the plot; consider this before placing the BW in a remote area or in ruins as much of the dynamic will change
Normal Vault Doors
- if opened, treat them as normal BW doors unless resealed with the Sealing Rod
Bone Rings
Intent was to have them graft onto the finger as soon as they are put on, thus allowing the Pactlords a permanent divination focus; alternatively, only graft if put on in the Font of the Pact in the Quann; either way, a divination focus
If the finger is cut-off, it regrows over a week or so, ending with the ring bursting from a blister around the finger
Using Detect Magic on the Rings (suggestions): three auras
Faint Divination (as it's a focus)
Faint Necromancy (bind to the finger until death of the host)
Faint Enchanment (which keeps the pactlords from directly harming one another)
Inverted Pyramid
Consider your response if a PC wants to join the Inverted Pyramid; is it a secret society of wizards? A Prestige Class akin to Guild Wizard? What are the requirements?
Also: it's great color, but unless you really want to keep it a mystery, come up with a few details about Jevicca's glass arm - bound to be questions
How do I scale the adventure for higher/lower level PCs?
Higher Level: suggestion is to increase the number of bad guys, not always the level, as a more powerful creature can end up killing a PC very quickly due to additional abilties
For a truly evil time: incorporate items/idea from the Book of Vile Darkness for Banes
When to stage encounter "X"
- When it best fits the story, and will make the game fun; don't be stuck trying to jam a certain encounter in a certain place (i.e. GQT1 could be encountered in the Broken Seal Area, the tunnel, the manor, or if the PC's are hunting for them, in the city - go with what will make it fun
Timekeeping
- before you begin, read through the adventure and make rough notes on the timing of events; you don't need to stick to "this happens on Day 12" but it will help you react to situations like the PC's taking 10 days off to build magic items or do a side trek. When they return you can check-off what happened in their absence and alter events accordingly.
The Key
- if the PC's give it to the Inverted Pyramid, eventually Navanna's spies get it to her
- if the PC's give it to the Church, Heth will get it to the pactlords
General Tip: read each monster, especially pactlords, more than once; things like Spell Resistance and Regeneration can make a big difference - forgetting them until post-combat sucks
Alternative Pactlords: if the Pactlords need some additional "weirding-up", a few suggested creatures.
Banelar
Corrupted Hook Horror
Advanced Grell with Rogue levels (very, very deadly)
Orc Barbarian/Rogue with a reach weapon
Drider
Grimlock
Jermlaine Druid
Stone Giant
1/2 medusa bard rogue from SKR's OGL template
1/2 dragon sorceror
Hook Horror
Neogi (possibly the master of the Umber Hulk)
It Begins
Torus-Pol
- effects like sweating acid could be ruled not to affect the PCs equipment (preventing a lot of destroyed equipment)
The Manor House
- flesh out the information about the house, including drawing a map of the interior; set a cost to buy the house, who would be interested (the PC's, the Vladaam's, the city?); as people begin to figure out what's in the basement, it's quite possible it could be purchased by covering the back-taxes. This could result in the PC's owning it (and making it tough for NPC's to get in, resulting in a second tunnel or relying on Dimension Door/Teleport/Phase Spider) or the reverse, with the PC's having to get creative to get in and out.
Maps
- if using 3.5 monster spacing, consider resizing a few maps (example: while the girallons are quite deadly with 3.0 spacing, they do not have room to line up and attack with 3.5 spacing. Making the hallways wider/rooms bigger will help.
Umber Hulk
- DM's beware: encounter can turn from a walk (if all saves are made) to a possible TPK
(confused PC's running into the Ochre Jelly)
- Tip: come up with background for the dead person in the Umber Hulk's lair; could appear in the daily news (if using Ptolus-like newspapers), or be the topic of more local gossip; one suggestion - a tax collector who saw movement inside the manor and stopped by to make a collection...
Unsealed Area
Malignant Wraith
- there is no specific way to finally deal with the Wraith; if simply locking it up at the end is not enough, decide that it can permanently destroyed, how that happens, and how the PCs would find this information
Thought Stalker
- paralysis is permanent (though Remove Paralysis will release the victim)
- detect thoughts does not work across planes (so it can't read minds on the Material plane while on the Ethereal)
- remember that See Invisible/True Seeing can spot it while Ethereal; force effects can target it while ethereal
- if the party is a serious threat (does damage on the initial appearance) it will just go ethereal and regenerate; if the party is too strong, it can go up to the city and begin hunting easier prey, gaining HD over time
Kalerecent vs. the Lamia
- often the party will turn back if the Umber Hulk encounter goes poorly; this could mean additional healing for the Lamia;
- if neither has a light source, they could be staying put because they don't want to risk stumbling around in the dark; alternatively the Lamia might try finding an exit - this could be used for "time passes" events (Kal heard the sound, lit a torch, combat ensued; Lamia found the tunnel - and either escaped, is in the Umber Hulk area, but there are fresh tracks exiting
- Kalerecent could also stay to guard the door regardless, feeling duty-bound to prevent anyone else from entering
- Kal will also be protective of his dead companion the monk;
Grail Quest Team One
- suggestions for how they are getting into/out of the manor if your location isn't as multicultural as Ptolus - using the sewers, lamia's Illusion ability, phase spider (more likely for GQT2)
- if the party has non-humanoid members, the pactlords might even try to recruit them (if this kind of Machiavellian plot twist would fit your game)
Navanna
- as written she won't be very good at finding/disabling traps or opening locks; if she is dedicated, she could follow the PC's or the Pactlords invisibly (maybe add a ring to her equipment); she could also hire a rogue, or maybe one of her werewolf pals has rogue levels; she could also use her 'wolves as "trap detectors" but never walking in front
Grail Quest Team Two
- same trap/lock problems as Navanna; early on they are likely underequipped, simply taking damage by setting off traps; if they have time, they could enlist a goblin rogue, or Yuinthu could mind-control a rogue from the city above (another missing person?)
- if the EL is too high for you PC's, one idea is to ease the EL by having GQT2 already fighting (maybe the Flesh Golem) and for the PC's to be drawn to the sound of battle;
then the GQT2 members could be down HP's, spells, etc. and be distracted when the PC's wade in
- Wiver's key should actually be Ostarach's key (for his chest in the black manor)
Outer Vaults
- area 3 trap suggestions
- Listen DC 19 to hear a yelling PC trapped in the chute
- reset after 30 days
- Be careful with the Air Elementals in area 42 (link)
Kidnapping
- if the ransom demand seems a bit too obvious, an option would be a demand of written information about the Banewarrens instead of money
- Make sure you understand the capabilities of Li the Phasm. If it has it's way, the entire party could go down.
Chapel of St. Thessina
- Ephitas - change 2nd-level spells to include Alter Self, or give a wand of Polymorph with a handful of charges
Inner Vaults
- Area 26 - if using 3.5, 'Harm' is much deadlier - it will kill virtually any PC even if they make the save; consider using 3.0 Harm (leaving 1d4 hp's) or another spell in it's place to keep the auto-reset trap from wiping people out
- Area 42 - Suggestion - make a drawing of the wall plates (a random set of 5 row / 6 columns, with only one silver plate in each row) - trying to describe it without a visual aid can be difficult
Non-core items
- Bottled Whirlwind - single use item based on the Whirlwind spell from PHB
- Black Grail - a cup which, if drank from, gives you a choice of ability bonuses, but also makes you a thrall of whomever made you drink from it
(recent updates in yellow)
Section 1: Alternatives to Ptolus
Section 2: Changes to factions to fit your campaign
Section 3: Errata (for lack of a better term)
Section 4: Collected Wisdom of the Boards, layed-out to roughly match events in the adventure itself
NOTE: All this being said, read Snow's Campaign Journal
Also also note: Printable Battlemats (courtesy of Eric of Ptolus)
Section 1: Alternatives to Ptolus (as used by various DM's)
Where to stage the adventure:
Basics: Large City (30,000+); preferably cosmopolitan (good mix of races); need one or more strong churches; best is for the city to be quite old, and to have other ancient uderground complexes underneath the city
If explaining the spire towering over a city is too difficult, have the spire instead go downwards into the earth.
Another option is to have the first sealed door be a portal to another plane/dimension - the earth was so opposed to the BW it actually shifted it out of its own reality.
Specific Cities Used
Ptolus itself
Forgotten Realms
- Alaghon, Turmish
- Baldur's Gate
- Ankhapur, Lake of Steam
- Darromar, Tethyr
- Lyrabar, Impiltur
- Saelmur, Lake of Steam
- Shade, Anauroch (the spire reaching up to prevent the Phaerimm from reaching it)
- Skuld, Mulhorand
- Unthalass, old capital of Unther
- Westgate
- Zassespur, Amn
Greyhawk
- Chathold, Almor
- Irongate
- Rauxes, the Great Kingdom
- Verbobonc
Dark Sun
- Balic
Planescape
- Harmonium-controlled prime world of Ortho, Ptolus being a city on that world
Scarred Lands
- Fangsfall
- Hollofaust
- Ontenazu
- The Bridged City
Spycraft
- Rio de Janeiro (with the statue taking the place of the spire)
Section 2: Changes to factions to fit your campaign
Replacing the standard NPC groups
Greyhawk
- Church: St. Cuthbert
Scarred Lands
- Inverted Pyramid: the Necromancers of Hollowfaust
- Pactlords: directed by the Society of Immortals
- Church: Hedrada
Spycraft
- Inverted Pyramid: occult based organization
- Church: Roman Catholic
Forgotten Realms
- Church: Tyr, Torm, Helm, Lathander (a Lawful faction), Horus-Re
- Inverted Pyramid: Netherese Shades; the Enclave (Unther); the Harpers
- Vladaams: Zhent aligned (North); affiliated with Shadow Thieves'(Amn); church of Tiamat trying to summon Tiamat;
Mythic Europe
- Church: Roman Catholic
- Inverted Pyramid: a hermatic order
- Pactlords: Sons of Belial (or the like)
Dark Sun
- Church: the Earth Temple
- Inverted Pyramid: Veiled Alliance
- Vladaams: corrupt Balican noble family
Section 3: Errata (for lack of a better term)
Broken Seal Area
Room 12 - Estimated EL: 6
Chapel of St. Thessina
Ephitas the Naga: add a note about a used scroll (alter self or polymorph) as Change Self won't do the job to make her look human
Section 4: Collected Wisdom of the Boards
The Conclusion: Be sure you know how the BW are finally sealed. Does someone need to stay inside to activate the generator, as the ultimate sacrifice? Can you activate the generator, then build a wall that will become sealed when complete? Can the holder of the hand teleport out, or just in, or both?
The City
Know all about where PC's can get supplies (pages 13-14) and add your own color. They PC's could easily be in the city for a number of weeks, so the player's could come up with all sorts of questions. Names & locations of taverns, inns, weaponsmiths, guilds, city guard specifics, etc. Even weather appropriate to the time of year just to add color to the situation and bring the city to life.
Note: the active, bustling, city plays a large role in the color and life of the plot; consider this before placing the BW in a remote area or in ruins as much of the dynamic will change
Normal Vault Doors
- if opened, treat them as normal BW doors unless resealed with the Sealing Rod
Bone Rings
Intent was to have them graft onto the finger as soon as they are put on, thus allowing the Pactlords a permanent divination focus; alternatively, only graft if put on in the Font of the Pact in the Quann; either way, a divination focus
If the finger is cut-off, it regrows over a week or so, ending with the ring bursting from a blister around the finger
Using Detect Magic on the Rings (suggestions): three auras
Faint Divination (as it's a focus)
Faint Necromancy (bind to the finger until death of the host)
Faint Enchanment (which keeps the pactlords from directly harming one another)
Inverted Pyramid
Consider your response if a PC wants to join the Inverted Pyramid; is it a secret society of wizards? A Prestige Class akin to Guild Wizard? What are the requirements?
Also: it's great color, but unless you really want to keep it a mystery, come up with a few details about Jevicca's glass arm - bound to be questions
How do I scale the adventure for higher/lower level PCs?
Higher Level: suggestion is to increase the number of bad guys, not always the level, as a more powerful creature can end up killing a PC very quickly due to additional abilties
For a truly evil time: incorporate items/idea from the Book of Vile Darkness for Banes
When to stage encounter "X"
- When it best fits the story, and will make the game fun; don't be stuck trying to jam a certain encounter in a certain place (i.e. GQT1 could be encountered in the Broken Seal Area, the tunnel, the manor, or if the PC's are hunting for them, in the city - go with what will make it fun
Timekeeping
- before you begin, read through the adventure and make rough notes on the timing of events; you don't need to stick to "this happens on Day 12" but it will help you react to situations like the PC's taking 10 days off to build magic items or do a side trek. When they return you can check-off what happened in their absence and alter events accordingly.
The Key
- if the PC's give it to the Inverted Pyramid, eventually Navanna's spies get it to her
- if the PC's give it to the Church, Heth will get it to the pactlords
General Tip: read each monster, especially pactlords, more than once; things like Spell Resistance and Regeneration can make a big difference - forgetting them until post-combat sucks
Alternative Pactlords: if the Pactlords need some additional "weirding-up", a few suggested creatures.
Banelar
Corrupted Hook Horror
Advanced Grell with Rogue levels (very, very deadly)
Orc Barbarian/Rogue with a reach weapon
Drider
Grimlock
Jermlaine Druid
Stone Giant
1/2 medusa bard rogue from SKR's OGL template
1/2 dragon sorceror
Hook Horror
Neogi (possibly the master of the Umber Hulk)
It Begins
Torus-Pol
- effects like sweating acid could be ruled not to affect the PCs equipment (preventing a lot of destroyed equipment)
The Manor House
- flesh out the information about the house, including drawing a map of the interior; set a cost to buy the house, who would be interested (the PC's, the Vladaam's, the city?); as people begin to figure out what's in the basement, it's quite possible it could be purchased by covering the back-taxes. This could result in the PC's owning it (and making it tough for NPC's to get in, resulting in a second tunnel or relying on Dimension Door/Teleport/Phase Spider) or the reverse, with the PC's having to get creative to get in and out.
Maps
- if using 3.5 monster spacing, consider resizing a few maps (example: while the girallons are quite deadly with 3.0 spacing, they do not have room to line up and attack with 3.5 spacing. Making the hallways wider/rooms bigger will help.
Umber Hulk
- DM's beware: encounter can turn from a walk (if all saves are made) to a possible TPK
(confused PC's running into the Ochre Jelly)
- Tip: come up with background for the dead person in the Umber Hulk's lair; could appear in the daily news (if using Ptolus-like newspapers), or be the topic of more local gossip; one suggestion - a tax collector who saw movement inside the manor and stopped by to make a collection...
Unsealed Area
Malignant Wraith
- there is no specific way to finally deal with the Wraith; if simply locking it up at the end is not enough, decide that it can permanently destroyed, how that happens, and how the PCs would find this information
Thought Stalker
- paralysis is permanent (though Remove Paralysis will release the victim)
- detect thoughts does not work across planes (so it can't read minds on the Material plane while on the Ethereal)
- remember that See Invisible/True Seeing can spot it while Ethereal; force effects can target it while ethereal
- if the party is a serious threat (does damage on the initial appearance) it will just go ethereal and regenerate; if the party is too strong, it can go up to the city and begin hunting easier prey, gaining HD over time
Kalerecent vs. the Lamia
- often the party will turn back if the Umber Hulk encounter goes poorly; this could mean additional healing for the Lamia;
- if neither has a light source, they could be staying put because they don't want to risk stumbling around in the dark; alternatively the Lamia might try finding an exit - this could be used for "time passes" events (Kal heard the sound, lit a torch, combat ensued; Lamia found the tunnel - and either escaped, is in the Umber Hulk area, but there are fresh tracks exiting
- Kalerecent could also stay to guard the door regardless, feeling duty-bound to prevent anyone else from entering
- Kal will also be protective of his dead companion the monk;
Grail Quest Team One
- suggestions for how they are getting into/out of the manor if your location isn't as multicultural as Ptolus - using the sewers, lamia's Illusion ability, phase spider (more likely for GQT2)
- if the party has non-humanoid members, the pactlords might even try to recruit them (if this kind of Machiavellian plot twist would fit your game)
Navanna
- as written she won't be very good at finding/disabling traps or opening locks; if she is dedicated, she could follow the PC's or the Pactlords invisibly (maybe add a ring to her equipment); she could also hire a rogue, or maybe one of her werewolf pals has rogue levels; she could also use her 'wolves as "trap detectors" but never walking in front
Grail Quest Team Two
- same trap/lock problems as Navanna; early on they are likely underequipped, simply taking damage by setting off traps; if they have time, they could enlist a goblin rogue, or Yuinthu could mind-control a rogue from the city above (another missing person?)
- if the EL is too high for you PC's, one idea is to ease the EL by having GQT2 already fighting (maybe the Flesh Golem) and for the PC's to be drawn to the sound of battle;
then the GQT2 members could be down HP's, spells, etc. and be distracted when the PC's wade in
- Wiver's key should actually be Ostarach's key (for his chest in the black manor)
Outer Vaults
- area 3 trap suggestions
- Listen DC 19 to hear a yelling PC trapped in the chute
- reset after 30 days
- Be careful with the Air Elementals in area 42 (link)
Kidnapping
- if the ransom demand seems a bit too obvious, an option would be a demand of written information about the Banewarrens instead of money
- Make sure you understand the capabilities of Li the Phasm. If it has it's way, the entire party could go down.
Chapel of St. Thessina
- Ephitas - change 2nd-level spells to include Alter Self, or give a wand of Polymorph with a handful of charges
Inner Vaults
- Area 26 - if using 3.5, 'Harm' is much deadlier - it will kill virtually any PC even if they make the save; consider using 3.0 Harm (leaving 1d4 hp's) or another spell in it's place to keep the auto-reset trap from wiping people out
- Area 42 - Suggestion - make a drawing of the wall plates (a random set of 5 row / 6 columns, with only one silver plate in each row) - trying to describe it without a visual aid can be difficult
Non-core items
- Bottled Whirlwind - single use item based on the Whirlwind spell from PHB
- Black Grail - a cup which, if drank from, gives you a choice of ability bonuses, but also makes you a thrall of whomever made you drink from it
