Running the Rainbow Mounds

[Stephen L]

I am planning to be running Rainbow Mounds fairly shortly.

It’s quite nostalgic, because I ran the original, not long after its release, not quite (but almost) the first scenario I ever ran as a referee, and have never returned to it since.

I very much like the update to it in the Starter Set.

I’ve never quite understood how the entrance worked. From the description “Giant’s Table is a double ‘T’ formation, the cave mouth lying between the upright legs”. Which made me imagine that the entrance went down.

But clearly the entranceway is into the cliff face, running horizontally.

I suppose that might mean the table was against the cliff. I don’t know why, but I’d find it slightly disappointing if the table were not free standing, so I was thinking of having the table at the top of the cliff, and the cave entrance at the base of the cliff.  Perhaps the cave is actually at the bottom of a narrow, but deep chasm, which runs between the legs of the table, which might be impressive.

My campaign, being in Balazar, needs one or two tweaks to the hook, but not so very much.

Spoiler

Even though I last run it so *very* long ago, I still remember it being a bit of a D&D style dungeon clear out, people charging in with swords blazing, killing everything and picking the place clean.

So, I was thinking that perhaps Rastolf remembers a bit more, which might help the players stop and think this time.

If he tells tales of unending sleeplessness kept in terror by the sounds of distant roars and cries and battle, and other strange sounds forever echoing around the caverns, and how his captors trod carefully, wary of ancient denizens that dwelt deep in the earth, perhaps that might make the players think a bit more about what else might be there. Maybe he might even remember a poor unfortunate trollkin being thrown into an underground river as a sacrifice to appease something terrible, and hearing its screams as it was dragged underwater.

Lastly, I have excellent fortune of having a duck in the party.  I’m not sure how it would work out if they tried to swim through the underground streams. Badly, if they bumped into Cha’resk. But the adventure is written on the assumption that an adventurer swimming them isn’t a viable option. However, I suspect it would still be madness, since they’d have to take off armour, have no light source, and the only usable weapon being their shortsword. Hmm, I wonder what the newtlings do for light when they’re swimming the streams. Maybe I’ll add a stash of glowstones.

 

Edited February 17 by Stephen L
that grammar thing

[Geoff R Evil]

In my Praxian campaign, I placed the caves near a river in Paris County, so in effect the caves resided over an underwater spring.

Spoiler

For me I made the caves reside within a large hill with the entrance in the base. This seemed to work for the dragon newt plinth overhead. It’s not critical as there only one entrance. Until the end that is, when or if the players take the rainbow rod. So you need to figure out what collapses and what’s left afterwards. Because, as in my game, some valuable stuff got left behind in the rush to escape.

 

[dvdmacateer]

3 hours ago, Stephen L said:

I am planning to be running Rainbow Mounds fairly shortly.

It’s quite nostalgic, because I ran the original, not long after its release, not quite (but almost) the first scenario I ever ran as a referee, and have never returned to it since.

I very much like the update to it in the Starter Set.

I’ve never quite understood how the entrance worked. From the description “Giant’s Table is a double ‘T’ formation, the cave mouth lying between the upright legs”. Which made me imagine that the entrance went down.

But clearly the entranceway is into the cliff face, running horizontally.

I suppose that might mean the table was against the cliff. I don’t know why, but I’d find it slightly disappointing if the table were not free standing, so I was thinking of having the table at the top of the cliff, and the cave entrance at the base of the cliff.  Perhaps the cave is actually at the bottom of a narrow, but deep chasm, which runs between the legs of the table, which might be impressive.

My campaign, being in Balazar, needs one or two tweaks to the hook, but not so very much.

  Hide contents

Even though I last run it so *very* long ago, I still remember it being a bit of a D&D style dungeon clear out, people charging in with swords blazing, killing everything and picking the place clean.

So, I was thinking that perhaps Rastolf remembers a bit more, which might help the players stop and think this time.

If he tells tales of unending sleeplessness kept in terror by the sounds of distant roars and cries and battle, and other strange sounds forever echoing around the caverns, and how his captors trod carefully, wary of ancient denizens that dwelt deep in the earth, perhaps that might make the players think a bit more about what else might be there. Maybe he might even remember a poor unfortunate trollkin being thrown into an underground river as a sacrifice to appease something terrible, and hearing its screams as it was dragged underwater.

Lastly, I have excellent fortune of having a duck in the party.  I’m not sure how it would work out if they tried to swim through the underground streams. Badly, if they bumped into Cha’resk. But the adventure is written on the assumption that an adventurer swimming them isn’t a viable option. However, I suspect it would still be madness, since they’d have to take off armour, have no light source, and the only usable weapon being their shortsword. Hmm, I wonder what the newtlings do for light when they’re swimming the streams. Maybe I’ll add a stash of glowstones.