RED HAND OF DOOM | ACT 4 - PART 1 | D&D Retrospective
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ม.ค. 2025
- We continue the D&D Retrospective and our deep dive into RED HAND OF DOOM, approaching it from the perspective of running the campaign.
The Red Hand has recruited a potent undead ally to its cause. The Ghostlord is something of a local boogeyman, the central menace of a large number of bedtime stories and campfire tales. Most children outgrow these stories when they become adults, and the human populace of Elsir Vale regard the Ghostlord as little more than a mythological bump in the night.
Unfortunately for the vale, the Ghostlord is quite real…
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My party made a deal with the lich. If the ghostlord helps them with the defence of Brindol they will give him his phylactery back.
During the battle the horde was attacked in the rear by undead while the ghostlord flew into battle on his ghostlions. Here and there giant briars sprung up from the ground, spearing hobgoblins.
@@TenguBE that is so cool that the Ghostlord played a part in the battle. Certainly a formidable ally but flying atop a pride of Ghost Lions?! Terror!
@@TenguBE I had a party with a similar outcome. It was like the ghost horde from Lord of the rings. It was a very beautiful moment for them
Iv ran this campaign about 5 times. 3 times in 3.5 and twice now in 5e. Each time is completely different either from the pcs doing great or very poorly. Or i just remove stuff or get to use encounters i missed out on before. Rach time i feel i get better at making the warmlords have more of a personality and stand out to the pcs so the they will remember the boss fights. I will forever run this game. Can not wait for chapter 5
@@weavaathyrangaa6388 wow that’s incredible you’ve run this so often and gained so many different outcomes. What better can you ask from this material? As a veteran of this module what would you say is most important to focus on for someone running it for the first time and how did it suit your style of GM’ing?
@@PerformanceCheck this is a lot so I'm sorry I just rambled on 😂.first as the DM I would decide on the event time table if you want this to be a very close call campaign by taking a few days off. Or let the players have some breathing room by adding a couple days if they get distracted and the timeline only getting close if they definitely mess up. How dramatic do you want the ticking time bomb to be is the first thing. you can also just follow the timeline exactly as the book says. it makes it kinda a close call with the bonus days added for slowing down the horde if the party keeps moving along. if not they might have the bad ending 😂. I would also say keep a lot of the encounters flexible and plug them in where you want. After reading the book move encounters around on the timeline if you feel it fits the scene better in another location. Keep the major event encounters where they are but Like the "not so slick spy" encounter for example. I usually run that in Drellins ferry if they are shopping a little too much or just trying to get more from the town than they can give or just gaining info in the first few days and they find everything out but still insist on asking the town for questions and help because the players believe there's more or believe you the DM are holding back info. You're supposed to run an encounter where a goblin band attacks the town every night if they stay for too long to push them to investigate the keep. You could do that first then do the spy the next day or that night to show they already have eyes behind enemy lines and should get moving... If not then you can toss it in at any town they stop at after drellins ferry is over run like usual. I even add in a note saying to kill the town leaders like captain soranna and speaker Wiston to cause panic in town even more. Or as the original note says to kill the party if they have finished the first 2 wyrmlords off and Azarr Kul now knows they are becoming a problem. Also keep the days hidden till they find the map. I used to start the game saying it is day 1. But now I just keep a note of the days till they find the goblins map at the keep and then the party can do the math themselves to see how long they have till the horde starts crossing the bridge. Just never really tell them directly as the DM till they get the idea. Just makes it more impactful for them to realize they have a time limit themselves. Sometimes players get suspicious and wonder why the DM is counting days and kinda figure out they should keep things moving kinda spoiling it. And be very brutal with the dragons and wyrmlords. Do not hold back or fudge rolls with the boss fights. Use all the potions,scrolls and magic items and just make these wyrmlords and dragons very smart and strategic. Feeding into the personalities they each have heavily. And I would say the book isn't organized that well like 5e is. with the original book the monster stat blocks are in the back of the book instead of on the page you read the encounter on like 5e books do mostly. Just a little inconvenience so prepping and being organized is a must. Because without it you will be flipping back and forth a lot and that can slow things down. So with the style of DMing. This is a heavy combat campaign in my opinion. And a good amount of Roll play having to do with good alliances and interacting with the leaders of the horde who each have very different ways of handling things and quirks in personality. So i feel this can go for all kinds of groups who lean heavier on either side of play styles. If yall like RP heavy games then only do the major battles really bringing out the wyrmlords and dragons personalities by bantering and talking trash to the party. If your group is a band of hired crusaders and just need to cleanse the world of the goblin filth and slay dragons then use every fight you can. I appreciate your time thank you 💪
@@weavaathyrangaa6388 don’t be sorry, I asked and thank you for the extensive thought and reply! It’s struck me that if you’re playing this module, you want the terror of the ticking clock. I think players that want the very real risk of failure will relish in the module. It means the stakes are real! It’s so expansive the material really does cater to any outcome which rewards players with consequences, good and ill for their actions. I’m quite with you on not fudging playing to the strengths of the villains. I feel like you should play this module for the challenge of it! Really appreciate your thoughts. The next part will be live soon.
The puns are much appreciated, sir.
And the picture of Tiamat singing babershop is altogether too hilarious.
@@danielspear what is it they say? A good pun is its own reword…
Thanks for watching!
I love these videos. I am currently running this campaign. You are ahead of my PCs, and this is a great resource for me as a DM. Keep 'em up! :)
Really glad you're enjoying these, i'm really jealous of all the folks playing and running this module! Thanks for stopping by, appreciate the feedback! :)
I shall be watching this soon so i can get a session or 5 ahead of my players lol
Do let us know how it goes, facinated to hear how a real party fares!
I think keeping it to the act structure is a good idea, and to add "Act number" and "Part of act number" in the title would work fine
Rediyum your genius is unmatched, that's a great idea! Thank you!
@@PerformanceCheck I occasionally have my moments
This has been so helpful. Wish there was more.
Red Hand of Doom has proven to be a challenge to update for 5e. So printing 2 monsters per page gave me the ability to see them as I needed them. My notebook has all the flippy stuff, the book is what I prep from. Gives me a clean shot during combat. Used the Chatbot to streamline the monsters. I have a table of 10 to 12, so they are challenged, but it's not fatal. Looking forward to any more of these videos, but I will be way ahead soon.
Really appreciate your feedback and love that you've been playing/prepping while watching. Not long until the next one!
@@PerformanceCheck Would like to encourage you to keep the videos coming. I started in AD&D in college and didn't play at all until picking up 5e in 2020. Converting modules I've never played, especially 3.5!, isn't easy. Getting a walk-through with commentary is so encouraging. Thank you!
I think act structure is fitting, but if there’s any section that seems like it deserves it’s own video outside of the act structure, go for it. As always much appreciation for covering this book
That’s a great idea, there is so much of this work that deserves it’s own video!
So glad your back to Red Hand of Doom!
Glad to be back too man and not long to wait for the next one! Appreciate you watching! ⚔️
Looking forward to the next part of this series!
@@FuddG18 Really great you’ve been enjoying the series, thanks for watching!
Any thoughts on appropriate player character levels for this section (party of 4 or 5)?
Great question. The whole module is designed for level 6-12. The encounter level ranges 7 - 11, the Ghostlord being the highest. Level 8 is probably the sweet spot if you have 4 players i'd say. But as always, take that with a pinch of salt. This only accounts for the numbers on the page, not for the tactical and intellectual advantage the module gives the enemies. Extreme caution is advised to players at every turn!
You know a mile high hair is hot 😂
a Mane of hair is fitting for this chapter! 😆🦁
You kind of look like a budget John McAfee
I had to look the guy up. Judging by his networth i'm content with the budget version. Strange he's the first to leap to your mind, almost oddly specific. Thanks for dropping by.