For DMs: Iron Fortress Module in Forgotten Realms? How?

[Kershek]

I am currently running my players through the Adventure Path series set in Faerun. In reading the Lord of the Iron Fortress, there are many specific references the the Manual of the Planes, which is set in the Greyhawk universe.

Has anyone converted LotIF for use in Faerunian Cosmology? If so, how?

 

[darkbard]

from what i remember of LotIF, the references to MotP are for additional material regarding the planes themselves. the MotP is not set in greyhwawk. rather, the great wheel cosmology used for greyhawk is fleshed out by MotP. the cosmology for toril (faerun) is actually not all that different from the great wheel and i recall no difference between the two cosmologies that would make it difficult to run this module in faerun.

is my memory just faulty? can you give examples of how the cosmology of toril makes it difficult to run the adventure?

 

[Metus]

Kershek, would you mind telling me where you set the previous adventures from the WotC line? I ask because I just started running them, and I put Sunless Citadel near Unther. I know that there probably is a better place, but that's all I came up with. Where'd you put yours?

 

[Kershek]

The module mentions specific planes and locations: The Infernal Battlefield of Acheron, the Concordant Domain of the Outlands, Rigus, Avalas, and Mechanus. These areas aren't listed in the short explanation of Faerunian Cosmology in the FRCS. Where would you place them? How would they interact with the rest of the Faerun planes? Or would you rename them to specific Faerun planes? If so, which?

Planes are also the homes of dieties. Should I try to line up similar dieties from the D&D pantheon with the FR pantheon to determine which FR planes will host this adventure?

Personally, I have never played in games that have dealt with the planes, so this is all new to me.

 

[Kershek]

Kershek, would you mind telling me where you set the previous adventures from the WotC line? I ask because I just started running them, and I put Sunless Citadel near Unther. I know that there probably is a better place, but that's all I came up with. Where'd you put yours?

If there is anyone in my game reading this, do not continue unless you want the fun ruined for you over the next several months.

Ok, here is the overall vision of my Adventure Path series in Faerun.

I set the Sunless Citadel in Amn. Look for the dashed line between Brost and the road to Esmeltaran. I set the town of Oakhurst halfway up that line. There's lots of open area there to the east that I named scorched by Ashardalon. To the west are foothills to mountains which I felt were depicted by the picture in Sunless Citadel on page 5.

For Forge of Fury, I set Blasingdell on the east side of the southern tributary of Lake Esmel near the small patch of mountains. The Stone Tooth mountain is in that patch.

For Speaker in Dreams, I set Brindinford a few hours south of the intersection with the Trade Way and Tethir Road (in between Murann and Brost). I gave them a book about the Cult of Ashardalon (found in the Reality Wrinkle) that talks about Gulthias and hints at the death of the great wyrm, pulled from later modules. I wanted to give them an information plant earlier in the campaign.

For the Standing Stone, which my players have yet to start, I plan on setting it in or near the Wealdath forest (a good tie into the wild elves). If they go south, I can set it along the Trade Way to the west, which is my preferred setting since it's a bit away from the Wealdath which makes a human settlement a little more plausible. If they go back towards Esmeltaran (which they have decided has a home base), I will probably set it south of Tethir road and the Small Teeth mountains where it touches the Wealdath.

The location of the Heart of Nightfang Spire is open at this point. I'm using the areas of Amn and Tethyr as the original playground of Ashardalon

Deep Horizon may be set underneath Durgeddin's forge. I hinted at underdark passages (for the Duergar) but they couldn't find them. I also mentioned mountain rumblings as per small earthquakes (the small shifts before a big earthquake) as they left the area. At a strategic point I'll have the earthquake happen and they will find out about it and investigate. This is convenient for my game since there is a Dwarven Cleric in the party that has made friends with the ancestors of Durgeddin that have now reclaimed the forge and Durgeddin's body thanks to the party's efforts in Forge of Fury. He has stated that he wants to check back with them to see how they're doing.

At some point during Deep Horizon when they meet with the Durgeddin ancestors, they will find out that the ancestors found a cleric to cast True Ressurrection on Durgeddin, but the spell failed (perhaps the party can be present for this). This is a perfect lead-in to Lords of the Iron Fortress (and is even listed as a hook in the module).

Bastion of Broken Souls is rather site-independent and won't be difficult to fit in anywhere.

There are lots of side quests intermixed in the game. I'm finding it difficult keeping their experience levels on par with the module suggestions, but I've read that the WotC modules are rather bloody and require higher levels than suggested anyway.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kershek]

Just as an aside, I started this game over a year ago in Faerun (right when the FRCS came out) but using greyhawk dieties. The reason for this is the fact that my players weren't really knowledgable with the FR but I've played in it and like it as a setting. I thought it would be fine just to use the geography and keep everything else Greyhawk.

Well, this is now becoming a problem. Everyone's at 7th level and now owns the FRCS and enjoys the history. The player with the elf Wizard really wants Mystra as his deity so he can try out for the Chosen of Mystra down the line. Currently, he has Boccob. One would think this would be an easy "ok, all the dieties have now switched to FR" situation.

However, the Half-Orc Barbarian and Dwarven Cleric, who both worship Kord, have had a lot of cool role-playing interaction with bembers of the Kord faith and I even RPed an elaborate death scene with the Dwarf when he died and met his maker before he was raised. Plus, Kord has met him in a dream once since then and the Dwarf is aiming at the Contemplative PrC now that his death has changed his outlook on life. It would be a shame to say "ok, change dieties" on those two.

Another item against me is the fact that the Adventure Path series is keyed to the Greyhawk dieties and I'd have to convert them. Though after looking into this in all the modules I believe the conversion could be simple diety name changes without having to worry about domain conversion problems.

So what do I do? That's my current dilemma. I can't just say that both GH and FR dieties are present. It doesn't make sense for both Boccob and Mystra to be in the same realm. I'm thinking of just including Kord in with the FR dieties. But there are stories involving his arch-enemy Hextor in the Adventure Path and I don't want to lose that. Do I bring both Hextor and Kord? That would mean I'd also need Heironious, Hextor's half-brother (which was just used in my last session during Speaker in Dreams). That also isn't a very neat solution.

Changing the dieties to FR is what prompted my original question in this thread. If anyone has any ideas on my above dilemma, I would love to hear them.

 

[AvarielAvenger]

First, just throw out the FR "cosmology". In 2E, it was also part of the Great Wheel, and you can make it part of it again in 3E. In fact, most DMs who run Planar Adventures within the context of FR use the Manual Of The Planes. So just use that and don't worry about it.

Second, I say throw out the wussy Greyhawk deities and switch completely to FR Deities.

But, since you want to keep them, go ahead. Just write in a backhistory explaining how they became part of the Forgotten Realms. You can even keep them seperate from Greyhawk if you want, and say they were always there, and come up with histories for their church and what they did during the Time Of Troubles, etc.

And then you can bring in all the interesting, fun deities from the Realms, like Beshaba, and no one feels cheated.

 

[Derulbaskul]

(snip)
However, the Half-Orc Barbarian and Dwarven Cleric, who both worship Kord, have had a lot of cool role-playing interaction with bembers of the Kord faith and I even RPed an elaborate death scene with the Dwarf when he died and met his maker before he was raised. Plus, Kord has met him in a dream once since then and the Dwarf is aiming at the Contemplative PrC now that his death has changed his outlook on life. It would be a shame to say "ok, change dieties" on those two.
(snip)
So what do I do? That's my current dilemma. I can't just say that both GH and FR dieties are present. It doesn't make sense for both Boccob and Mystra to be in the same realm. I'm thinking of just including Kord in with the FR dieties. But there are stories involving his arch-enemy Hextor in the Adventure Path and I don't want to lose that. Do I bring both Hextor and Kord? That would mean I'd also need Heironious, Hextor's half-brother (which was just used in my last session during Speaker in Dreams). That also isn't a very neat solution.
(snip)

A few half-formed thoughts.

Firstly, deities in FR are notorious for having alternate names or for being reborn: Talos/Bhaelros, Mystra/Mystryl, Chauntea/Jannath, Bane/Iyachtu Xvim/Bane, Targus/Tempus or Garagos, Tyche/Tymora/Beshaba etc..., so just make Kord an earlier name (or slightly variant aspect) of, for example, Uthgar, Tempus or Valkur (or even Garagos although, personally, I think he's more CE than CN). Actually, Uthgar is an ideal solution because he already has a plethora of different cults: what's another cult using the name Kord with an emphasis on strength, for example?

Bane and Torm share a similar level of mutual loathing as Hextor and Heironeous (Torm slew Bane in the Time of Troubles) so that rivalry can remain... under different names.

As for the original, "how to use Lord of the Iron Fortress?", I would change everything to the Nine Hells of Baator rather than Acheron. Throw in some references to Gargauth and possibly Kossuth and away you go. Alternatively, make it a quasi-elemental plane of heat and metal located somewhere between the elemental planes of earth and fire.

Cheers
NPP