Fix this Dish - Post Review Thoughts on UK6 (Part 2)

 This is the second of a group of posts triggered by my writing an extensive DriveThruRPG review of UK6. The first post dealing with fixes and additions to the maps can be found here.

Improving the Monsters and NPCs

There were several potential issues with the monsters used in UK6 in my opinion, as outlined in my review on DriveThruRPG using Bryce Lynch's (tenfootpole.org) "good adventure design" principles:

• The monsters have no sense of purpose, inherent action or clear timetable
• There is no "order of battle" for the humanoids once the alarm is sounded
• Limited or no factions throughout the module
• No foreshadowing of the major antagonist

The last suggestion is somewhat irrelevant (or rather the antagonist remaining secret is integral to the plot) but an additional element, random encounter tables, is present in both the wilderness sections but absent from the dungeon sections of the module. Unfortunately, even the wilderness section encounter tables are fairly bland and basic, so upon reflection, they probably count more as a "NO" than a "YES". I'll be reworking or adding these in various posts along the way.

Note: I've just stumbled across a more recent 2016 distillation of Bryce's principles into a 30 point post by Jon Miller (of the now defunct "Into the Dark" blog), that outlines some aspects with greater clarity than Bryce himself as seen in the image below. It's based on Jon's distillation of two of Bryce's lengthy and deeply critical reviews for The Hoard of the Dragon and The Rise of Tiamat. UK6 would seem to score badly on these 8 points, so I'll try and address my original concerns and incorporate in further suggestions and fixes according to Jon's distilled list...

Excerpt from Jon Miller's Summary and Distillation (Mark 2)
of Bryce Lynch's Adventure Design Tips 

Suggested Fixes

Step 1 - Give the Monsters a Sense of Purpose. 

Step 2 - Create an Order of Battle for the Humanoids.

Both of these can be dealt with in the relevant specific sections as addendums, leaving the more general issue of the lack of coherency and factions to be dealt with...

Step 3 - Add Factions! 

Lots of them and detailed. They're really the key behind the principles for monsters in adventures that Bryce espouses in his reviews and Jon distils in the above excerpt from his longer post.

To create workable factions that create dynamic strategic interactions, in turn, requires interesting, believable motivations for monsters and NPCs and this leads to the various schedules, routines, tactics, and orders of battle. Likewise, with workable factions, a choice of party actions opens up and the evocative descriptions and non-standard monster ideas and descriptions follow. Wandering monsters encountered randomly can then become linked to these core faction ideas and add to the evocative atmosphere and concepts as if they were intended to be part of the adventure form the start. In fact, having a key NPC or monster encountered outside it's "set" default context is likely to add greatly to the experience.

So basically UK6 just needs factions. Should be easy right?

Note: a "Sense of Terror" might help also I admit, but I think that's less of an issue here so let's have a look at the module as written and see what implicit factions we can lift from the text and flesh out.

Explicit Factions

Let's the assume the following factions explicit from the module - as written, their individual members are setup as antagonists to be overcome but there are several diplomatic and non-combat options, including potential alliances:

The Atem

The Atem could be considered, somewhat problematically these days, a manifestation of the classic Hollywood Native trope complete with all it's politically incorrect trappings. Breaking this stereotype and making them a viable faction involves making them potential allies, or at least able to be interacted with in a non-aggressive manner. Slaying the swamp hydra is a potential quest they can provide but I think they need more work to be anything other than two-dimensional savages, perhaps breaking them into multiple sub-factions such as those that revere the old ways, those that seek interaction with the world beyond, and the nature focus of their druidic witchdoctors. Rather than one tribe perhaps a second splinter group to the south with more Olman than Suel influences?

Motivation: Heads. Goals: to expand the worship of their panther totem; to defeat the swamp hydra; to collect varied and fearsome skulls for their border to impress their peers and terrorise their enemies.

The Fiends

Of all the creatures in the module, I find the fiends hardest to make sense of, although they do provide a surprise opponent in the passages. I think they need to be linked into the Blood War somehow or at least linked into the Underdark, although that's usually demons not devils for some reason. So they're an explicit "proto-faction", but an underdeveloped one seemingly out of broader context.

Motivation: Souls. Goals: to guard the shadow demon prisoner.

Aratek Fezatl and the Hek'Islett Tribe

In the module Aratek and his tribe are setup as kidnappers but their strategy hints at another motivation. Although kidnapping and pressganging a cleric (or druid) to help them create water, the Hek'Islett are setup to be motivated to explore *eastwards* to seize water once they are aware of the passages beneath the mountains. Re-establishing the eastern wind makes a more interesting motivation for working with the PCs and opens them up as potential allies or hirelings.

Motivation: Ambition. Goals: to dominate the other tribes by learning the secret of producing water, to ensure an alternate magical means of access to water for the tribe.

The Ghouls of Aumata-Perion

Given the close habitation between the ghouls and Kegen's family, it's reasonable to assume some connection between them, even if only that they arose from cannibalism amongst the temple's dwindling inhabitants. The strongest ghast at T6, Halak, is the older brother of Acdame and Kegen's son - oddly he still has a lingering respect for his former father's authority and won't confront the priest or his brothers directly. Halak may be inclined to bargain with interlopers however to gain access to his aunts and sisters, but the patience of his adopted ghoul family for talk is limited by hunger creating a tension or a race against the clock element.

Motivation: Hunger. Goals: to feed on the remaining Temple inhabitants; to grow their "family".

Kegen and his Family

Although inbred and insane, Kegen is highly protective of his family, yet is deluded into believing that the ghouls are his relatives because they treat him with a degree of deference. The rest of his family are quite sensibly terrified of the ghouls and their patriarch's delusions. It's harder to make anything more of Kegen than an antagonist but fleshing him out stands to reason.

Motivation: Family. Goals: to protect the family from threats; to honour the ancestors.

Tazo Tepok and the Twelve Tribes

This conservative coalition of Hek tribes forms in response to any attempt to disturb the status quo. Tazo may not be the smartest or imaginative leader, but he is pragmatic and a shrewd negotiator who recognises that non-aggressive approaches may be preferable. I'm not a big fan of disempowering a party through overwhelming odds, so introducing some infighting and distrust into the coalition is an option to expand upon.

Motivation: Survival. Goals: to preserve the arrangement with Kegen and the supply of water.

Implicit Factions

There are several implicit factions that are worth considering and expanding on:

*Tikul's Associates

Although Tikul and his expedition perish, there's reference to at least one other associate, his faithless apprentice, who steal his spellbooks and does not follow his master's instructions to follow. The others include Illic the Grey, the wizard of the original pre-generated characters from UK6, and the group is a potential sponsor for the follow-up murderhobo expedition to the Indicara, setting up a rival group to give a sense of urgency to the player character's attempt. A potential link to Sasserine / Cauldron and/or the Scarlet Brotherhood helps link into the "Paizohawk" setting and provides a default faction for the party to belong to if desired.

Motivation: Greed. Goals: to recover the lost treasures of the Kepta; to find Tikul's remains.

*The Mallata of Kett's Rapids

Referenced in the backstory for Tikul's map fragments, the peaceful tribe has contact with Port Elizabeth to the north at the river's mouth, trading with the Holder remnants. The villagers of Kett's Rapids, in particular, are a potential source of hireling guides or porters, but they fear their violent panther worshipping Atem neighbours adn will need some convincing.

Motivation: Trade. Goals: to profit from any explorers; to be protected against the Atem.

*Abu, the Witch Doctor

Lumping all the Atem together as one faction seems lazy, so having some discord between the mundane chieftans and the spiritual witch doctors has potential. Of all the Atem, the druids may be the most useful to a party exploring further if they can be dealt with peacefully and may link into other tribes and hermits through their spiritual network.

Motivation: Preservation Goals: to convince the Atem chieftan to protect the jungle; to preserve the sanctity of the Indicara from invaders and explorers.

*The Giants

Vanck's tribe living around Mt Gegesti seems a major lost opportunity for a potential ally against the Atem Barrier Shrine assault or an otherwise alternative diplomatic access to the passage entrance. I find it harder to work out their basic motivations to make them a true faction but the concept deserves exploring.

Motivation: Isolation. Goals: to preserve their secrecy and live in peace.

Conversion Note: rather than fire giants, I'd consider Vanck's kin to be "Children of Llerg", the so-called "Suel Giants" of legend (see "The Amedio Jungle" section of The Scarlet Brotherhood supplement), equivalent to a Jungle Giant from MC13 Monstrous Compendium Al-Qadim Appendix. This ties them in better to the biome and also opens up alternative subplot options involving capturing one for sale to and then study by the Scarlet Brotherhood.

*The Remnants of the Hek'Ilj Tribe

It's noted most of the Hek are routed by the skeleton warrior at the Battle of Aumata-Perion, so this group of scattered remnants likely eke an existence on the edge of Hek society in the Ash Mire, a pale shadow of their former greatness. Scavengers, beggars and thieves, they are led by their remaining crone diviner, Old Shenaka, who ensures their ongoing survival through her cunning, experience and life-saving water sense.

Motivation: Status. Goals: avenge their defeat at the hands of Kegen's skeleton warrior; to occupy the Village of Aumata-Perion and control the water source; to regain pre-eminent tribe ranking.

Extra Faction: The Scarlet Brotherhood

Nowhere in the module does it suggest this, but with the shoehorning of the module into the Amedio region and the canonical expansion of the Suloise supremacists into the area during the Greyhawk Wars, the brotherhood are a logical faction for a rival expedition. I'm thinking a rival exploration group acting similar to the Crows from Deep Carbon Observatory to interact with.

Motivation: Territory. Goals: to capture and study a Child of Llerg (Suel Giant), to uncover a safe route into the Sea of Dust for future archaeological expeditions looking for Suel artifacts.

Continued in Part 3