Keep on the Shadowfell (4E Screens)

[Xorn]

Kobold Brigands
Kobold Ambush
Kobold Lair, Outside 1
Kobold Lair, Outside 2
Kobold Lair Inside 1
Kobold Lair Inside 2

[Griogre]

Pretty sweet looking Xorn. I'm going to be running KotS too in a few weeks. How's it running for you with 4 characters? I think I may have six (which seems like it might be a good number for that adventure).

[Xorn]

Well, as you know, I couldn't really preach the merits of 4th Edition much stronger, right?

Running it with four has been a piece of cake. For the scaling I actually have been doing it on the fly. They are all second level (as I ran the Kobold Lair adventure in the DMG for their intro adventure, and forgot to scale it), so a level 2 encounter for them is 500 XP. (Basically, a level 1 encounter is about a level 2 encounter, for them.)

The next encounter is intended to be n+1, so I throw a level 3 at them, 600 xp. (The encounter is 625 xp, so it's perfect.)

And so on and so forth. The battle in the lair is actually n+5, and I recommend scaling it down to n+4 unless your group is practically full strength, as going more then 4 above the group with an encounter is itching for a TPK or at least a resounding defeat.

That said, I through a level 6 encounter at my four level 2 characters, and they took it apart. I mean it was truly brutal. Granted they were out of encounter, daily, and even utility powers, they exhausted all in-combat healing, and the warlord had two health left (temp HP saved the day this fight), so they were literally at their limits. (A level 6 encounter for 4 level 2s is 1000 XP, so I removed on soldier and 2 minions--perfect match for a n+4 encounter.)

Anyway, for 6 level 1s, you just bump it from 475 to 575-600ish and you have a perfect encounter. For the level 6 encounter, that base encounter as written as 1250 XP, a level 5 encounter for 6 level 1 characters is 1200, so run it as is and you should have one hellacious fight on your hands.

[Foen]

Nice tokens too, Xorn, did you make them?

Stuart

[Xorn]

I modified them, yes. I copied the images from the miniatures gallery on the D&D site, and pasted them into a paint program. Promote the background layer and delete the white background (leaving it transparent) then copy n paste the remaining pixels as a new image. After that resize the token to be 50 pixels tall (or 100 for large, 38 for small) and then if the width will be wider than 50 (or 100 for large) turn off aspect ratio and squish it a little.

Makes for some pretty sweet tokens.

Oh, and the tiefling warlord is a "conversion"--I took a knight with a greataxe and combined it with a tiefling.

[Griogre]

I agree that modifying encounters on the fly seems easy I was just wondering if they scale down as well as they do up.

Xorn, I don't know if I hate you or not for that tip on the D&D minis galleries. I don't use them because I use cardboard heroes or fiery dragon's flats for face to face games (it just sooo much easier to lug them around) so it's never occured me to mine those galleries for pics for FG. I don't like top down tokens so I usually use portrait type tokens.

I agree with Foen and have to say those are really nice looking figures. Now I may have to go and make some new tokens from those galleries (that's why I may hate you).

[Xorn]

I won't mention then, that when I ran my last live game, I grabbed pictures of the minis, resized them (keeping the aspect ratio) so the bases were 96 pixels across, then printed them at 96 dpi, after I mirrored them. Then a little glue on the cardstock I printed them on, fold them over, and cut them out. Stick them on a base and I have scaled, nice looking cardstock minis.

[Kunsgnos]

I was looking at your pictures and I have a few questions. first how do you make your screen so big and second you need two screen don't you? sorry for the noob questions, but I am one. thanks in advance.

[Griogre]

I'm not Xorn but yes as you look at those screen shots he is using a dual monitor setup with FG stretched over. If you can do so it is very good to have two monitors when running. I have two monitors myself however I often have FG just on one screen and a PDF, a browser open and other things on the other monitor.

[Wraith]

I run two screens as well, but I am about to get four and I will post some screen shots of that. I hope it will stretch vertical as well as horizontal.