But—

If the PCs are very fast…

If the PCs are very lucky…

If the PCs are very smart…

…or preferably all three…

…they could survive setting off the defense protocol and then have a very easy time getting to the next level. The problem is, only the DM knows it is possible.

If the PCs can survive to round three of combat and the Dwarf-Door is closed on them, they can then move through the Northern secret door into area 4, deal with the archers there and then make it through the two additional secret doors from there into 14, but not before round 9 to 11 of combat (otherwise they run the risk of running into either Yarrack or Ulfe). Then, all they have to do is sneak quietly through 13 (with the trap) down the hall to 8, move the crates and sacks quietly, pick the lock, go through the rusted gate there and into area 10, fend off any stirges they might have attracted and they’re home free. Or at least into The Glitterhame. Because, all the Orcs that should have been in those areas will be in 5 thanks to the defense protocol by round 12 (a little over a minute after the first alarm is raised). Good luck to them.

OR…

As soon as the alarm is raised, if the PCs sprint for the doors up to the bridge, cross the bridge past the orcs on the other side as quickly as they can, blitz the orcs in 5 if they are there, head into 8 at speed, take up a defensive position in front of the blockage, remove it quickly, and wait while someone works on opening the gate, they could make it into Glitterhame by round 12 or 13 or so, just beating the gathering of defenders in area 5 and the certain pursuit that would occur. But they have to know exactly where they are going. Seems unlikely.

OR…

They could use the chimney at B on the Stone Tooth map, climb carefully down to 7, stroll cautiously and quietly across 8, and leisurely remove the barrier and open the gate at 10 with no one the wiser. All that’s needed here to be successful is to pick the right hallway to go down from 7 and 8.

It’s like Run Lola, Run. Which would you do?

The lesson? When designing your own adventures, give the PCs multiple ways to succeed or at least move forward. It’s okay if some of those ways are more difficult than others and some might seem impossible (as any experienced GM will tell you, PCs do impossible things nine times out of ten), but good design makes them available. Having the choice is what matters.

3 The Rift Hall – Page 38

If the PCs weren’t stopped by closing The Dwarf-Door they almost certainly will be in big trouble by the time they get here. Unlike the orcs at 2, these orcs are alert and ready for action. The PCs will be slow moving targets with restricted freedom of motion on the bridge. Javelins will, of course, almost certainly miss. After that it’s bridge cutting time. It’s hard to see how PCs on the bridge could fight back without taking some sort of penalty due to the nature of the bridge they are crossing, but characters who stay on the far side to shoot at the bridge guards might stand a chance. This is a solid encounter that forces the PCs to make choices in dire circumstances and in a hurry. You begin to see how this adventure got its reputation for being deadly and the PCs are barely inside yet.

6 Prisoner Cave – Page 39

More choices, although potentially under slightly more relaxed circumstances. Depending on what path the PCs took to get here and how hard a time they had doing it, debating whether to escort the prisoners safely out, leave them in the cage, or free them and then leave them to their fates might be possible. It seems unlikely the PCs will have time for that and a decision must be made. An excellent opportunity for the PCs to play to, or away from, their alignments, but, ultimately, the question is: Do we press on with whatever advantage we have, or do we leave and let the orcs regroup?

Moral quandaries are all well and good, but if there are no consequences to one choice or the other, they don’t make any real difference. Here, leaving gives the orcs a chance to organize a better defense, gives up any progress the party made, and may mean the PCs can’t get in this way again. Pressing on means that they abandon the prisoners to a gruesome end at the hands of any surviving orcs and that may not sit well with all members of the party.

Of course, one solution would be to leave the prisoners locked up for now while the party cleans the entire level of orcs, then send them on their way and cross your fingers they don’t meet any scouting parties.

But that’s not for the GM to decide. You just present the situation and watch the characters squirm.

9 Shaman’s Lair – Page 40

It’s just interesting to note how this particular encounter ramps up as Burdug gets more desperate. First, it’s a couple of orcs and a command spell, then some buffing, then an additional combatant with the spiritual weapon, then Burdug joins the battle herself, then the stirges from 10 and some alchemical fire, and if that doesn’t work she runs for help. You have to admire her willingness and resolve to try solving this herself. The encounter just gets more and more dangerous the longer the fight takes.

Worth noting, this is an alternate route into 10 and down to Glitterhame. If the PCs are lost or desperate, this isn’t the best route, but might get them slightly ahead of pursuers if they can take Burdug and company down quickly.

10 The Grand Stair – Page 41

A couple things to note here.

First, (and this applies to 13 as well) grumpy looking carvings of dwarves or statues of same seem to be the indicator for a trap somewhere nearby. Smart PCs will make a mental note of this. Once they’ve connected a trap to a particular theme or signal or design feature, you can use that connection to set up a variety of traps however and whenever you like. As long as the grumpy dwarf is around somewhere, that is all the signaling or hint the PCs should need to know that something is up and they should be careful.

Second, because it is possible to miss the trap at 13 entirely if the PCs never go that way or haven’t gone there yet and thus never make the grumpy dwarf connection, this trap, nasty as it is, has a secondary signal, the orc skeletons. The PCs know something killed them and their placement suggests where that something may be or was. Examining the skeletons will give some hint of the danger, which should be enough to put the party on alert and get any rogues looking around cautiously. It is important to leave some sort of small hint, especially for particularly deadly traps, for the PCs to find so they have a fair chance of survival. No one likes a ‘gotcha’ trap (the sort of trap a GM will put down just to jump up and down screaming “I finally got you, you >%^#! Take that!), especially if it kills a PC out of nowhere. Players like to know that they could have prevented such things. Nothing says they will notice the clues or understand them or even know what to do about them, but they do have to be there to potentially be found, understood, and interpreted.

Presuming a successful escape from The Mountain Door area, and that’s no sure thing, it’s time to go on to The Glitterhame.

Summary

The Mountain Door section of The Forge of Fury can be a fast moving, intense area that will challenge low-level PCs. It is written and paced in such a way that the action moves forward at all times, even if the PCs themselves don’t. They can be quickly eclipsed by events if they take too long making decisions, have difficulty negotiating its many obstacles, or just fumble their way around.

I like the way it is written. Every bit of read-aloud text is urgent in its presentation, gives the situation, and then asks the essential question of RPGs quite clearly, what do you do? Even as a DM you feel the speed it wants to run at and the seriousness of its challenges. Added to its clear explanations, precise instructions, and overall sense of purpose, this may be one of the finest pieces of dungeon writing out there. GMs who want to create adventures of their own for their home grous would do well to study it and take notes.

It is meant to be difficult and even deadly if PCs take the most obvious route in and proceed in the most obvious way. PCs that attempt a frontal assault are going to pay dearly for it and it still may not be successful. The orcs are quite serious about keeping people out, and DMs should be too when they run it. Run as intended, it can be as much fun for the DM foiling the PCs attempts to enter as it will be for the PCs to make those attempts.

Fortunately, The Mountain Door is designed in such a way that a frontal assault is not necessary if PCs can notice and exploit the other ways in or through. It allows for other avenues of approach for different types of groups beyond just a modification or fudging of the adventure itself. Options are built-in and well exemplified and it is the wise party that takes advantage of them. If the going gets too tough, it’s easy enough for the PCs to back out, regroup, and try again. Hopefully having learned something the first time.

All in all, The Mountain Door area of The Forge of Fury is a well-made, tense series of encounters and events that will produce numerous fond memories if played to its full potential. That some of those memories may not all apply to the same PCs that started it is just a bonus.

The next article in this series will cover The Forge of Fury’s Glitterhame and Sinkhole areas.