Dragonfiend Pact - Size and Item Collection

[Panqui]

Hi everyone. This is my first post on the forums, though I've been a big fan of Goodman Games for a while.

I'm running the Dragonfiend Pact and have a few logistical questions. I hope this is the right forum for these.

1. Can the chararacters dismiss the effects of the Improved Reduce Person spell at will? Or must they wait for the full duration of the spell to return to normal size?

2. Is it assumed that they will remain in reduced form throughout the entire area of the Rat Warrens? In the final area where they meet Malchor it states that the encounter will be dangerous if they're still reduced. So, it seems to me that there's a possibility that they won't be reduced when they get there.

3. All of my characters will be reduced from medium to tiny. The various items they will come across in the Rat Warrens will be pretty big compared to them, I'm guessing. For example, the ivory masterwork flute, silver bracelet, the bracers that Blackspine has, etc. How would they actually be able to carry all the items? Won't they end up being overloaded very quickly? Or am I being too analytical?

Thanks in advance for any insights you all might have. I'm really intrigued by this adventure so I want to make sure to run it right. Luckily, I'm running the game on line, so I have a while to prepare for the Rat Warrens.

Panqui

[goodmangames]

I gave a heads-up to Chris Doyle, who wrote the module, so he should get back to you soon with some concrete answers...

[Panqui]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[jawa14]

Sorry for the late response, but I had two DCCs that hit deadline, a sick toddler, and I’m starting a new job. I tried to post a reply a few days ago, but ran into tech. problems. Here we go again.

According to the PHB, a spell with the “D” in the duration line of the stat box can be dispelled at any time. Since a potion works the same way a spell works (as per the DMG), one can make the assumption a potion (such as fly) can also be dismissed by the imbiber. This is what I intended, at least. The reduce person spell (in the PHB) carries the “D”, and I checked DCC #11 to make sure I included it in the sidebar for the improved version of the spell. Low and behold, I did! Since not every player is going to know they can dismiss a potion, I’d give PCs a DC 15 Spellcraft check (or something) to recall this tidbit.

Yes, all the treasure in the rat warrens should be “normal” sized. And yes, this does bring up a logistical weight situation. However, astute PCs should be able to get around this, using the drag rules, or perhaps a floating disk spell (or bag of holding, if they have one). It all depends on how realistic you want your game to be. Some GMs gloss over the encumbrance rules, yet others strictly enforce them. The goal is to challenge the PCs, not frustrate them to no end. Make sure there is a way for some of the loot to be recovered. This could be as simple as including a scroll of improved reduce person that Malchor has that the PCs could use to make more potions (and stage more forays into the warrens).

A final note: During the playtest this came up time and time again. When a shrunk PC drops an item, it reverts to normal size (including thrown weapons). We almost had a situation where the cleric removed his armor to cross the river (to improve balance and jump checks). If the armor was removed, zap!, full size. And armor weighs a lot!

I hope this helps.

Good Gaming!

Chris Doyle

[Panqui]

Thanks!