Okay, I know I’ve been promising forever, well finally its here.  The Keep On The Borderlands, updated, revised, edited and so forth for 4th edition.

Want the link?

The Keep On The Borderlands.

It is also available on the downloads page.

Now, before we all go getting horribly excited, I should mention that there are a few changes from the original.  Like the map of the caves of chaos, and the encounters are in no way suitable for a first level party.  I figure levels 3 through 5 will work.  However, I am promising to release a prequel (fully playable with this module) just as soon as I can.  Basically it will be a 1st to 2nd level dungeon crawl that takes place underneath the keep (you didn’t know there was a dungeon there did ya).

In other news, I included printable monster cards in the full .pdf version only for monsters that do not appear in the monster manual.  I’m trying to avoid legal issues here, so please just support what you have.  Someday the monster cards that are on this site currently will probably have to come down.  Let’s all hope that dark day never comes.

In yet other news I updated a bunch of the NPC’s, so if you happened to already download them you’ll  want to do it again.  Included in the module are abbreviated stats for all of the important ones.

If there are questions, my contact information is here and there on the site.  Naturally I will be happy to ignore questions until it is convenient for me.

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In the old days, you couldn’t get a pre-made module that didn’t have at least one random encounter chart, usually several.  In 4^th edition, the trend seems to be heading the opposite direction.

I think that a solid understanding of what a random encounter does will help you decide how to include them into your game, if at all.

First the Cons

• They generally serve no purpose for the story.
• They cause fluctuations in XP and treasure.  Usually the party gets XP but no treasure.  Too much of this sort of thing makes for game imbalances.
• They cause Party Wipe.  All too often the random nature of the encounter produces something too powerful at the wrong time.
• They use up party resources which can lead to either Party Wipe, character death, or game imbalances because the party’s single use resources (potions & scrolls) are used up before their time.
• If used in conjunction with random treasures, you can (and often do) get too much treasure or totally useless treasure.

 Then the Pros

• You don’t have to plan ahead for them, so it can save you time.
• They fill session time when the party decides to go somewhere you hadn’t planned on.
• They can be used to boost XP if the party has more treasure than their level suggests they need.
• They can be used to kill off annoying characters.
• They can be used to boost treasure if the party doesn’t have enough.

 In general I never use truly random encounters.  I ignore the tables.  However I do use pseudo-random encounters all the time.  I make up a few extra encounters when planning for a session.  These are always the same level as the dungeon encounters I expect (or hope) the PC’s will find, and either have equivalent treasure or no treasure. 

Here are the situations I use them for.

• The PC’s are heading to the dungeon and will eventually get to the dungeon, but not this session, and they need a combat to get them moving.  In this case I will remove the first dungeon encounter from the campaign.  If there was a treasure with that encounter I will usually leave it in the dungeon to be found next session (though there is nothing to stop you from handing it out now).
• The PC’s will never reach the dungeon and the dungeon encounters I have prepared simply make no sense whatsoever where they are now.  For example, the only dungeon encounter I have left is a gelatinous cube and they are in a forest.  See more on encounter swapping here.
• Somebody pissed me off and I’m in a vindictive mood.  So I hit them with an extra encounter while they are trying to rest and gang up on the jerk who took a bite out of my chocolate cupcake.

You can find more information about this technique on my encounter swapping article.

 Hope these ideas help, and as always have fun!

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This encounter is designed as a level 8 encounter as a tough challenge for a 5^th level party.  The treasure listed with the encounter card is for a level 5 party.  You could easily substitute in a treasure packet of any level appropriate for your party.  The encounter, of course is generic enough to be dropped into any campaign, or used as a random encounter.

The orcs here are led by their leader Hard Fang, an old, scarred orc who has trained his followers in the use of the trident.  Hard Fang has spent years developing his gang, and favors hit and run tactics.  Because of his vast experience, Hard Fang has learned patience, and to wear his enemies down.  His followers, however, are prone to fits of rage and sometimes ignore his commands.

Hard Fang has no problem using muscle from any race, and has brought a pair of gnolls into his group. 

The setup for this encounter involves an ambush for unwary prey.  Everyone in the group is familiar with the terrain and they try to remain mobile, engaging their foes only from superior positions.  The melee combatants do their best to draw the enemies into a position where they can be fired upon easily.

• Hard Fang Orc Chieftain (700 xp) level 8 elite brute
• 3 Orc Forkman (200 xp) level 5 brutes
• 2  Gnoll Huntmasters (200 xp) level 5 artillery

You can download the encounter card here.  You can find all of the associated cards on the downloads page.  And if you need more information about how to use encounter cards, there is an article here.

I suggest using the blades camp map from Faiths of Eberron, available from the Wizards of the Coast, though you should definitely choose a map of your liking.

Hard Fang will have blocked off at least one of the entrances to try to force any enemies into the area to the west where he can use cover for his archers. 

Hope this provides some inspiration.

As always, enjoy the game!

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