Goblin assassin (possible spoiler)

[Badandexiled]

As for that, I have only like 5 listen if even that, and I always somehow find the assasins. Don't know how it is, but maybe you were just darn unlucky, or just the other way around with me.

Nonetheless, like said, it's a fact that there can be mobs hiding there. Don't try to take on travelling alone if you can't hide as well. I am not either, because I know for sure it's getting me kicked ass.

[Dilandau Kale]

Scotty used the hook horror analogy and I feel I should point out that yes if you went the wrong way you ran into them but you weren't going to run into them walking into town hall to deliver a pie to herald Jaffar which is what the case is at the moment. They spawn right next to two of the delivery quests one a low lvl one the other low to mid.

[ShiftingAllegiances]

My input: Stop whining. I've seen a great deal of it lately. Travel in groups and you should be fine. In addition, the Sloped Road is pretty much the prelude to the wilds and should be considered highly dangerous. As for the lumber area, deal with it. There are a number of lowbie quests where you do not have to go passed the main gates or you barely do but in safety (the mill). The island is dangerous, I would hate to see these creatures mystically start disappearing from their "normal" ambush points because people can't take a challenge(that truly make sense as they are close enough to the city to get people but far enough to avoid mass mobs). If you are truly worried about assassins, invest in mass amounts of ESP potions and down them whenever you are in those areas.

There are always IG methods of securing an area as well.

[Dilandau Kale]

Certainly Ill have my next gold lvl 3 char begin buying Esp potions that he clearly has plenty of gold to afford. Also as for getting a group tried it Most players don't want to walk around risking there necks while one person picks up a pile of wooden logs.

[Skrillix]

Yes, they can kill you. Yes, they make the areas more dangerous.

So what?

They're easily dealt with, either by bringing along a friend or two (which is certainly not going to be that hard even at level two or three! Get a small band of wannabe lumberjacks if you want to avoid the potential ninja goblins), or just by having a Fortitude save. I mean, hell, they're really not that lethal!

And, as said. If you don't want to risk your neck to trainee ninjas, don't go there. No one's forcing you to go there, and the conversation that tips you off to the fed-ex in the first place implies that there's dangerous things around.

[TooCuteForComfort]

Better forget about the woodpile for now, then.. I doubt anyone's life depends on it since I got by without ever doing it once yet (and I can't even do it anymore).
I welcome the circumstances as they are that you can't push to level 4 with menial fetch and get quests in the matter of 2 or 3 resets.. People are so much more ready to par-tay, even at lower levels.
Most still seem to do it somehow now without even leaving the starting place.
Pity about exploring alone though. I should try the invis+stealth approach.

[I can has fun?]

If i get the message correctly, this is not about complaining about the difficulty range of the spawn, it's about the 'no-fun' of the combination of both not detecting the threat and of the instant kill.

This is exactly what I'm aiming at.

My input: Stop whining.

Seriously, just stop all the bitching, folks. It's almost as if some of you people think there's some designated place where the DMs solicit feedback from the playerbase!

;)

[djspectre]

I retract my previous comment about this. Upon further consideration, I came to the following conclusions.

First, the Zig until the last few weeks has been unoccupied by life other than goblins and undead. Chances are that most creatures/predators/etc would likely not realized it is inhabited until they show up and suddenly realized that there are dozens of people now there. Thus, likely stronger monsters would wander closer.

Secondly, IMO, having this island be survivalistic and dangerous is a good thing. Sanctuary, despite the fact that we all loved it, had grown to be a safe-haven of sorts. Little fear of wandering around outside of the city. And with so many people being dragged from all parts of the planet, most of whom are not jungle walkers, its doubtful they would be able to spot a snake, or bat, or other small, potentially deadly creature stalking them. Cats are different because of size and may be easier to spot than a snake. Spiders (at least some) should drop from the trees in the webbed wood.

Perhaps, the assassins should be left alone but other changes be made.

[vawton]

I ran into a similar situation in the foothills exploring alone with Level 3 PC. It was very stupid and I deserved what happened. I had lousy detect and hide skills and got ambushed by a leopard. Before I could even react, I was on the ground with -7 HP. Fortunately, he stopped attacking once I was down, I stabilized, and slowly got back to positive HP. And he didn't continue his attack when I got back up, so I was able to swallow a bunch of healing and then finish him off.

But, what frustrated me after such a miracle escape, was the fact that I only got 1 XP for killing him, plus another 5 XP when I sold the hide. I understand the philosophy of low XP for spawns to encourage cooperation between PCs, and I was aware of that before I even rolled my first PC, but it was certainly a life-altering event for my PC, and I think it would be fairer to reflect that in XP gained. I'm not talking a lot, but maybe like 50-100 XP per spawn up until Level 3, and then drop it to minimum once at Level 4.

Anyway, to get back on thread, I think the powerful spawns near the Zig are fine the way they are. This a dangerous untamed place, and you can still die even if you aren't stupid and follow all the precautions. Heck, I had a Level 2 PC just hanging out alone at night on top of the Zig, when a riser intruder came after me. If I hadn't been able to run faster than him, and scream for some timely assistance from a higher level PC who just happened to be nearby, I would have been one dead little gnome :).

So, keep the spawns like they are, just give a bit more XP to low-level PCs for them. I mean, don't we all learn more from our stupid mistakes than from
doing everything right? :)

[Thomas_Not_very_wise]

If you don't die enough something is wrong with the situation.

[Goblin Butcher]

A goblin assassin killed Jack Black in one hit when we were exploring on the first night in the new module.  While funny at the time, I'd agree that these spawns should be removed in any areas near the ziggurat.  Its no fun to be gathering firewood, to use an earlier example, and then be one-shotted by something you had no chance of seeing.
 

 
What does this have to do with the subject?  Not everyone is playing a high-level dwarven fighter/rogue, nor should they have to to survive in the areas near the ziggurat.

[Mort]

Not convinced.