Do you find it tough to run a game for that many players? I have five players, and even that can bog down. I can't imagine running a productive game with the ammount of players you have. Five is my cap, and most game sessions only have 4 players.

Turin, be a pal and send me a private e-mail with the identities of each player of the listed character in question, would you please :)

Hey Turin, I just did a redesign on Zyrxog...as a Body Tamer....I would like your opinion on this. I am going to post it and see in the Zyrxog posting in the Age of Worms thread. It reeks of TPK...

I can figure out about half of them, but the other half I'm not positive on, as I haven't been keeping up on the details of your campaign...

I'd have Mr. Hexblade... now your dear Barbarian PC, have a typed up sheet that lists each bonus he has with which he calculates his stats at each level. I've been needing to have him to as much in AoW.

Do you find it tough to run a game for that many players? I have five players, and even that can bog down. I can't imagine running a productive game with the ammount of players you have. Five is my cap, and most game sessions only have 4 players.

What can make it tough is adjusting encounters enough to present a good healthy challenge without cornholing them in the process. That is the delicate dance ...

I can figure out about half of them, but the other half I'm not positive on, as I haven't been keeping up on the details of your campaign...

I'd have Mr. Hexblade... now your dear Barbarian PC, have a typed up sheet that lists each bonus he has with which he calculates his stats at each level. I've been needing to have him to as much in AoW.

Hey Turin, if you want to see, check it out in AOW forum, under 'My Zyrxog'. I did it as a follow-up post.

A body tamer is an Illithid Prestige Class that focuses on Melee combat. They gain some helacious bonuses if they do not use their Psionics/Magic for at least 24 (their 'Code of Mental Abstinance').

They are detailed in the FR sourcebook 'Underdark' they are nasty...perhaps too nasty. My version hasn't been battletested yet, but it looks like a party killer.

Oh, and Allen, you ran the Zyrxog fight, how many did you kill that game...? (I'm going to have to look)
Both (and anyone elses input too) of your input would be appreciated. On the Zyrxog thread please (unless its you Turin, or Allen), lets try to stop threadjacking poor Turin.

Or I suppose, with your permission Turin, I could post it again here.

But you guys are still pretty low level. I wonder how you will find it when you hit the higher levels. It might start to really grind. When I ran the Farshore Battle last session it was tough. I had five players, but I had cleric with undead minions, and a conjurer with a planar ally and summoned monsters. Once you start adding those kinds of extras in the game it starts to slow a lot. I make sure they have everything statted up and handy ahead of time so there is no weeding through manuals, but even with this done it still can be pretty slow. Part of the problem was having the party separated, which wouldn't normally happen. Yet it was still a really fun game session despite things running a little slow (well I had fun, I pretty sure the players did to).

Of course given your high numbers it would be perfectly reasonable to ban those extras from the game (ie no summoning etc..).

P.H. Dungeon wrote:

Do you find it tough to run a game for that many players? I have five players, and even that can bog down. I can't imagine running a productive game with the ammount of players you have. Five is my cap, and most game sessions only have 4 players.

Ola PH Dungeon. Were it a heavy-RP game, it would completely suck eggs for that many players, no question. However, when the group smacks of getting above 5, I default to "Diet Roleplay" mode when running the game, it makes it far more tolerable to GM.

What can make it tough is adjusting encounters enough to present a good healthy challenge without cornholing them in the process. That is the delicate dance ...

But you guys are still pretty low level. I wonder how you will find it when you hit the higher levels. It might start to really grind. When I ran the Farshore Battle last session it was tough. I had five players, but I had cleric with undead minions, and a conjurer with a planar ally and summoned monsters. Once you start adding those kinds of extras in the game it starts to slow a lot. I make sure they have everything statted up and handy ahead of time so there is no weeding through manuals, but even with this done it still can be pretty slow. Part of the problem was having the party separated, which wouldn't normally happen. Yet it was still a really fun game session despite things running a little slow (well I had fun, I pretty sure the players did to).

Of course given your high numbers it would be perfectly reasonable to ban those extras from the game (ie no summoning etc..).

Turin the Mad wrote:

P.H. Dungeon wrote:

Do you find it tough to run a game for that many players? I have five players, and even that can bog down. I can't imagine running a productive game with the ammount of players you have. Five is my cap, and most game sessions only have 4 players.

Ola PH Dungeon. Were it a heavy-RP game, it would completely suck eggs for that many players, no question. However, when the group smacks of getting above 5, I default to "Diet Roleplay" mode when running the game, it makes it far more tolerable to GM.

What can make it tough is adjusting encounters enough to present a good healthy challenge without cornholing them in the process. That is the delicate dance ...

Granted, if they have the decency to stat thier critters up in advance, I might be more lenient ... naaah, I wanna hear the whining and meerping when the pets are instacrispied ...

here's a link to the post about Zyrxog, my Body Tamer version is at the bottom.

http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/dungeon/ageOfWorms/myZyrxog

Hrmm ... a plague of rhagodessa ... that scour Oerth in search of tasty summoned monsters and insignificant pets and henchmooks upon which to snack ...

Yeah, I'm not tired ... really ...

I can figure out about half of them, but the other half I'm not positive on, as I haven't been keeping up on the details of your campaign...

I'd have Mr. Hexblade... now your dear Barbarian PC, have a typed up sheet that lists each bonus he has with which he calculates his stats at each level. I've been needing to have him to as much in AoW.

I've not now, nor do I forsee the need to, ever fibbed on the save DCs they have faced, and I do relish the player(s) needing a nat 12 or better to shrug off a DC 16 save against the 'as written' bad guys' special attacks/spells.

Which is a whole different ball of wax from upgunning mooks, spawning random swarms of my new favorite vermin, or other bits of nastiness ...

I kinda figured the Barbarian was the Hexblade...it just seemed to fit.
Personally I just love it when someone has the 'math' wrong on their character sheet. Yeah...keep blaming it on bad math, that way it isn't cheating.

I will admit, after having looked at them closely, I really love the Rhagodessa...lovely lovely deathbug. And thank you Turin for coining..

"Deathbug"

I kinda figured the Barbarian was the Hexblade...it just seemed to fit.
Personally I just love it when someone has the 'math' wrong on their character sheet. Yeah...keep blaming it on bad math, that way it isn't cheating.

I will admit, after having looked at them closely, I really love the Rhagodessa...lovely lovely deathbug. And thank you Turin for coining..

"Deathbug"

You are correct sir, Bubba is the same player (who was a dragonthingie duskblade before his wonderfully messy demise by incineration) who plays the Hexblade furball monstrosity (recently replaced by said players' "wet dream on paper" feral who-knows-what race duskblade supposedly 'advanced' from the character in this STAP - although conveniently with universally better across the board ability scores ... uh huh ...) in Allen's AoW campaign.

I still want figurines for them though ... wonder if I can commission someone to do them without costing me vital organs ...

Yes, Rhagodessa figures would be awesome.

It really bugs me when players do stuff like that. I mean, playing an oddball character one time becuase you want to try something different is one thing. Having an annoying inability to effectively play a normal character, as seems to be the case with the Rabid-Hexy/Dragonthingie/Dusky-Barb.

Who wants to bet that the first thing he does in AoW with Allen is charge straight at Dragotha. That seems to be his only Attack Option, makes me wonder if he has Leap Attack (does he?).

Yes, Rhagodessa figures would be awesome.

It really bugs me when players do stuff like that. I mean, playing an oddball character one time becuase you want to try something different is one thing. Having an annoying inability to effectively play a normal character, as seems to be the case with the Rabid-Hexy/Dragonthingie/Dusky-Barb.

Who wants to bet that the first thing he does in AoW with Allen is charge straight at Dragotha. That seems to be his only Attack Option, makes me wonder if he has Leap Attack (does he?).

Dollars to donuts says you are correct, he charges Dragotha ... and runs face first into either a Repulsion or a Widened Antilife Shell. (Well, at least that's what I would have old bone face using as defenses against melee attackers, among other things. A dragon/dracolich of that age in 3rd edition is certainly well aware of the kinds of nasty toys melee types like to bring to bear, although his AC would normally address the problem, no creature that old is so foolish as to rely on a single line of defense.)

Said player does not seem to grasp the concept of how a character stands out by actions and kewl dialog, not how powergamed his character is.

Powergaming is one thing...I've know powergamers/munchkins that will sit there and build as nearly rule-breaking a character as is humanly possible, but if they play well and enjoy the game for everyone (and being a good RPer is one way for even the DM to enjoy the game, at least it means everyone is getting invested in their characters, it makes them more likely to cry when they die...)

Its just when someone makes a Brute like that. My rule is that if you really absolutely want to play something off the wall, you had better get an extensive backround/reason why your Aboleth Ninja is joining the party.

Note that the Aboleth Ninja is real, I think it was from someones group on the Savage Tide ('whos in your party') sorta thing thread.

here is Ojio's posting...

0_o

A Barbarian Treant(Male)named BARK CN

A Female Flumph Rogue named Messy NE(Nobody knows this yet and she secretly worships Graz'zt)

A Aboleth male Ninja Named Swooshplash NE-"Swooshsplash gonna sneak attack"

A human male cleric named Tom LG-Worships st. cuthbert the player insisted he is blind!and uses a rather huge heavy ended cane

A troll male sorcerer named Quennarossussurrekoroluthorrinngorgag
CN he only speaks to those that call him by his full name and he specializing in fire magics

Powergaming is one thing...I've know powergamers/munchkins that will sit there and build as nearly rule-breaking a character as is humanly possible, but if they play well and enjoy the game for everyone (and being a good RPer is one way for even the DM to enjoy the game, at least it means everyone is getting invested in their characters, it makes them more likely to cry when they die...)

Its just when someone makes a Brute like that. My rule is that if you really absolutely want to play something off the wall, you had better get an extensive backround/reason why your Aboleth Ninja is joining the party.

Note that the Aboleth Ninja is real, I think it was from someones group on the Savage Tide ('whos in your party') sorta thing thread.

And doesn't thier size kinda prohibit ... naah, nevermind, not my game.

Powergaming to survive and thrive is one thing I agree. Most however, are pretty poor at RP and being a 'team player', so they tend to get targeted pretty quickly in my experience. Usually often and with great relish by the GM at that. You know ... wandering damage ...

here is Ojio's posting...

0_o

A Barbarian Treant(Male)named BARK CN

A Female Flumph Rogue named Messy NE(Nobody knows this yet and she secretly worships Graz'zt)

A Aboleth male Ninja Named Swooshplash NE-"Swooshsplash gonna sneak attack"

A human male cleric named Tom LG-Worships st. cuthbert the player insisted he is blind!and uses a rather huge heavy ended cane

A troll male sorcerer named Quennarossussurrekoroluthorrinngorgag
CN he only speaks to those that call him by his full name and he specializing in fire magics

That was pretty much my take too...I would just enjoy the spectacle of this group in a town....

I can see it now:

" Okay fellas, the band of rangers ambushes you ... in the aftermath, the ent's carcass is sold off for firewood, the flumph is chopped up for cosmetics applicators, the aboleth is squeeged into axle grease for the town wagons, the troll is reduced to ash for carbon in the smithys and the blind cleric is buggered to death in jail. Let's try this again ... "

ROFLMAO!

Lets hope there is no 'Lets try this again'...

Seriously, the first books you crack open to make your character shouldn't be a stack of Monster Manuals...

ROFLMAO!

Lets hope there is no 'Lets try this again'...

Seriously, the first books you crack open to make your character shouldn't be a stack of Monster Manuals...

Very much so Turin, and well said. I still remember a character that I only played for a few sessions at one point, just because he couldn't get past his biases and refused to deal with the "Sub-human scum" we were dealing with. Goblins. And we were apparently supposed to negotiate with them....The DM knew I was making a bigot...I guess he liked the idea.

Unsurprisingly, the negotiations took a somewhat hostile turn when I decapitated the goblin commoner that touched my cloak while begging for coins. Hey that cloak cost a good 50gp, it was thereafter permanently soiled and was used to wipe the "unclean filth" (blood) off of his sword.

Very much so Turin, and well said. I still remember a character that I only played for a few sessions at one point, just because he couldn't get past his biases and refused to deal with the "Sub-human scum" we were dealing with. Goblins. And we were apparently supposed to negotiate with them....The DM knew I was making a bigot...I guess he liked the idea.

Unsurprisingly, the negotiations took a somewhat hostile turn when I decapitated the goblin commoner that touched my cloak while begging for coins. Hey that cloak cost a good 50gp, it was thereafter permanently soiled and was used to wipe the "unclean filth" (blood) off of his sword.

Surprised you didn't wrap that particular goblin's corpse in the soiled cloak and incinerate the package...

I wasn't about to waste my Alchemist Fire on them.
Arrogant noble characters, while inspiring deathwishes from the rest of the party, are so fun to play. I love watching everyone else weigh the odds, should we kill him? or should we keep using his connections?

Note that my character was a member of a dragonmarked house in Eberron, a Favored Soul (with lots of healing that could be used on the sick, which I didn't do), and not the best melee fighter, which is all he thought was honorable.

I wasn't about to waste my Alchemist Fire on them.
Arrogant noble characters, while inspiring deathwishes from the rest of the party, are so fun to play. I love watching everyone else weigh the odds, should we kill him? or should we keep using his connections?

Note that my character was a member of a dragonmarked house in Eberron, a Favored Soul (with lots of healing that could be used on the sick, which I didn't do), and not the best melee fighter, which is all he thought was honorable.

Do you find it tough to run a game for that many players? I have five players, and even that can bog down. I can't imagine running a productive game with the ammount of players you have. Five is my cap, and most game sessions only have 4 players.

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that, unless it is critical to the group's success (like in that battle for Farshore), I'm pretty much obligated to rapidly and brutally annihilate any and all such speedbumps a group of this size brings to bear. Anything over 5 players and the viability of a PC group 'needing' such tools as opposed to having them as gravy is inversely proportionate to the amount of headache they provide me as the GM to deal with. Said headache will rapidly grow in said proportion with how little prep work the players bothered to do for thier critters.

In other words, if my players are too lazy to even do up a basic index card for thier critters, said critters are going to die horribly and immediately, as early in an encounter as can be arranged.

Given how they are heading towards the Sinister Spire, they of course have to address the matter of the necessity to bring along at least 1,500 feet of rope to get into (and back out of) the Earth Node that is the opening room of the module. If they knot it up to get the best possible climb DC, that amount of rope increases to 3,000 ft. (Granted, for the first, the DC is a mere 0, but I'm going to tack on the +5 slippery DC increase.)

3,000 ft of rope is 60 50ft coils. If hemp, is 600 pounds @ 60 gp. If silk, that's 300 pounds @ 600 gp. A piton every 10 ft is 100 pitons, totalling another 50 pounds @ 10 gp.

Hrm ... 50-100 ft straight drop, a 1,000 ft of 45 degree slope, then a 150 ft drop. They probably won't die from that.

Given how they are heading towards the Sinister Spire, they of course have to address the matter of the necessity to bring along at least 1,500 feet of rope to get into (and back out of) the Earth Node that is the opening room of the module. If they knot it up to get the best possible climb DC, that amount of rope increases to 3,000 ft. (Granted, for the first, the DC is a mere 0, but I'm going to tack on the +5 slippery DC increase.)

3,000 ft of rope is 60 50ft coils. If hemp, is 600 pounds @ 60 gp. If silk, that's 300 pounds @ 600 gp. A piton every 10 ft is 100 pitons, totalling another 50 pounds @ 10 gp.

Hrm ... 50-100 ft straight drop, a 1,000 ft of 45 degree slope, then a 150 ft drop. They probably won't die from that.

Asides from the fairly easily addressed matter of the initial drop out of the Barrow of the Forgotten King and into the long, long slope leading down into the Earth Node that opens the Sinister Spire, the group has it pretty easy.

One or two coils of rope and some manual labor will get them a wide enough opening to descend easily. Then they have 500 ft of steep slope, a small ledge and a 150ft drop to the bottom of the Node. (I have no intention of telling them anything more than I have to - they are fairly intuitive, and may well bypass the initial Cockroaches of Eeww encounter if they figure out the Node's 'trick'.)

Then they (being largely greedy and selfish) may butcher the hapless merchant, although I am really hoping the aboleth snares 1 or 2 of them and that the merchant gets away to take out an assassination contract on 'em. Once that's done, it's a matter of plowing through as much of the flavor text and mini-onions until they get into the Spire itself, where the fun really gets started.

Just have to wait a couple more days ...

And to recap, since the last posted PC roster is way back on page 2:

Barbarian 3 or 4 hewmahn,vaguely male, nominally CG (sliding fast to CN), STR 18, greatsword fetish, player is the proud (?) recipient of having died the most times in Allen's Age of Worms campaign, has a nasty habit of not knowing basic facts about his character, player is married to ...

Grey Elf generalist Wizard 4, female, CG (barely), INT 21, now the bearer of Merthuvial, black-bladed +1 adamantine longsword of legacy, one of my saner players in most circumstances.

Crusader 3 hewmahn, male, vaguely good-aligned, Devoted Spirit and White Raven schools, actually better suited to use the sword just received from the Forgotten King. (Although the King would not choose a non-Good aligned bearer I believe.), power gamer and currently dating ...

Druid (Shapeshifter class variant) 3, female some kind of elf, Vow of Poverty, NG, not particularly emphasizing spellcasting but rather melee ability, has a pet leopard [note the word 'pet'], shares an 'ew, icky' mentality regarding spiders and cockroaches with the elf wizard's player. I do believe she is going for warshaper prestige class, not sure about a second possible prestige class under consideration, although doing so I think would dilute her ability overmuch, is very pleased with her hideously high AC.

Fighter 3, race, gender, alignment unknown, player has made one or perhaps two sessions thus far due to the female leash that does not game.

Rogue 1/Bard 3, male human, NE, aspiring arcane trickster, VERY crafty player, is currently the group's bacon-saver due to (smartly) using a whip-dagger, disarming specialty and poisons whenever he can. Brooks no friendly fire on his person. Absconded with the Betrayer's +1 bastard sword only to return to the group with an armload of alchemists' fire, acid, tanglefoot bags, a couple of nets and a guisarme.

Cloistered Cleric 3/Wizard generalist 1, male human, N (soo close to NE, but not quite), heading for Mystic Theurge and the party's primary item crafter once he hits 6th level. Will, for all practical purposes, be perpetually 'stuck' at 4th level turning ability (due to the ephod he acquired on the side quest), won't have feats available with which to acquire divine metamagic nor the extra turn attempts per day to really make it worth his while.

Guest-starring draconic bloodlined (red) Sorceror 4, CN (was CG, will likely slide all the way to CE in the next session), arrogant scion of the Meravanchi family (that good old Avner belongs to), has a peon/caddy in tow. His peon has requisitioned the +1 studded leather suit that the bickering party members left behind on the floor.

Favored Soul of Tharizdun 4, human male, NE (sliding towards CE), favored weapon is a sacrificial knife (using kukri stats), has received my blessing to choose spells from Tharizdun's domain spell lists as well as from the standard cleric list.

fey-bloodline Warlock 4, human male, CN, has been going out of his way to pick invocations he believes a fey would be inclined towards, proven his value to the group time and again.

I believe that sums it up

Hey Turin, I know this is off-topic, but what CR would you place a Fighter 14 or so, with only masterwork equipment, nothing magical whatsoever?

I'm sure the rule for figuring CR for a character of this sort must exist somewhere, I just can't think of where.

This is going on the itty bitty chart from DMG p. 39, where it talks about relative difficulty adjustments to the XP awarded.

Ok, what it technically means is the party whups him, gets 1/2, 2/3 and so on of the xp his CR 14 would normally award the group. If a group of 7th level characters takes this guy on, the DMG guidelines basically say the party gets half of 25,200 xp (!) for the encounter as the baseline, modified up or down for relative difficulty. Yeah ... right ... I'd do that IF he actually gave them something of a challenge, otherwise I'd half his CR as the starting point, adjusting upwards from there depending on how much of a fight he actually put up.

Just keep in mind, what he's got, the PC's will likely get from his corpse...

Thanks for the input Turin. And wait, your guys are going straight for the Sinister Spire now?

When are they going to take on the Bullywugs gambit?
Are they just easily distracted? Or are you beefing them up for an expected encounter of death? <---My vote

Hey Turin, here is an addy for you, if you want to show the player of the FS of the Dark God his ceremonial raiment....

http://www.greyhawkonline.com/wogcomic/title/wogstrip132a.htm

Ahhh..Life as a cultist of Tharizdun

Thanks for the input Turin. And wait, your guys are going straight for the Sinister Spire now?

When are they going to take on the Bullywugs gambit?
Are they just easily distracted? Or are you beefing them up for an expected encounter of death? <---My vote

Yes, they are easily distracted it seems. The Sinister Spire, if they are careless, can frag characters right out of the gate.

And, per Randy "Macho Man" Savage, OOOHH YEAH!! am I beefing them up for a trip to the Danger Zone in the Bullywug Gambit. In particular, I plan to administer incinerations galore with the krewe that bushwhacks them upon thier return from Kraken's Cove. Kraken's Cove is going to be especially unpleasant for them as well, since I fully expect to be gleefully beefing up the savage beasties that are rampaging around ... and probably swapping out the mundane puke humanoids for more malevolent beasties as well.

By the time they finish the Sinister Spire, I'm betting I'll have part 3 in my hands - and of course that they will wish to pursue the remainder of the legacy goodies.

Once they (finally) get back on track to the main campaign arc, Vanthus is going to send them all customized presents (using his formidable Forgery skill to make it look like Lavinia has sent them), which will be items of gender-bending. Naturally, since Vanthus has already taunted them once (with the note he stuffed in the mouth of his dupe) as to the nature of his intentions for the female characters, he next plans to have ALL the characters be barefoot and child-bearing ... in his kitchen. Once the 'gig is up', he will of course exercise all due bragging rights.

Now, if I can only find the 3rd edition write-up of it ... sadly, it seems to have disappeared from the DMG in 3.5 ...

Hey Turin, here is an addy for you, if you want to show the player of the FS of the Dark God his ceremonial raiment....

http://www.greyhawkonline.com/wogcomic/title/wogstrip132a.htm

Ahhh..Life as a cultist of Tharizdun

That is decidedly nasty...so Vanthus has made plans for the characters...ALL the characters it would seem. His own little harem. NICE!
That should get the characters (and the players riled!).
Oh yeah.....(<--- me too) I like it!

Ahhh....here I am, up far too early on a sunday...pondering the many meaning of life and the almighty messageboard and I realize that there are two things that particularly excite me about today....

1) I actually am meeting with the folks of the group I am getting together tonight for coffee to get all the kinks figured out (very minor stuff, just meet and greet, who is going to host, etc).

2) I am waiting for the death and destruction caused by Turin, DDM.

Why do I keep having some image of a gleeful kobold looking down on the group climbing up the Sinster Spire, brandishing a dagger. ^_^
That sounds so very fun. It doesn't mean he/she is an unreasonable kobold, just one that wants you magicky sword. Heheh

That is decidedly nasty...so Vanthus has made plans for the characters...ALL the characters it would seem. His own little harem. NICE!
That should get the characters (and the players riled!).
Oh yeah.....(<--- me too) I like it!

^_^ If things go even half-way along the lines I am hoping for, ALL the characters will be female ... most of them involuntarily.

BTW, I've figured out the DC on the saving throw to resist gender-bending, based on a one-shot Polymorph Any Object: DC 22, Fortitude.(10+8+4 minimum ability modifier.) Nyuk nyuk nyuk. Worth every silver of the 6,000 gp a shot (8x15x50 use-activated, one-time) in my opinion, and given the amount of game time they will have burned through by the time they get these little gems, Vanthus has certainly 'earned' enough money to commission them and arrange for thier distribution.

I will have prepared index cards made up for each male character's 'gift' for when they receive them.

Oh so lovely....
I love it when you have a group that you can pull out all the stops with. Like the Dungeon 149 Melcanthet's palace scene. With the right players, who aren't squamish, that looks like it will be soooooo much fun.

Don't get me wrong, I like to see players/characters squirm, but there is always the danger of walking the fine line between 'this is what is happening and what you see' and proceeding to go into gory details and the simple line of 'you see a scene of such obscene debauchery that it assaults your senses..'

You are really really trying to make sure everyone hates him as much as is possible huh? Hey, it makes for a believable villain. I think a lot of players never get to see the truly sick side that some DMs shy away from.

I mean, most players never really have a true appreciation for what makes fiends, well...fiendish. The vanilla fiends so many DMs toss out there just doesn't do their true deviance justice. And yes, I just used Deviance and Justice in the same sentence, YES!

Oh so lovely....
I love it when you have a group that you can pull out all the stops with. Like the Dungeon 149 Melcanthet's palace scene. With the right players, who aren't squamish, that looks like it will be soooooo much fun.

Don't get me wrong, I like to see players/characters squirm, but there is always the danger of walking the fine line between 'this is what is happening and what you see' and proceeding to go into gory details and the simple line of 'you see a scene of such obscene debauchery that it assaults your senses..'

As it turns out, Vanthus caught her, whalloped the snot out of her (among other things that can easily be imagined) then turned her into the authorities. This alone has roped a 3rd player into not liking him overmuch. ^_^

You are really really trying to make sure everyone hates him as much as is possible huh? Hey, it makes for a believable villain. I think a lot of players never get to see the truly sick side that some DMs shy away from.

I mean, most players never really have a true appreciation for what makes fiends, well...fiendish. The vanilla fiends so many DMs toss out there just doesn't do their true deviance justice. And yes, I just used Deviance and Justice in the same sentence, YES!

The group proceeded to prosecute the fight with extreme prejudice, then euthanized the woman afterwards. It was quite gratifying to see the extremely enthusiastic reaction from the players. ^_^

Fiends and those who aspire to be like them are wonderful button-pusher antagonists...

Session 9 of my First Savage Tide saw our intrepid band of scalliwags venture forth into the Underdark in pursuit of Fahdeela and the stash of Legacy Weapons procured by means of the band of messily-deceased bad guys.

Sadly, they elected to burn off an entire month of game time before thier return trip. They had, as circumstances revealed, elected to pursue a few side trips and follow-up details prior to re-entering the Barrow and pursuing the trail (now rather cold) of the mysterious Fahdeela.

They had the forsight to collectively bring a (barely sufficient) quantity of rope to safely journey into the Earth Node.

The excitement really kicked into high gear when the rogue/bard, spider climbing down the side of the Earth Node in pursuit of swag - and the Everburning Torch that they had dropped in over a month prior still illuminating the shattered now-skeletal remnants of Xeron - came across the fearsome tremorsense that the cockroaches possess as they boiled out of the 12 clock-facing openings and into the floor of the Node. With great haste he fled back up the side of the Node, flying and climbing swarms, Really Large and Giant Cockroaches in hot pursuit of the self-propelled field ration clambering up the side of the Node.

The sickening stench of the two giant roaches did some good, coupled with thier high AC. Moments later, the half-dozen swarms came boiling up the sides of the Node and onto the 20ft x 20ft ledge the party was on. The 3 Really Large Roaches came into play a short time later.

Alchemists Fire, bludgeoning weapons and of course the ever-entertaining Web spell came into play quickly, and over the course of about 10 rounds the roaches were either driven off or slain - mostly driven off. The pet leopard of the druid was devoured alive, and only the imminent threat of incineration drove off the devouring swarms and roaches from chowing on the druid herself. Said character now has a healthy fear of webbing in general, Web spells especially (since they always seem to be associated with her near-death and even worse, getting plenty of fire damage).

After some fruitless brainfarting, the PCs finally trekked back to town, procured some 160 gp worth of lamp oil, muscled it back to the ledge, dumped it over into the main floor and fired it.

After several days, the fire finally died out (smoking out the entire node, asphyxiating the roaches that remained and smoking out the entirety of the Barrow itself, causing consternation amongst the self-appointed guardians of the mausoleum) and now they've spent five weeks of game time since the conclusion of the Barrow.

Much brainfarting later, they realize they can activate the Earth Node to go ... elsewhere.

They *pouf* through and wind up in the bottom of a 30ft deep crater in an underground Grotto. After clambering out, they espy a wagon with 2 lizards as draft animals and a dwarf sitting upon the buckboard.

Upon examination, they realize the dwarf (the merchant) and the lizards are petrified - the dwarf is still there with his eyeballs intact with the rest stone. They rob his purse and his strongbox and move onto the shattered city of pedestal.

Across the bridge they note four skum petrified in the water just below the broken juncture, whose lairs they loot. They get to the southern gate of the city, and encounter 5 petrified kuo-toa. They make thier way up the street into town, methodically searching the buildings to either side. All they ecounter are petrified derro, duergar, drow and the occassional pet as they - over the course of 10 hours - make thier way up the street to the inn owned by Es Sarch.

After the CN warlock's indiscriminate appetites land him a brief scuffle with an insane grimlock female packing a meat cleaver (whom he incinerates after 3 shots), they eventually are successful in negotiating with the unique undead information broker. They set about fulfilling his task of ridding the city of the matron of the remaining drow House in the town.

The session concluded with a hallway full of webbing, two summoned fiendish spiders about to chow on the rogue/bard and warlock, and combat about to get underway in earnest.

The true question at this point is just how many age categories these PC will advance by the time they actually finish the AP. They killed FIVE weeks of game time doing nothing? Doh! Hey, I know its travel time and all that, but taking that much time just to go back for lamp oil?

I do have to say though Turin, they seem to be doing rather well. They are thinking through their situations and acting accordingly, if perhaps without alacrity. I'd rather have cautious and slow players that fast and stupid one, so hey, here is to your group.

Oh, I just have to ask, what did the Hexblade do in the battle? (I realize he is not a Hexblade in this AP, but I think that is his official name at this point. Hexen Ineptus.

The true question at this point is just how many age categories these PC will advance by the time they actually finish the AP. They killed FIVE weeks of game time doing nothing? Doh! Hey, I know its travel time and all that, but taking that much time just to go back for lamp oil?

I do have to say though Turin, they seem to be doing rather well. They are thinking through their situations and acting accordingly, if perhaps without alacrity. I'd rather have cautious and slow players that fast and stupid one, so hey, here is to your group.

Oh, I just have to ask, what did the Hexblade do in the battle? (I realize he is not a Hexblade in this AP, but I think that is his official name at this point. Hexen Ineptus.

Sir Hexus Ineptus basically used his greatsword several consecutive rounds on the swarms (halving damage each time, when he did hit, which was not often), got sickened a lot - nauseated outright at least once-, got munched on heavily then fled back to the rear with the cleric when down to about 40% of his not-inconsiderable hp total.

I would have to state that really, only 2 players really think much - the NE bard/rogue and the N(e) Cloistered Cleric/Wizard of Boccob. The Fighter - who swears profusely that he will indeed be a regular player now that the summer is over and the leash has no more (expensive) road trips for him to pay for - also thinks. He has asked about spending skill points to get extra words speakable per round. (I have a house rule - you can say 3 or 4 words per round as a free action.)

I use a similar House Rule, I usually go with about five or six myself.

I got annoyed by my old DMs habit of making one player (note: not character, player) wholly responsible for all tactical party movement. He designed each encounter in such a fashion that if we didn't use perfect tactics we got royally hosed each time. It made our party very effective...but very unrealistic.
He really didn't even care if someone was in a zone of silence, essentially he somehow understood his orders and move appropriately anyway. That really grated on me.

I prefer a game where the wizard is trying to gesticulate madly to get the deaf guy to understand, rather than one where he just does what hes told, without being told at all.

I use a similar House Rule, I usually go with about five or six myself.

I got annoyed by my old DMs habit of making one player (note: not character, player) wholly responsible for all tactical party movement. He designed each encounter in such a fashion that if we didn't use perfect tactics we got royally hosed each time. It made our party very effective...but very unrealistic.
He really didn't even care if someone was in a zone of silence, essentially he somehow understood his orders and move appropriately anyway. That really grated on me.

I prefer a game where the wizard is trying to gesticulate madly to get the deaf guy to understand, rather than one where he just does what hes told, without being told at all.

Having one player do all the tactical movement is pretty shady to me too - encounters are more FUN when the players have to use thier brains for something besides a hat rack...

I might have been biased against the 'tactical movement' because my old DM required it be me that did it. I think thats because he could never beat me at chess....the D&D board was his territory. Yeah...it was REALLY shady.

I'll try the 3-4 word cap out next time, see how it works for me.