Hopefully others can use this thread to clarify questions arising in this adventure. If you happen to see another thread, please link post a link in this one to try and keep things tied together.

Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings
Chapter 2: The Skinsaw Murders
Chapter 3: The Hook Mountain Massacre
Chapter 4: Fortress of the Stone Giants
Chapter 5: Sins of the Saviors
Chapter 6: Spires of Xin-Shalast

"In the next week or so, we're expecting to ship the next volume of your subscription."

If you see a post that may relate to the thread, feel free to post a link!

So the PDFs are out!

And so I have things to clear up:

1) The impaler of thorns appears to be built off of a +1 longspear - is this correct?

2) The notes for Xanesha say that her stats include her pre-fight buffs, but I don't see any sign of that. In particular, mage armor and shield should raise her AC by an additional +7 to 33(!), to which haste will add an additional +1, along with an additional +1 to attack, +1 to her Reflex save and another longspear attack at a total of +21.

Speaking of which, how are a 4 6th level characters supposed to beat her anyway...?

Speaking of which, how are a 4 6th level characters supposed to beat her anyway...?

I'm at home today (WOO!) and don't have a copy of Pathfinder handy, but I do know that her spear is indeed built off a baseline +1 weapon.

She's certainly a tough fight for what we assume are, at minimum, 6th level characters. They might even be 7th level when they confront her. Her real weakness is the fact that she's outnumbered, and that always skews things in the favor of the larger group. And one should never underestimate the ingenuity of a group of PCs!

On p. 12 it says that Ibor Thorn mentions rumours that the Scarnettis have burned down several competing lumber mills in the region. In Burnt Offerings (p. 68) it says that the rumours are that the Scarnettis have burnt down several competing grain mills.

On p. 12 it says that Ibor Thorn mentions rumours that the Scarnettis have burned down several competing lumber mills in the region. In Burnt Offerings (p. 68) it says that the rumours are that the Scarnettis have burnt down several competing grain mills.

But yeah... rumors. They're good sources of info, but you can't always trust them! :)

I also heard they were in league with the underpants gnomes, stealing citizen's underpants in a lucrative scheme to finance their dark operations....the scheme went...

1)steal underpants
2)???????
3)Profit!

Already found a little quibbling thing. On page 27 the text says there are three carrionstorms waiting for the PCs as they exit the manor, but there are five listed in the statblock reference. Which is it?

Another question: the spherewalker PrC (which I am generally pretty fond of, just FYI) mentions that, for characters that have no spellcasting to begin with, you basically gain access to one domain slot per class level. It then goes on to say that "bonus spells" are granted by your Wisdom score. I'm assuming this is not actually meant to imply the character would get bonus domain slots...?

I'm assuming this is not actually meant to imply the character would get bonus domain slots...?

Shisumo wrote:

I'm assuming this is not actually meant to imply the character would get bonus domain slots...?

Can you propose an alternate interpretation? On the one hand it seems unlikely, but barring this just being a mistake I can't come up with a more likely meaning.

Turning a haunt makes it go away, so presumably rebuking them does the same. Is there a special effect for commanding a haunt?

The "flat-out mistake" is what I was suggesting the most likely "meaning" would be...

So what happens with Iesha's Revenant if the PC's set her free and she's able to hunt down Aldern?

I figure that she ends up clearing the path as it were allowing the PC's to by-pass any haunts and encounters on the way if they follow her straight down. But, she'll be so fatigued by the ordeal that Aldern wil be able to strike her down when she enters so that the PC's still have their big fight waiting for them.

Not exactly related to this adventure, but the 'iconic characters' don't seem to have very many hit points considering their levels and Con scores. Valeros is pretty reasonable but the others have less than I'd expect.

Valeros Ftr 4 Con 12 - 30hp (11 (1st level)+ 3d10+3 means he rolled 15)
Seoni Sor 4 Con 12 - 12hp (5 + 3d4+3 means she rolled 4)
Kyra Clr 4 Con 14 - 23hp (10 + 3d8+6 means she rolled 7)
Merisiel Rog 4 Con 12 - 17hp (7 + 3d6+3 means she rolled 7)

Actually, if someone forgot to add their Con bonus when they levelled up their rolls are perfectly average.

Under the heading, "Sin and the PC," it instructs the DM to begin tallying when PC's undertake any noteworthy "sin"-like activity, but what should happen, if anything, if the PC's actually do the opposite?

For example, my PC's subdued Tsuto at the expense of nearly provoking a TPK (everyone was below 0hp but stabilized, and it was down to one, single PC and a lucky roll of the die).

Also, they were careful to leave the goblins prisoners of Thistletop alive, they freed the harem, and they accepted Orik's surrender and paid him for his assistance to clear out the rest of Thistletop.

Already found a little quibbling thing. On page 27 the text says there are three carrionstorms waiting for the PCs as they exit the manor, but there are five listed in the statblock reference. Which is it?

Aren't you supposed to be on vacation, James? You have nothing better to do with your time than post on the forums?

Silly James. Go do a fun thing, or something.

Turning a haunt makes it go away, so presumably rebuking them does the same. Is there a special effect for commanding a haunt?

Aren't you supposed to be on vacation, James? You have nothing better to do with your time than post on the forums?

Silly James. Go do a fun thing, or something.

So what happens with Iesha's Revenant if the PC's set her free and she's able to hunt down Aldern?

I figure that she ends up clearing the path as it were allowing the PC's to by-pass any haunts and encounters on the way if they follow her straight down. But, she'll be so fatigued by the ordeal that Aldern wil be able to strike her down when she enters so that the PC's still have their big fight waiting for them.

It's best to assume, I think, that she makes it to Aldern relatively unharmed. At that point, if the PCs haven't kept up with her progress, you can either run the combat between them in secret to determine the outcome. OR you can just assume that Aldern defeats her but is reduced to half hit points or something like that.

The point with the encounter is that Aldern's tough, and if the PCs release Iesha, she'll soften him up a little for them, making that fight a little easer.

I'm a little curious what the point of the Notice DCs are for the haunts in Foxglove Manor.

As far as I can tell, they only have an effect for Clerics or Paladins, who can turn/rebuke/command the haunts away IF they notice the haunt AND they win the initiative roll AND they succeed on the turn check.

Is there something I'm missing? I like the initiative mechanic for them, but it really doesn't seem to be much use as written.

There's a reference to downloadable content for the map of Magnimar in that section of Pathfinder 2. Has such downloadable content been posted as of yet?

There's a reference to downloadable content for the map of Magnimar in that section of Pathfinder 2. Has such downloadable content been posted as of yet?

Another question about the Haunts:

I noticed that every type of haunt (including universal) has two occurrences... EXCEPT the Festering haunt. Is that intentional?

Since I have only 4 PCs, and I don't want all 4 of them taking them Suicide Compulsion haunt (none of them fit the "insane haunt" category), I was going to split the non-universal spare hauntings one to a player. That won't work with only 3 spare non-universal haunts, though :P

I'm a little curious what the point of the Notice DCs are for the haunts in Foxglove Manor.

As far as I can tell, they only have an effect for Clerics or Paladins, who can turn/rebuke/command the haunts away IF they notice the haunt AND they win the initiative roll AND they succeed on the turn check.

I think that's it. I suspect that there won't be a lot of parties with neither a cleric nor a paladin, so it makes sense to support those abilities.

If you win the Initiative, you can still certainly react to the coming haunt. The things you notice, perhaps, might give a character clues on how to prepare for what's coming. Or he could try to flee the room before the haunt gets him. And some of those haunts make attack rolls... if you win initiative, you aren't flat footed when they strike.

As for the haunts themselves, there should be 2 of all of them, festering included. If there's only one festering haunt... no big deal, I guess. We might have cut it for any number of reasons.

On a side note geez Mr. Jacobs do you ever sleep???? I thought I had bad insomnia!

If you win the Initiative, you can still certainly react to the coming haunt. The things you notice, perhaps, might give a character clues on how to prepare for what's coming. Or he could try to flee the room before the haunt gets him. And some of those haunts make attack rolls... if you win initiative, you aren't flat footed when they strike.

As for the haunts themselves, there should be 2 of all of them, festering included. If there's only one festering haunt... no big deal, I guess. We might have cut it for any number of reasons.

On a side note geez Mr. Jacobs do you ever sleep???? I thought I had bad insomnia!

*I'm assuming that since James keeps on posting on the boards during his "vacation" that he didn't leave the Seattle area, and therefore is still on Pacific time.

Unless of course he is sitting on a beach in Florida with a laptop, then it would be late ;-)

yeah well it's almost 2 am for me... so to me it's late not to mention that I posted that in consideration of other posts I have seen when the insomnia is really kicking. Which is generally 4-5 am my time. I am able to get at least an hours sleep most nights however. ;)

Another question: the spherewalker PrC (which I am generally pretty fond of, just FYI) mentions that, for characters that have no spellcasting to begin with, you basically gain access to one domain slot per class level. It then goes on to say that "bonus spells" are granted by your Wisdom score. I'm assuming this is not actually meant to imply the character would get bonus domain slots...?

Hope that clears it up!

Right - but only the character being haunted gets the check to react in time, as written. There's nothing a character that lacks Turn Undead can do even if they succeed on all their checks and win initiative. It just feels like something is... missing. I may end up granting a save/AC bonus for characters that notice the haunt and win init.

Magnimar Maps scale wrong?

The Shadow scale is off. Easy fix is to halve the scale to 320.

The Map Key is also off. See link for updated information.

Sebastian wrote:

There's a reference to downloadable content for the map of Magnimar in that section of Pathfinder 2. Has such downloadable content been posted as of yet?

Yep. Check the blog.

tbug wrote:

Shisumo wrote:

I'm assuming this is not actually meant to imply the character would get bonus domain slots...?

Can you propose an alternate interpretation? On the one hand it seems unlikely, but barring this just being a mistake I can't come up with a more likely meaning.

The "flat-out mistake" is what I was suggesting the most likely "meaning" would be...

Or it could be a mistake, but I thought it made sense.

What does "ar" after the year stand for? I'm sorry if I missed the reference elsewhere.

Also, if I understand the haunts correctly, "only" the haunted individual senses anything. Everyone senses absolutely nothing and just witnesses their fellow PC start to act weird for no apparent reason, right?

I just want to be sure primarily since I'm running a duet game, and getting details accurately will help keep her PC's properly differentiated.

What does "ar" after the year stand for? I'm sorry if I missed the reference elsewhere.

Found out the information in an old blog post. The one about the calendar states it is Absalom Reckoning.

Found out the information in an old blog post. The one about the calendar states it is Absalom Reckoning.

I've read the other thread on haunts, but I'd still like to be clear on whether or not other non-effected PC's witness anything at all with haunts or if they just think their friend is going nutso.

I understand that the *effected* PC who gets a higher initiative may alert other PC's, but how effective can they be if they don't see anything (beyond guessing on some random spell that might help such as Remove Fear, Dispel Magic, See Invisible)?

Djoc wrote:

Found out the information in an old blog post. The one about the calendar states it is Absalom Reckoning.

Cool, thank you.

I've read the other thread on haunts, but I'd still like to be clear on whether or not other non-effected PC's witness anything at all with haunts or if they just think their friend is going nutso.

I understand that the *effected* PC who gets a higher initiative may alert other PC's, but how effective can they be if they don't see anything (beyond guessing on some random spell that might help such as Remove Fear, Dispel Magic, See Invisible)?

p92, Lamia Matriarch:
In stat block: Melee touch (2d4 Wisdom),
but in the description: Wisdom Drain (Su) ...deals 1d6 Wisdom drain with a touch

Which should we use?

p92, Lamia Matriarch:
In stat block: Melee touch (2d4 Wisdom),
but in the description: Wisdom Drain (Su) ...deals 1d6 Wisdom drain with a touch

Which should we use?

Are these threads being stickied for easy location?

Under the heading, "Sin and the PC," it instructs the DM to begin tallying when PC's undertake any noteworthy "sin"-like activity, but what should happen, if anything, if the PC's actually do the opposite?

For example, my PC's subdued Tsuto at the expense of nearly provoking a TPK (everyone was below 0hp but stabilized, and it was down to one, single PC and a lucky roll of the die).

Also, they were careful to leave the goblins prisoners of Thistletop alive, they freed the harem, and they accepted Orik's surrender and paid him for his assistance to clear out the rest of Thistletop.

By extension whatever occurs in RotR #6 hooks onto these instances of sin, like a chink in the armour, hence its important, whereas displays of virtue are not.

I wonder though, what was the motivations about the above: was the blow v Tsuto a prideful display or prowess that unnecessarily endangered the group? Did they get Orik to help as they needed the extra sword or because they showed Sloth and let him take all the risks?

Here's a recap of the current thread. I marked some needed answers and clarifications at the bottom.

If you see other threads that would be useful, feel free to link them to this one.

I've also posted a "Should be shipping soon" to the next adventure (link at the top of this one).

Hope this helps!

Q: On p. 12 it says that Ibor Thorn mentions rumours that the Scarnettis have burned down several competing lumber mills in the region. In Burnt Offerings (p. 68) it says that the rumours are that the Scarnettis have burnt down several competing grain mills.
A: JJ: The truth of what mills the Scarnettis may or may not be involved with will be revealed soon enough (in Pathfinder 4, in fact).

Q: On page 27 the text says there are three carrionstorms waiting for the PCs as they exit the manor, but there are five listed in the statblock reference. Which is it?
A: JJ: Five.

Q: The spherewalker PrC (which I am generally pretty fond of, just FYI) mentions that, for characters that have no spellcasting to begin with, you basically gain access to one domain slot per class level. It then goes on to say that "bonus spells" are granted by your Wisdom score. I'm assuming this is not actually meant to imply the character would get bonus domain slots...?
A: F. Wesley Schneider: There should be a paragraph break before the sentence "The number of bonus spells and spell save DCs are set by the spherewalker's Wisdom score." Characters without access to a spellcasting class do not gain access to bonus spells, despite the benefits of domain spells this class grants none spellcasters. Only 1 spell per level, regardless of Wisdom. Their spell save DCs are set by their Wisdom scores, though, as normal.

Q: Turning a haunt makes it go away, so presumably rebuking them does the same. Is there a special effect for commanding a haunt?
A: JJ: If you command a haunt, it basically has the same effect as turning it; it stops bothering you and your party (or whoever you designate). But it doesn't go away; if an enemy enters the haunt's range, it would lash out at them.

Q: So what happens with Iesha's Revenant if the PC's set her free and she's able to hunt down Aldern?
A: JJ: The revenant knows where Aldern is, and makes a beeline for him, and only the GM at that point would know what foes stand in her way. Remember that none of the hauntings can really hurt her cause, as undead, she's immune to mind-affecting stuff. The PCs are, though, and following her will lead them through at least a few hauntings that'll slow them down; keeping up with her should be difficult. Ghouls in her path are also unlikely to attack her.
It's best to assume, I think, that she makes it to Aldern relatively unharmed. At that point, if the PCs haven't kept up with her progress, you can either run the combat between them in secret to determine the outcome. OR you can just assume that Aldern defeats her but is reduced to half hit points or something like that.
The point with the encounter is that Aldern's tough, and if the PCs release Iesha, she'll soften him up a little for them, making that fight a little easer.

Q: I'm a little curious what the point of the Notice DCs are for the haunts in Foxglove Manor.
A: If you win the Initiative, you can still certainly react to the coming haunt. The things you notice, perhaps, might give a character clues on how to prepare for what's coming. Or he could try to flee the room before the haunt gets him. And some of those haunts make attack rolls... if you win initiative, you aren't flat footed when they strike.

Q: I noticed that every type of haunt (including universal) has two occurrences... EXCEPT the Festering haunt. Is that intentional?
A: JJ: There should be 2 of all of them, festering included. If there's only one festering haunt... no big deal, I guess. We might have cut it for any number of reasons.

Q & A: Magnimar Maps scale wrong? The Shadow scale is off. Easy fix is to halve the scale to 320. The Map Key is also off. See link for updated information.

Q: What does "ar" after the year stand for?
A: Djoc: Found out the information in an old blog post. The one about the calendar states it is Absalom Reckoning.

Answers needed:
Q: p92, Lamia Matriarch: In stat block: Melee touch (2d4 Wisdom), but in the description: Wisdom Drain (Su) ...deals 1d6 Wisdom drain with a touch. Which should we use?
A:

Q: There's a reference to downloadable content for the map of Magnimar in that section of Pathfinder 2. Has such downloadable content been posted as of yet?
A:

Q: The notes for Xanesha say that her stats include her pre-fight buffs, but I don't see any sign of that. In particular, mage armor and shield should raise her AC by an additional +7 to 33(!), to which haste will add an additional +1, along with an additional +1 to attack, +1 to her Reflex save and another longspear attack at a total of +21.
A:

Clarification:
Q: The impaler of thorns appears to be built off of a +1 longspear - is this correct?
A: JJ: Don't have a copy of Pathfinder handy, but I do know that her spear is indeed built off a baseline +1 weapon.

Q: Under the heading, "Sin and the PC," it instructs the DM to begin tallying when PC's undertake any noteworthy "sin"-like activity, but what should happen, if anything, if the PC's actually do the opposite?
A: Firedancer: My tuppence: we're looking at instances of sin, not of virtue. Someone somewhere, sometime said something (how's that for vague) like "you can do good for all your life, but do 1 bad thing and you'll be remembered for that" (wow, Heather Mills, you're a great example of this!).
By extension whatever occurs in RotR #6 hooks onto these instances of sin, like a chink in the armour, hence its important, whereas displays of virtue are not.

Q: I noticed that every type of haunt (including universal) has two occurrences... EXCEPT the Festering haunt. Is that intentional?

A: JJ: There should be 2 of all of them, festering included. If there's only one festering haunt... no big deal, I guess. We might have cut it for any number of reasons.

My tuppence: we're looking at instances of sin, not of virtue. Someone somewhere, sometime said something (how's that for vague) like "you can do good for all your life, but do 1 bad thing and you'll be remembered for that" (wow, Heather Mills, you're a great example of this!).

By extension whatever occurs in RotR #6 hooks onto these instances of sin, like a chink in the armour, hence its important, whereas displays of virtue are not.

I wonder though, what was the motivations about the above: was the blow v Tsuto a prideful display or prowess that unnecessarily endangered the group? Did they get Orik to help as they needed the extra sword or because they showed Sloth and let him take all the risks?

They tried to keep Tsuto unharmed for many reasons: they wanted to interrogate him to find Ameiko and to investigate further his involvement with the recent goblin attack, and they didn't want to add to the carnage.

They spared Orik's life because he simply begged them and offered his services, daringly asking for 300gp, and apologizing for his guilt by association with Nualia. Since Saranrae represents redemption, Kyra figured that Orik deserved a second chance. Since they had already brought him close to death, they gave him the 300gp, a healing potion, and told him that he could stick to the back to provide "back-up" and as much info as he could about what lurked ahead. As soon as Nualia was put away, they parted ways.

They spared the lives of the goblin wives and the goblin prisoners because they were helpless and at their mercy.

I have felt that since acting virtuously requires more vigilance and discipline, that I was curious if there was something to expect.

Or, perhaps, put another way: what if the player's actions are so painstakingly difficult to peg down a "sin" of any kind, will this affect the AP towards the end game? So, essentially, "no matter what," I need to knuckle down, dig super deep, and find a sin appropriate for the characters as portrayed by my player in order to interact appropriately with a later event?

Well, honestly, if it comes down to "no matter what", you can always ask at some point, in a sort of 'getting to know your characters' way, "What do you think your character's greatest flaw is?" and go with that.