All the NPCs in the appendix have alignments, races and classes listed except Moltus Vargidan. He is simply listed as "sorcerer mentor." What are his alignment, race and class levels?

I'm confused about Kassen's stuff.

I'm confused about Kassen's stuff.

Spoiler:

>>>Kassen has level inappropriate stuff lying openly in his sarcophagus. If anyone takes it, Kassen puts a curse on them. Then when they light the lantern, he appears all chummy and gives different level appropriate treasure.

>>If people have taken his stuff, does he still appear when they light the lantern? Is he surly and standoff-ish instead? Does he treat people with his stuff differently than the others (like not giving them scales?) Will he openly talk about why he's unhappy, or just let them figure it out?

I think this is a "put yourself in the shoes of the NPC" section for the GM. It's like an if/then statement. IF the party steals his precious items, and then tried lighting the lantern, I'd have him express his dissapointment in them and to correct it before giving them any blessing. I suppose there could have been some text noting that but it makes sense he won't suddenly befriend folks who wronged him. Still, he seems a good fellow. Like I said, I bet he'd gently remind them of their wrongdoing.

>>How does he give people scales if someone's swiped the armor?

If they swiped his armor I'm sure he'd remind them to put it back to get their reward.

>>Where does the second batch of treasure come from? It seems kind of video-gamey to me...

Ah, this part! :-) When I read it I said the same thing. I quickly decided they're in some super-secret compartment only he can open, maybe under his coffin. There's ways of workign it into the story!

>>I am bringing this up early because I'm certain that my group will take his stuff probably without even a thought to the idea it might be wrong to do so.

In that case, if they do, again I'd have him appear to warn them and give them a chance to correct their ways. Heck, if they still don't and you wanna make life real miserable maybe he'd even find a way to get word back to the villagers of their theiving ways and their life will be a mess. But yeah, if they steal, no blessing, no boon.

Hope that helps!

This might really be a super-dumb question, but

This might really be a super-dumb question, but

Spoiler:

>>>do the stairs in areas 4 and 9 of level 1 actually go somewhere? I've read only about half of the adventure and so far it seems that they have no real purpose.

It's never addressed. It seems to me that they lead to each other, that it's a way to get from one part to the other by going under the passage they do.

Spoiler:

It's never addressed. It seems to me that they lead to each other, that it's a way to get from one part to the other by going under the passage they do.

I don't think that's the case, as

Spoiler:

>>>such a passage would invalidate the whole encounter of area 8 and 2 and a bit of the trap in area 11 (which is still valid to progress to the lower level).

Hmm, perhaps you're right. Cast "summon author" Jason for answer... ;-)

Where is it located? My map of Golarion doesn't show the river Tourondel (sp?) but I assume it's the river leading West out of the Lake and South of the wood that's labelled "Fangwood" (although the Southern part is also the Fangwood, of course), because Skelt is supposed to be at the "falls line" of the River Tourondel and that river is closest to Skelt (although on the Campaign Guide map, it's not really that close to any river). However, that river's journey through the Fangwood is mostly through Lastwall, not Nirmathas (wheras as I recall, the adventure is set in Nirmathas).

Jason says he intended for the passages from 9 and 4 to connect.

Jason says he intended for the passages from 9 and 4 to connect.

In terms of being the right level for the sequel, which of the three xp progressions are the modules assuming?

In terms of being the right level for the sequel, which of the three xp progressions are the modules assuming?

Bagpuss wrote:

In terms of being the right level for the sequel, which of the three xp progressions are the modules assuming?

I tried finding the quote, but could not, so this is unofficial. I could have sworn Mr. Jacobs posted somewhere that Paizo products would assume the fast track as 3.5 was unless otherwise noted.

Can someone point out if there is a way to unlock the door in the southwest of room 6?

Can someone point out if there is a way to unlock the door in the southwest of room 6?

spoiler

Question about the CR 1/3 skeletons....

The skeletons as presented in the module are CR 1/3 each. They had two attack options:

(Attack Option #1) Rusted Scimitar +0 (1d6) and Claw -3 (1d4+2)

or

(Attack Option #2) 2 Claws +2 (1d4+2)

I played them as Attack Option #2....each skeleton got two claw attacks at +2, which has potential to do 3-6 damage per attack, or 6-12 damage per round from each skeleton. Seems pretty powerful for a CR 1/3 creature.

I wiped the party out in two rounds with these things....am I playing that right? Should it just be one attack? The players were a little upset with me. :-)

Pathfinder Modules use the standard XP progression, not fast. This means the PCs probably won't be 3rd level at the end, but Masks of the Living God takes that into account at the start (even though it is written for 3+).

Jason says he planned to put a key for the door between 6/8 in area 2, or meant that door to be unlocked. Use whichever solution you prefer. :)

Pathfinder Modules use the standard XP progression, not fast. This means the PCs probably won't be 3rd level at the end, but Masks of the Living God takes that into account at the start (even though it is written for 3+).

Jason says he planned to put a key for the door between 6/8 in area 2, or meant that door to be unlocked. Use whichever solution you prefer. :)

Pathfinder Modules use the standard XP progression, not fast. This means the PCs probably won't be 3rd level at the end, but Masks of the Living God takes that into account at the start (even though it is written for 3+).

Will the APs be on standard progression, too? What will that do to 3.5 users, if that's the case?

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

Pathfinder Modules use the standard XP progression, not fast. This means the PCs probably won't be 3rd level at the end, but Masks of the Living God takes that into account at the start (even though it is written for 3+).

Excellent, thanks. That's what I prefer to play (standard progression) so it's handy that the modules are written that way.

Will the APs be on standard progression, too? What will that do to 3.5 users, if that's the case?

I guess that as PFRPG characters are a bit more powerful, it might make sense for the 3.5 parties to advance quicker.

For myself, in the APs, I tend to bump the party if needs be, from time to time.

Jason says he planned to put a key for the door between 6/8 in area 2, or meant that door to be unlocked. Use whichever solution you prefer. :)

However, when I thought about that, it occurred to me that some people will overthink the solution when they find the magic key and it doesn't unlock either door. They might start on the brute force method.

For now, the APs assume the Medium (standard) progression.

Where is it located? My map of Golarion doesn't show the river Tourondel (sp?) but I assume it's the river leading West out of the Lake and South of the wood that's labelled "Fangwood" (although the Southern part is also the Fangwood, of course), because Skelt is supposed to be at the "falls line" of the River Tourondel and that river is closest to Skelt (although on the Campaign Guide map, it's not really that close to any river). However, that river's journey through the Fangwood is mostly through Lastwall, not Nirmathas (wheras as I recall, the adventure is set in Nirmathas).

Bagpuss wrote:

Where is it located? My map of Golarion doesn't show the river Tourondel (sp?) but I assume it's the river leading West out of the Lake and South of the wood that's labelled "Fangwood" (although the Southern part is also the Fangwood, of course), because Skelt is supposed to be at the "falls line" of the River Tourondel and that river is closest to Skelt (although on the Campaign Guide map, it's not really that close to any river). However, that river's journey through the Fangwood is mostly through Lastwall, not Nirmathas (wheras as I recall, the adventure is set in Nirmathas).

Anyone got an answer for this?

There's some discussion about it in this thread.

The sidebar near the shadow says:

The PCs can use energy damage (such as from a burning torch) to hurt the shadow, but it only takes half damage from this source as well.

I am a bit mystified by this.

Incorporeal: Creatures with the incorporeal condition do not have a physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Incorporeal creatures take half damage (50%) from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects. Incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as all force effects.

"immune to all nonmagical attack" means throwing alchemist fire or poking with a torch will be ineffective, right?

Even assuming this is wrong, a torch does 1 pt of fire damage. Half of that is 0. I realize that in 3.5 a successful attack is supposed to do 1 pt barring DR, but the PRD says:

Minimum Damage: If penalties reduce the damage result to less than 1, a hit still deals 1 point of nonlethal damage.

So at best you arrive at the illogical idea of a torch doing 1 pt of non-lethal fire damage to a shadow.

I didn't play the beta. Would this sidebar comment have made more sense then and was never updated?

For now, the APs assume the Medium (standard) progression.

James Jacobs wrote:

For now, the APs assume the Medium (standard) progression.

So does that mean all the encounters in the module were designed for an APL of 1 and that we as DMs should adjust the encounters at the point the characters become 2nd level?

Where is it located? My map of Golarion doesn't show the river Tourondel (sp?) but I assume it's the river leading West out of the Lake and South of the wood that's labelled "Fangwood" (although the Southern part is also the Fangwood, of course), because Skelt is supposed to be at the "falls line" of the River Tourondel and that river is closest to Skelt (although on the Campaign Guide map, it's not really that close to any river). However, that river's journey through the Fangwood is mostly through Lastwall, not Nirmathas (wheras as I recall, the adventure is set in Nirmathas).

The Tourondel is the river that runs on the north side of Nirmathas, between it and Lastwall. It has two tributaries bracketing Bloodsworn Vale.

The Marideth River is the one that runs along the south side of Nirmathas, flowing into Lake Encarthan at Tamran (see Tamran on p. 113 of the Campaign Setting). It has three tributaries, the southernmost near Kraggodan.

If the flavor text in the mod is referring to the river flowing *THROUGH* the Fangwood, it should be the Marideth. Given that one of the later mods in the adventure takes place in Tamran, this seems likely.

Thanks!

Reposting this from the other thread on the module, FYI:

Having reread the module last night, I don't think there's anything in there that suggests the river should be anything other than the Tourondel, the north-side river of Nirmathas. The flavor text indicates it is not far from Belkzen, which supports a northwestern frontier placement, as well as stating that it's a logging town downriver from Skelt.

If you are looking for a geographic spot for Kassen, bearing in mind that the poster map in the PCCS is not hyper-accurate, I would probably place it at around the point on the river where it crosses the dashed red line of the Lastwall border (and is also close to the southern tip of Belkzen). This is about the point where the river enters the vicinity of the Fangwood (and also near enough to the hills to support the short overland trip to get to the Crypt).

I'm confused about Kassen's stuff.

** spoiler omitted **

I didn't get Ashkecker's point until I noticed that in the module Kassen's sarcophagus lies open, which is in my experience a "green light" for experienced players to get the stuff (closed sarcophagus = opening it would be tomb-robbing and generally a big no-no, open sarcophagus = something the PCs will sorely need in the adventure and/or "legal" treasure meant for the PCs). Hell, I could even see a Lawful character justifying that it's in everyone's best interests if that stuff is put into use, or at least borrowed to defeat the BBEG and then reverently returned back to sarcophagus. New players probably feel this way, too.

So, if this stuff was never meant for PCs to have, why flaunt it before their faces? I'm either going to let them borrow it for the final fight without any curse, or changing the sword and armor into normal, well-made equipment (i.e. decorated but not even masterwork items).

Otherwise this is a very good introductory module that has some really nice surprised there -- mostly basic stuff, but nice traps and ideas that might catch even an experienced player by surprise (that pool is just a great idea).

My biggest complaint is with the "hook" of the module; it may go over well with new players, but I know my players would find it very artificial and forced (we actually criticized James Wyatt's 'Dungeoncraft' articles about his Greenbrier campaign for this very same hook). So, no 'coming-of-age' rituals for my players; I'm likely going with 'Pathfinders-in-training' who are asked to go and look for a group of villagers who vanished in the vicinity of the tomb. Or maybe there are no vanished villagers; rather, the PCs will follow the trail of bandits (originally led by Razmir's priest) who stole something valuable from the village?

I received my copy, and I must say this is what also struck me as odd; it may be clear-cut for experienced GMs, but 20 years ago I might have just read the boxed text out loud without thinking about it too hard. I don't think it would have required too much space to include an entry/alternate description for parties who were struck by Kassen's curse (Kassen appears, lifts the curse, and then congratulates them).

I didn't get Ashkecker's point until I noticed that in the module Kassen's sarcophagus lies open, which is in my experience a "green light" for experienced players to get the stuff (closed sarcophagus = opening it would be tomb-robbing and generally a big no-no, open sarcophagus = something the PCs will sorely need in the adventure and/or "legal" treasure meant for the PCs). Hell, I could even see a Lawful character justifying that it's in everyone's best interests if that stuff is put into use, or at least borrowed to defeat the BBEG and then reverently returned back to sarcophagus. New players probably feel this way, too.

It also solves the following problems:
1) It explains where the other stuff came from.
2) I won't feel bad cursing someone if they take the rest of the stuff after he's gone.
3) The book says, he will "reluctantly" talk about his time adventuring with Asar. In my mind, you can only reluctantly talk about something if someone prods you to talk. If I make it clear during the fight that he and Asar know each other better than you would expect, it should make someone ask about it.

Here's what I think I will do: have Kassen's ghost appear slightly earlier. During the fight, he will offer advice to the party and trade barbs with Asar. After it, he will give the party the stuff from his tomb he can bear to part with, the usual reward, but leave the armor and sword. I think this will make the battle more memorable.

It also solves the following problems:
1) It explains where the other stuff came from.
2) I won't feel bad cursing someone if they take the rest of the stuff after he's gone.
3) The book says, he will "reluctantly" talk about his time adventuring with Asar. In my mind, you can only reluctantly talk about something if someone prods you to talk. If I make it clear during the fight that he and Asar know each other better than you would expect, it should make someone ask about it.

This and changing the backstory a bit (the PCs are local kids trained and sponsored by a retired Pathfinder who sends them to retrieve the stolen Everflame back from bandits) should make it all work really well for my group.

All in all this is a very good introductory module! :)

James Jacobs wrote:

For now, the APs assume the Medium (standard) progression.

Ashkecker wrote:

I'm confused about Kassen's stuff.

** spoiler omitted **

...

Getting ready to run this this weekend for the first time... any other quick advice on this module other than what's here? And I mean quick and easy, I've got the big stuff covered, so I'm looking for any random nuances that anyone has found that works well that aren't too obvious.

Thanks

All the NPCs in the appendix have alignments, races and classes listed except Moltus Vargidan. He is simply listed as "sorcerer mentor." What are his alignment, race and class levels?

Moltus Vargidan (CN male human sorcerer 5, sorcerer mentor)