Aotrscommander's page

Okay, got a bit of a bind. Our group is having one of our one-off games a week on Saturday. Problem is, last night, the guy who was supposed to be running it had his motherboard die on him, and he doesn't have the time/money to repair it *and* finish writing the adventure in time.

Which puts it down to me. Again. (Guess I won't be doing anything other than DMing until, like Easter then... *sigh*)

I don't have time to write a game inside a week, obviously (at least not to our level) - I've also got to start prep for a Rolemaster game at Christmas (and I'm DMing the current weekly game as well...)

Now, I have a couple of back-up modules, which I thought might serve... Problem is, from the looks of things they are all the wrong length. A full module is, obviously, way too long for a day game. The Pathfinder Society modules (specifically, the Third Riddle) look too short (as, from what I recall from the one I played at the one convention I went to, you run two a day).

So, what I'm looking for is something in between, that I can run in about six to eight hours (or thereabouts). For example, two linked Society modules would probably do it, if such a thing exists or could be reasonably cobbled together hastily.

Edition/rules set is largely immaterial (thought D20-based is preferred) (as I'll either cough loudly over the differences and/or adjust/enhance the combat encounters either way).

Does anyone have any suggestions? Of any type?

Just a quick query, folks, regarding treasure. Specifically, should I be giving out anything not stated in the adventure; i.e. should the goblins in, say the first encounters, have any treasure (e.g. cash) on them if it doesn't specifically say so on their stats? As I'm not sure whether such creature should have treasure as their MM entries unless it tells me otherwise or not.

My thoughts are probably no, they shouldn't, but I'm not that familiar with how treasure is doled out in modules. (Since most of the modules I've played/converted up until now have been AD&D...Runelords/Shackled City will probably be the first actual 3.x modules I've run!)

I'm converting up for a slightly larger number of PCs, so I'm curious as to what treasure numbers I should increase by 50%. It'll make it a darn sight easier to do just stuff that's actually stated in the module, but it wouldn't hurt to know if Paizo as a rule counts treasure as suggested by the MM/bestiary in entries that are stated as being as [reference] or whether the module discounts it. I'm not fussy either way, really, but it'd be nice to know what ball-park I'm shooting at!

As I continue to pick my way through SCAP, totting up the XP, I reached chapter 9. Now, even giving out full XP for everything, the total falls short (to the tune of 8k XP apiece) of the projected 15th level. (Up until now, it's been about right.) In fact, the projected total for this chapter only just takes the PCs to 15th level when they've whomped Hookface.

(Let alone the half XP total...)

I think I may have to add some story-based XP awards in somewhere. (Since everyone is going to be sick and tired of random encounters; spicing up the encounters in Occipitus stretched me to the limit, never mind those one the way to and from Karren-Kural!)

Mostly, though, I'm concerned about the endurance needed for this chapter. There's a lot of encounters to deal with without a pause (forteen in fact) and several of them modest combats, plus two arguably 'boss' fights (to say nothing of resources used in non-combat encounters). Possibly more if they have to do the combat encounters more than once if they screw up the others. It seems an awful lot to do on one rest (even at the chapter's specified 15th level and not 12 or 14, where you have access to potentially 8th level magic).

So, folks who have played the module, how well did your parties handle it? Did they manage, or did Hookface pulverise the at the end of the chapter?

Okay, I've got now down as far as plotting chapter 6. By 'eck, there aren't half a lot of random encounters (in the end, I used my spread sheet to save rolling for every ruddy hour the PCs are outside on the plane (even with an upper limit of one encounter per day!) Anyway, there's a bit of a disconnect between the end of chapter 6 and the start of 7, that nobody seems to make a big deal of. So either I'm missed something or everyone just fudges it a bit...

How do the PCs escape Occipitus? Nothing is mentioned, they just pop back into Cauldron at the start of chapter 7. I mean, the obvious answer is plane shift, but having just done several buckets of random encounters, I really don't fancy making up a mean 250-mile journey - and I'm fairly sure the PCs will be sick of 'em too, by that point!

How does everyone else handle this (especially if you have a party sans cleric or handy scrolls of Plane Shift)?

Thanks to WotC's star maneuver with the PDFs, I have been able to start picking up the Rise of the Runelords months ahead of what I'd initially planned.

Right, so herein lies the problem. My standard party size is six, not four. This hasn't been a problem with Shackled City, since that was diesgned for six, but it might be with the Pathfinder modules and paths.

Now, I ran WotC's Lost Caverns 3.5 version relatively recently. [Aside]Which utterly failed to ever make me want to get any more PDF adventures from them - among their other sins, the bloody map was light grey on light blue - and when i printed it out in black and white as the cheap bastard I am, it was grey on slightly different grey. Neither was easy to trace for the PCs;I had to hold the ruddy thing up to the light in order to get anywhere...[/Aside]

That was a bit of a travesty. I increased all the numbers of monsters by +50%, as well as all the treasure (and added in +50% extra kit to make up the value). Any 'boss' monsters or creature encountered alone, I maxed out the hit points of. I also gave the party a choice of being 10th level, with high stats (basically 18,16,14,12,10,8 roughly) or 11th level and slightly lower stats. They opted for the former. Both my groups are allowed full access to the entire of 3.5 (at least as far as class, spells and feats go PrC are a bit more variable.) I gave them level appropriate gear.

And they completely minced the campaign. For various reasons, though notable the Crusader could have soled it, breaking the game she did by having level appropriate armour and a shield.

Anyway, while I blame this mainly on the fact Tsojcanth was full of crap, moribund low-level encounters pulverised by three martial adepts, the adventure was still indicative.

So, what is going to be the best way to bump the difficulty for six characters? This is mostly a minimum effort job, since if I wanted to go from scratch, I'd be using the pre-3.x modules I've got for this purpose (and that takes bloody ages...) Also given the fact that in both groups the players work well together; especially my Monday group who work in a Horrifically Flawless Team of Doom most of the time.

I reckon there's nothing wrong with the theory of increasing the number of monsters that come in two or more by 50% (argueably with my crazy-ass players, maxing the hits out too!) Also, I've knocked up a conversion package for my own house rules (basically, things like for Fighters, whom I give a feat every level, knocking up a list of what non-core feats extra they have). So, theyre not really the problem

It's the 'boss' monsters if you will, that cause me the problems. While a single enemy character might be a challenge to four players, the extra firepower from six is usually going to vastly swing things the PCs way. Maxing out the hit points is a given, but's it's nowhere near enough.

As I see it at the moment, I can see four options:

1) Add extra levels to those NPCs.

2) Add an extra lower-level henchdude

3) If dealing with a monster, not a character, just have two or them not one

4) Apply my own Solo template to them (which basically gives 'em twice the hit points and some free get-out-of-SoD rerolls provided there's not too many minions about).

So, folks, has anybody got any better or different ideas?

Has anybody yet tried doing a 3.5 version of 4E's Solo (or Minion) templates? It's one of the few ideas in 4E that I could see having some merit (and I will force some use out of the damn thing if it kills me. Again!) I posted this up on WotC but the boards are now pretty dead, so I figured I'd try here. (The only response I got there was being told, "it won't work don't do it" without a good reason why.)

My initial thoughts - to be concreted out are as follows:

I figure the trick to Solos is to downgrade the effect of SoD without negating them. Nominally, I'd guess you do something lie say, double (and probably max out) a solo monster's hitpoints.

As to Save or die, my starter for ten would be to give the Solo some sort of, for the sake of argument, let's call 'em 'fate points' which would allow it to reroll failed saving throws for effects (say, death, paralysation, polymorph maybe ability damage or stun but not hit point damage) a number of times per encounter. (A second failed save could be either and 'hard cheese dude' or let you spend more 'fate points' to try again.) The clever bit would be that if it chooses to use this power, even if it makes the save the second (or subsequent?) time, it gets some sort of negative effect. By initial thought would be a bit like a negative energy level (only that effects anyone!) That way, SoDs would continue to make some difference in a solo monster, but the chance of them ending the fight would be much less (though possible). Of course the number of 'reroll to not die' is an open question?

Anybody have any thoughts? (Or a link to anyone else's attempt at this?)

I've just bought the hardcover Shackled City. I've not read it through yet (I've started, but most of my time is running on converting Night Below to 3.5 for another group).

I primarily picked up Shackled City because our groups are having a bit of a quest crisis (over both groups there's really only three of us that run anything). We've ended up using more modules than I'd like because (in theory) it's quicker to convert a module than write one myself. Night Below is actually the first one that might actually meet that requirement; by previous two conversions Vecna Lives/Vecna Reborn/Die Vecna Die and Dragon Mountain (the latter boosted to levels 14-21 for the same party that did the Vecna quest!) actually were stupidly huge...Dragon Mountain topped out at 150 pages-equivilent of stats, which is nearly as much as the whole damn module...

Anyway, getting to my actual point, what's the XP progression in Shackled City like? I.e. am I going to have to add any sidequests and whatnot outside the main adventure to keep the PCs the right level? Typically in my own games, I award half combat XP for anything I don't consider a BBEG fight and add more story awards. I can work round this easily enough, but it would help to know if the standard progression is sufficent to use as my basis.

Sometime ago, I picked up Night Below in PDF format (from Paizo, natch), with the intention of eventually using it (actually, converting it to 3.x!) However, to my great annoyance, the scan seemed to have been done by someone (to be excruciatingly polite) of questionable competance; since the maps at the end helpfully are missing large chunks at the borders where they join. This is frustrating in the least.

From a quick google search, it seems like it's a problem endemic to all the Night Below PDFs and not Paizo's fault; hardly suprisingly really, since I wouldn't expect them to commit such a arse-up (or more correctly, not fix it if they actually did arse it up!)

The most annoying thing, of course, is that That Which Cannot Be Named In Polite Company (meaning the scan-monkey - and I can only assume that literally, not figuratively!) managed to keep the fracking pointless page borders. One assumes they has some barely sentient office junior who only scanned the four corners and didn't bother to check...

But I digress, however..

So before I succumb to desperation completely, I thought I'd ask if anyone out there knows of anywhere I could get a clean scan (or fresh map or whatever), short of buying the actual boxed set (which kind of defeats the object of getting cheap PDFs to convert in the first place!). Heck, even a low-res piccy would do, since at least I'd have some idea of what the shape of the missing parts are.

If anyone can help, I'd be very grateful!

I am getting close to finishing my expanded re-write of Kerpiquan. I intend to post it up here for anyone interested.

Where would be the best place to post it? Here, in it's round 2 thread or even the general D&D section?

(Does anyone really care in the first place?!)

Kerpiquan
The Land of Lost Civilisations

Kerpiquan is a land filled with ancient secrets hidden in crumbling ruins. At least a dozen mighty civilisations once claimed their home here, stretching back thousands of years in succession. Some were human; some were humanoid; others were aberrations not easily envisaged. Each of them inexplicably and abruptly came to grief, one after another. They left only unanswered questions, deserted cities, forgotten temples and mysterious monuments. The only clues point to the very oldest ruins, about which legends of later civilisations speak, in hushed whispers, of an ancient war fought before time, between shadowy, monstrous beings of terrible power from beyond the stars...

Alignment: LN
Capital: Qazasu (pop. 103,250)
Notable Settlements: Yahzivij (pop. 61,950), Kidana (pop. 40,300)
Ruler: Viceroy Demassi Oroubeyn, a Quanite man in his late fifties.
Government: Republic, headed by an elected Viceroy, assisted by three Legates and a senate of twelve. Elections are held every four years. Any adult Quanite citizen is entitled to vote, except those in the military.

Description: Kerpiquan comprises a dense archipelago of islets surrounding the island mainland of Piquan. The territory covers an area of approximately 115,000 square miles. Piquan itself is about 350 miles long and slightly under 300 miles wide. The region is covered by a blanket of subtropical evergreen forests and teeming mangrove swamps on the coasts. In central Piquan, the land rises into spectacular mountains, beyond which lies a chilly highland desert plateau. The climate is placid; it is noticeably colder in winter than in summer but otherwise mild.

The only exception to the clement weather are the infrequent, terrifying supernatural storms. One is preceded by a build up of high altitude, towering thunderhead clouds in strange, slowly roiling shapes over the course of several days. They appear over the highland desert and in otherwise clear skies. When the storm breaks, the sky is stained a shade of dull purple and red lightning dances amid the clouds, rarely striking the land but crackling so loudly that it can be heard from the ground. While there is often a hot gale, there is only rarely thunder and no precipitation falls.

Natural resources are in particular abundance, ranging from mineral to plant to animal, making Kerpiquan mostly self-sufficient. Disease is uncommon; despite the proximity of the swamps, mosquitoes are almost unheard of. This natural bounty explains why the region has been settled so often. Some scholars say Kerpiquan seems too hospitable to be natural. But whether it was created by an older civilisation, the hand of some forgotten god or something even more mysterious is a matter for conjecture.

The current proprietors of the land are the Quanites, from which Kerpiquan takes it’s present name. Despite being nearly self-sufficient, Kerpiquan does a brisk sea trade with other nations, exporting it’s own resources. Kerpiquan has existed as a nation for three hundred years, when settlers arrived there after being driven from their old home. The Quanite civilisation is concentrated mainly in the south of Piquan around the river Caluus where the land is most fertile. Kerpiquan has a population of about three million, mostly dark-skinned humans. A fifth of the population are resettled immigrants, mainly other humans. Port cities like Yahzivij and Kidana or the capital, Qazasu, are much more cosmopolitan, with representatives of all the major races in some numbers. Kerpiquan has a considerable bureaucratic network which manages their extensive legal, taxation and voting systems.

Quanite society is polite and formal, but egalitarian with regard to race, gender and sexuality. The men tend to shave their heads and are usually clean shaven. Women either have their hair very short or very long and braided into elaborate designs. Clothing is usually light-weight and colourful for both genders. Though fashion varies wildly, sarongs are popular. Men wear brightly-coloured cloth caps, and women wear similarly vibrant headscarves.

Piquan is littered with ruins from the fallen civilisations, both on the surface and underground. These ruins are dangerous places full of treasure, traps, vestiges of the past and the unquiet dead; few Quanites dare approach them. Over the years, bands of adventurers and explorers have braved their depths to bring out knowledge and treasure. This has resulted in the level of technology Kerpiquan possesses being quite advanced; high-quality roads, the use of concrete in some buildings and extensive plumbing. Despite this, the Quanites are fearful of befalling the unknown fate of their predecessors and this most obviously manifests as a distrust of the supernatural. Magic, while tolerated, is viewed as a highly dangerous practise and it’s excessive use frightens them. Races with obviously magical ancestry (notably Planetouched) are regarded with suspicion or outright fear. Quanites are mostly agnostic for the same reasons (though they do not persecute religion).

There are a number of tribes of primitive Hobgoblins living in the wild areas. Some are peaceful and even trade with Kerpiquan while others are savage raiders. Kerpiquan thus maintains a small standing army and navy who double as law-enforcement and city guards. Judicial punishment is handed out by trial, followed by imprisonment or rarely, execution.

Kerpiquan operates a tax farming system where landowners tax whoever lives on their land, which is then collected by the state. Local officials tax communal places like cities. While it mints it’s own coin, Kerpiquan uses the typical gold/silver/copper standard.

Quanites speak Isquana and common.

DM Secrets: Viceroy Oroubeyn is growing concerned that more and more strange events have begun occurring. He has been investigating them quietly but is afraid of a public panic if it becomes common knowledge.

The Hobgoblin tribes are the remnants of the prior civilisation to occupy this area, though they are largely unaware of this.

Magic occasionally goes terribly astray, especially during storms.

The truth behind the mysteries is left for individual DMs to determine or they can be left enticingly unsolved. Ancient gods, outsiders and/or aberrations are the most thematically appropriate antagonists. Kerpiquan is an ideal place for DMs to introduce new spells, monsters, artifacts or variant magic rules.

Talisman of Whispering Souls

This amulet is made of rune-carved bone with two inset rubies like eyes on a fine silver chain. The amulet grants the wearer a +1 bonus on Turn or Rebuke checks. While worn, the talisman may be activated as a standard action three times per day for ten minutes each time. When activated, the user is surrounded by motes of spectral mist which circle constantly and a continuous sound like the whispering of many indistinguishable voices just on the edge of hearing is audible. While the amulet is active, the user gains the following powers: they can communicate magically with any intelligent Undead regardless of language, even if the Undead creature cannot normally communicate. The wearer is invisible to mindless Undead, but this effect ends if the user attacks any Undead creature. The wearer can see any incorporeal or ethereal Undead within 120’, even through walls or solid objects, as they are silhouetted as if with blue faerie fire visible only to the wearer (as the spell, but the effect is not blocked by magical darkness).

Moderate Divination and Necromancy; CL 9th; Craft Wondrous Item, Detect Undead, Speak With Dead, True Seeing; Price 50,000 gp