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Character Name: Hignar
Character Name: Arthur
Brilliant! Consider this idea stolen. In any case, I was about to recommend that Karzoug (preferably in another guise), gets the PCs to deal with the invisibile undead creature in the caverns in order to gauge their abilities. Likewise, he will probably shore up defenses at his palace, while leaving the city relatively undefended (give the PCs a false sense of security and all that nonsense). The key word here is "relatively"
As my 7 players are all 5th or 6th level, I've retooled the Skinsaw cultists into ninja 3/cleric 1. Additionally, all of their weapons have been coated with Sassone Leaf residue, which should be particularly lethal, and thus, earn them a reputation as a frightening cult dedicated to the god of murder. Ironbriar was changed into a cleric/assassin and he now has a clockwork automaton bodyguard, whose outer appearance resembles him exactly. The ensuing melee, I predict, will be quite entertaining.
Alright, this is what I did for my players: After watching a little too much Heroes and playing too much Eberron before finding Pathfinder, I've liberally yoinked ideas from both and have come up with 'runemarks' that have manifested on the players. Mechanically, they function like dragonmarks, but flavor wise, they are like a 'super power' in the same vein as X-Men or Heroes. At first, I surprised them with it while they were fighting Nualia. Three characters manifested strange abilities which directly correlated with the burning sensations they felt in their lest shoulder blades. These strange abilities included transforming into a wolf, having one's skin develop a protective layer of bark, and the abilitiy to conjure precipitation out of nowhere. After the fight, they examined each others' backs and after a degree of research, came up with the conclusion that these marks correlated to the seven virtues (or sins) during ancient Thassilon. The one who transformed into a wolf had the 'runemark' of Greed, the one who was able to control precipitation had the runemark of Sloth, and the 'Tree Man,' as we all like to call him was closely related to the runemark of Envy. Later on, three more marks were revealed, each being quite potent in their abilities. There was the party cleric who suddenly had the ability to charm another as a bard or an enchanter would be able to (runemark of Lust), the party wizard who found his offensive spells augmented greatly due to his newfound affinity to fire (runemark of wrath), and last but not least, the party rogue whose ability to slowly regenerate herself and put herself back together after accidents proved to be both a blessing and a curse (runemark of gluttony). The aforementioned rogue had been plagued with dreams wherein a pale, purple-lipped fat man in dark robes have been enticing her to commit more and more acts of depravity in order to augment her considerable new power. As a result of these dreams, the rogue has suddenly been stricken with an urge to feed on human blood (if she doesn't, the food she eats tastes like ash and the water she drinks tastes like bile. Mechanically, she loses a point of Con if she doesn't feed in 2d4 days) The reason I bring all this up under your post is that when the PCs first discovered their new powers, they automatically assumed that they were the present day incarnations of the Runelords. That originally did not cross my mind, but now that I think about it, I am really liking the idea. As a matter of fact, I think I should have Zuka slowly preparing the halfling rogue's body for eventual inhabitation.
Wow thanks! This was exactly what I was looking for. I have several 'events' lined up for my PCs Event 1) PCs are going to witness a crime which they can stop. They can then agree to testify against the criminal in court wherein they get to meet Judge Ironbriar. Ironbriar thanks them profusely and invites them to dinner at his mansion. He talks a bit about the city and then apologizes for not being able to reward the PCs with money, but instead he gives them all tickets to see an opera at the Triodea. Between the two events, the PCs will meet a rival adventuring group who took credit for a bounty that the PC's killed on the road to Magnimar. The rival group is led by Viorian (the Champion of Greed from PF#6) who is just discovering the powers of Karzoug's golden scimitar. (She's the same level as the PCs when they first meet). Event 2) Phantom of the Opera ripoff: The opera is haunted by a deformed vampire bard who has been smitten by the innocence, talent and beauty of a young soprano who has just recently been "discovered" by the owners and is now beginning a meteoric rise in the music world. The vampire kidnaps the girl after the show and her fiance, a paladin of Iomedae, asks the party to help rescue her. They go into the bowels of the opera house, fight undead, hideous fish creatures, and deal with deadly traps before putting an end to the vampire (who forcibly wanted to "marry" the girl by transforming her into his vampire thrall) Event 3) Soon after, they have a dream where a dead former party member approaches them and gives them a riddle, which when solved, outlines a strategy that they can employ to kill Xanesha. I might have to put your encounter in there somewhere :)
Has anyone fleshed out any encounters or events for Magnimar? I played up the city as massive, colorful, and wondrous and I would not want to disappoint the country PCs with the typical, bland city encounters. I have already decided to yoink the improved Faceless Stalker encounter by Jodah. However, I want to know what you guys have done with this city to make it your own.
When I ran this, I buffed up Aldern a little more by adding the negatively charged template to him. Then, when the PCs burst into the room, I just liberally dropped a dozen or so ghoul miniatures on the battle map lying face down, dead. Then, I described the scene as a massacre where Iesha slaughtered all the mundane ghouls, but while she was being distracted by the ghouls, Aldern finished her off, leaving a cruel gash across her already bloated undead throat. This allowed the PCs to fight a memorable battle with Aldern, while at the same time, feeling somber about the "sacrifice" that Iesha made to allow them to go toe-to-toe with Aldern. (Imagine having to fight 12 ghouls + Aldern :D) I had 8 players when I ran this btw.
I am having a whole sidequest about Ameiko and the glassworks. The Scarnettis want to buy the Glassworks from her, but she staunchly refuses to sell because she knows that the Scarnettis are being sponsored by the Sczarni (at least that is in my world). Either the head of the Sczarni or Titus Scarnetti could hire the PC to perform a hit on her so that the transaction can go smoother.
mevers - I'm going to be playing through Foxglove Manor today and would like to use this template for Aldern. However, my Advanced Bestiary hasn't arrived yet and I would like to know the AC bonus, negative energy attack DC, DR, and the properties of searing darkness and obscuring energy for this template. I'm in a similar boat as you: 8 characters with 32 pt buy who are 5th and 4th level. Also, I would suggest buffing up the average ghoul if you have a particularly powerful party.
Well, I've decided on several things, but I'll need some help with others. First off, I decided to play through Foxglove Manor without a map. I will use a map in the last 'cavern portion' of the house, but I am thinking about doubling the size of the entire cavern complex. I've also decided to make the last encounter with Aldern more challenging by having him be accompanied by 4 regular ghasts in the final fight scene. This will allow him to get in several sneak attacks through flanking, etc. Moreover, I am contemplating giving Aldern a level of sorcerer to give him some buffing spells (namely mage armor or shield, and precise strike(?) from Complete Adventurer). Second, I've revamped the Skinsaw men, by making them Ninja 2/Cleric 1, so that they could use their ghost step ability to phase in and around the party and get in their sneak attacks. I kind of envision these fights with the Skinsaw Men to be kind of an expose' on how dangerous this cult truly is. I'm also giving good old Ironbriar one or two assassin levels. Clocktower-wise, I don't think I'll change anything aside from giving the scarecrow golem max hp. Unfortunately, the scenario I have the most trouble scaling is the scaregrow ghouls in the farmstead. I could just increase the number of ghouls, but I think it'll make these encounters kind of "blah." Of course, the reasonable course of action would be to make them tougher, but what do you recommend? Then again, I could make the whole farmstead scenario resemble Resident Evil 2, with swarms of undead crawling all over the place. That could be pretty fun as well. Anyways, my party consists of a level 4 druid, sorcerer, barbarian and a level 3 paladin, fighter, ninja, cleric, and someone who will be unveiling a lvl 3 char tomorrow when we gather to play.
Since I was playing with a 6 person party, I rebuilt Lyrie with a 28 point buy into a 4th level evoker. Anyways, in the span of three sessions, she became the party's public enemy number one. Initially, she ambushes the party while they were tangling with the tentamort. She drops almost everyone down to negatives through judicious use of magic missiles and scorching rays, and to top it off, she loots the body of the downed party sorcerer. The party manages to rally and limp back to Sandpoint for potions, supplies, etc., but on their way back to Thistletop, Lyrie attacks from invisibility yet again - frying the rope bridge while the players were trying to cross. This forced them to contend with falling damage and the bunyip. The party rogue and my wife's animal companion lost their lives in the churning waters below Thistletop. At this point, I decided that Lyrie had enough experience to level up. After all, she pretty much singlehandedly defeated a party of six 4th level characters twice. After recovering from that episode, the party vowed eternal vengeance against the pesky wizard and devoted all their resources to tracking her down and killing her. They finally corner her in the L-shaped room in the lower levels of Thistletop. This time, the party came equipped with a silenced backpack which they strapped on the back of the party barbarian and they manage to drop her. Unfortunately, before the barbarian came in range, Lyrie manages to shoot off a lightning bolt, which fries the party sorceress. The party hated her so much that after dropping Lyrie into negatives, they immediately coup de grace'd her by having her chopped up into bits by the glaive trap in the hallway leading into Nualia's chambers.
Well, the verdict is in. Though I started Burnt Offerings with 6, word has gotten out about how awesome this adventure path is and 2 more will be joining us for the Skinsaw Murders. I realize that I will be needing to revamp the encounters to match 8 third and fourth level characters, but I don't know how I should scale the encounters to present them all with a viable challenge. Should I just increase the number of enemies? If so, what do you recommend? I was actually thinking of adding templates to all the ghouls and increasing the levels of all the boss enemies (Aldern, Ironbriar, minus Xaneesha).
Among the other advice given in this thread, I'm gonna incorporate everything you've written in your spoiler section for my players. Thanks you guys. I can't wait for my group to discover the sad story behind Nualia. Glad you liked it! When I ran my players through the encounter, they actually had some remorse about finishing her off, even after she killed the party's paladin. This is somewhat of an unexpected development because they are the type of players who would never take enemies hostage. In any case, she does make a wonderful tragic villain.
Some things that might pose a little difficulty in letting me run the adventure the way it was written: - 7 players instead of 4
Well, that's all for now. Thanks Cpt. Kristov for the prior answer.
My group and I had a blast running through Burnt Offerings. When the party's Shoanti barbarian smashed his earthbreaker into Nualia's skull, the whole room erupted into cheers. Their expressions of joy really made me think: wow, being a DM is really rewarding. Now, I'm on to Skinsaw. For those DMs who have already run through this adventure, what advice can you give me? What do you wish you could have done better? What are you particularly proud of? I'm going to be running this on the 3rd so I still have couple days of prep time. Thanks y'all.
My PCs are currently clearing out Thistletop and frankly speaking, their only difficulty so far was fighting Ripnugget. One of my PCs is a heavily armored paladin with excellent AC, and the average goblin reeds to roll at least an 18 to hit him. In any case, one of their encounters will involve a combat with at least 8 goblins in a fairly small room. I want them to give my party tank a run for the money, so I would like if you can recommend some tactics/etc. that a goblins could use to bring down a big armored foe. (I was thinking about a liberal use of aid other to help hit the paladin, but I'm open to any suggestions)
Awesome job! This was reminiscent to a lot of Howard's Conan stories where he explores hidden ruins in lush tropical vistas, encountering terrible supernatural creatures and beautiful scantily clad woman. It makes me want to roll up a character right now and start playing. You've got my vote, for sure.
Malankakaikai: A merchant of otherworldly descent, Malankakaikai (N fire-genasi wizard 9) buys and sells magical items. He travels the width and breadth of Varisia searching for Thassilonian artifacts and other magical treasures, never staying in one place for too long. He carries his wares in a white lace handkerchief (portable hole), which he sticks into the front pocket of his flowing maroon velvet overcoat. Tan-Tan, his tamarin (think: monkey) is always perched on his shoulder. Appearance: This individual’s red hair seems to flicker about on its own accord, creating the impression that he has flames for hair. When he is excited or upset, they begin to glow brighter. He has bronzed skin, which appears slightly metallic. His eyes are the color of topazes, which glow in darkness. Personality: Gregarious and energetic, Mal – as he likes to be called – has a habit breaking out into booming laughter, while speaking. He is also prone to mood swings and will literally smolder over or flare up at whatever he perceives to be an insult. Whenever he is dealing with customers, he will always begin by asking them what they would like and after finding a match in his meticulous mental inventory, would whip out his handkerchief, wave it around, and pull the item from out of the folds. When purchasing something, Tan-Tan reaches into the velvet pouch (a pouch of holding) around its neck and pulls out whatever sum his master needs. To particularly valued customers, Mal gives out his business card – an ornate piece of black stationary with his name engraved in the center with burnished gold. He claims that if they hold out his card and say his full name three times in succession, he will, without fail arrive to do business with them.
Glad you like him. Part of the fun for me, as a DM, is to take NPCs and modify them. I enjoy giving each of these Paizo NPCs my own personal spin, I regret not doing something for Tsuto, but ah well, I still have plans for him. Spoiler:
[Tsuto is currently being held in the Sandpoint Garrison, but when my PCs come back to Thistletop, they will be asked if they would like to escort him safely to Magnimar for trial. Of course, the judge will be none other than our good friend Judge Ironbriar (talk about someone who needs modding :D), who instead of sentencing him to death, will order him to be sent to Fort Rannick to serve out his sentence as a Blackarrow Ranger.]
Hey mevers, I'm liking your mods. (What book is the Warblade, Crusader and Swordsage in?) I too have also started rebuilding some of the key NPCs. However, since I only have the SRD on hand, they are core rules only. ------------------------------ Orik "Stone Shield" Vancaskerin Male Human Fighter 4 (CR 4)
Notes: My inspiration from Orik hit while I was looking at his picture on page 46. His massive shield with a face emblazoned on it got me to thinking: "here's a guy who really loves his shield." So, I switched his +1 banded mail for a +1 spiked heavy steel shield which I described as: a stone shield studded with numerous crystalline spikes, with the calm visage of a stone giant elder emblazoned on the front. (I'll probably tie this in with RotR 4 somehow, by making it Conna's buckler or something). Another nifty thing about Orik is that he's able to lay the smackdown with his beloved shield as well as his longword. The players will be surprised when they see him using what is normally a defensive item for offensive purposes. (i.e., he is literally fighting with a sword and shielf) As a fighter who loves fighting defensively, Orik will be a big nuisance for my players, but ultimately, they should be satisfied when they get him to surrender. If placed strategically behind a door, he'll be able to fare well against 6 3rd level PCs. Enterprising players will realize that he may be akin to a stone wall physically, but mentally he's a pushover (low will save).
Lianus Undergallows is an unsavory halfling with a scruffy goatee and an eyepatch. Though the party often wonders why they bother to keep him on board (he just seems to tag along making a nuisance of himself), he manages to carry the day with a well-thrown tanglefoot bag in a fight against a deadly quasit witch deep underground. The weight of the bag and the sticky adhesive proves to be more than enough to eliminate the little demon's greatest advantage. Squirming pitifully on the ground, she falls easy prey to a righteous beheading by the paladin. (The funny thing is, the player is a greedy scoundrel who is the first on the scene to loot the dead and collect treasure. We all thought he was a miserable miser, but now we know what he spends all his gold on. He kind of reminds me of a Pathfinder version of Batman with his utility belt.)
I had a similar problem. Since my players will be running into Nualia in the next two sessions, I'm going to reveal her story in the form of a flashback. For the sake of my game, I created a magic item called a 'memory sphere,' which is a small crystalline ball with the ability to record one's emotions and thoughts. Anyways, here's what I'm going to present to my players: Spoiler:
The woman smiles at you sadly and unclenches her clawed hand. A small clear sphere with red swirls drops into the fountain with a “plop.” All of a sudden, the room is covered in a dazzling flash of light and you instinctively close your eyes…
When you open your eyes again, you find yourselves standing suspended weightless in the air overlooking Sandpoint and what appears to be the old church that got burnt down in place of the new cathedral. The door to the church furtively opens as a beautiful little girl with silver hair and violet eyes pokes her head furtively outside before timidly walking outside. As she daintily walks down the steps, a stone flies out of nowhere and hits her head. Boyish giggling can be heard in the distance as someone yells: “Freak! Go back inside!” Clutching the bloody welt on her forehead, she runs back inside crying. You are transported to what looks to be a quaint, old-fashioned schoolhouse. The same sad, quiet girl sits alone in the corner, reading a book. Cruel whispering and giggling can be heard all around her, before she gets up and excuses herself to go use the restroom. Three other giggling girls follow behind her and wait for her to walk into the outhouse before piling tables and chairs outside her door. Several hours later, a little girl’s frightened screams of anguish pierce the dusk. A teenage girl walks back home to the church from the school house. Immediately, the air is filled with lewd catcalls and hooting from the adolescent boys in the area. Extremely uncomfortable with the inappropriate attention placed upon her, she quickly runs back to the church, with her head hung low. A young woman holding a basket is browsing through vegetables at the market, when suddenly, she feels someone yank at her hair followed closely by a loud “snip” sound. Whirling around, she sees an old woman gleefully hobble off with a handful of hair the color of the stars. A mob of petitioners approach her. Many of them have rashes and boils, others have warts. Some others claim to hear spirits in their head. They ask her to bless them. They ask her if she could cure their maladies with her touch. One of them calls her “the Blessed of Desna.” Another asks her to drive the evil spirits out of his head by singing to him. Too much for her, she runs back to the church. They give chase. A stern voice of an older man can be heard: “On your seventeenth birthday, I am taking you to the highly prestigious Windsong Abbey to become a nun. The Abbess expects all young applicants to be perfectly versed in their catechisms. You may not leave this room until you have memorized all of your scriptures.” Hours later, a young woman looks out the window gloomily as the sun sets and another warm summer day spent cloistered in her chambers. A handsome Varisian boy, who recently arrived at Sandpoint from Magnimar, takes her on a picnic for a date. It is her first picninc. They sit on a grassy knoll and watch the sun set. She falls in love. Weeks pass. The boy throws a stone at the church window. The window opens and the girl looks outside. She smiles happily at him before clambering over and climbing down on a cloth rope. He takes her hand and takes her to the moonlit beach. They walk for awhile in the sand until they come upon a strange cave nestled within the cliffs underneath the newly built Glassworks. Giggling softly, they both go inside. Months pass. The two young lovers sit shoulder to shoulder at the mouth of the cave overlooking the waves at night. The girl turns to the boy and says that she has something important to tell him. “What’s the matter?” the boy asks tenderly.
Kneeling before the altar, she prays for repentance that she does not feel. Her foster father yelled at her harshly and had called her a “harlot” when he found out about her condition. He forbids her from leaving the church in fear public ridicule. Bitterness and rage clouds her heart like a thick poison and festers… Eight months later, she undergoes a painful miscarriage. Through the haze of pain suffusing her entire body, she catches a glimpse of her baby – a horrific and deformed monstrosity, which the blanching midwife immediately swaddles up and takes away. In one awful moment of clarity, she realized that she had been carrying a fiend in her belly all this time. She falls into a deep coma. Her coma-induced sleep is filled with fevered dreams. In them, a pregnant woman with three jackal heads and a serpentine tail beckons to her. She approaches slowly and falls into the demon goddess’ embrace. In her other dreams, she dreams of burning the old Desnan church – her home and prison – down, with her foster father in it. She dreams of masked men who revel in the act of hunting and killing other men. She dreams of hunting down and murdering the boy who brought her so much pain. She dreams of a hidden shrine underground shrine, where she meets her tiny new mentor. She dreams of a monstrous goblin wolf – a chosen of Lamashtu – that paces restlessly in ravenous hunger in a small chamber. She dreams of Sandpoint being overwhelmed and razed by a ravening horde of monsters, and she vividly sees herself standing amidst the ruins, reveling in the act of offering the souls of the dying to higher, more terrible beings beyond the understanding of mere mortals. The collective vision ends here and you find that you are once again inside the heart of Thistletop.
All of a sudden, her black-hilted sword bursts into angry orange flames. Wings outspread and sword trailing fire, she lunges at you with fury in her eyes. Roll initiative! Oh, and because the party is a six-man crew, I've taken the liberty of advancing Nualia's transformation to the point where she develops wings (with a fly speed of 20 because of armor) and I've also given her a flaming sword (just because it's cool).
I am currently DM'ing RotRL for a group of 6 relatively new players. One of them - my younger sister - is playing an aasimar cleric. The problem is, she plays this character like a paladin and usually fights toe-to-toe with the baddies alongside the party tank. This strategy worked with weak enemies like goblins, but as the adventure progresses, I foresee her being clobbered if she continues to play like this. I don't want to see her get discouraged, but at the same time, I am not an expert in playing a cleric either. Do you guys have any advice on strategies, possible multi-classing options, or tips that I could give her? She's currently a 2nd level aasimar cleric of Pharasma (domains: death and healing) with a stat spread of: S 14, D 8, C 12, I 10, W 18, C 18. (32 point buy).
Hi all, I am a long time DM and I have a whole lot of unpainted minis lying around. Thus, I've decided to learn how to paint. However, I don't know where to start. Can anyone give me any pointers on how to get started? What to buy? How to websites/books, etc? I am on a military budget, so I probably won't be able to go all out on the get-go. Let's just say I'm willing to put down $100 initially. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Hey all, I've been running a Pathfinder game with a group consisting of siblings and friends. Anways, my younger brother is playing a morally ambiguous halfling fighter/rogue who is a little too greedy for his own good, while his best friend is playing a paladin. Now, I understand that a paladin cannot willingly adventure with an evil individual, but how can I resolve this without disrupting my game? Should I just rule that my younger brother is playing a CN character, despite the fact that he is a completely self-centered mercenary? What do you guys think?
So very true. I agree completely. I was running Burnt Offerings and the PCs were delving through the Catacombs of Wrath. Unfortunately, while they were fighting the deformed goblin, it managed to get a lucky critical on the party sorceress, which if I had gone through with it, would have killed her outright. As I was about to roll for damage behind my DM screen, I happened to catch a glimpse of her character portrait which she so lovingly drew and the three page background accompanying it. Luckily for her, I couldn't go through with killing her and left her at -8. Very near death, but not quite.
I would also love to see them as well. Email: shinwonmoon@hotmail.com Oh, and I just installed PosteRazor and have been trying to figure out the dimensions to get all the beautiful maps to scale (one inch squares so I can put my minis on them). Anyone know how to do this? Paper and ink is not a concern. :D Thanks in advance :)
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