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Citizens!

Our Minister of Security has determined that morale is down.

You will therefore have a public festival. Now!

You will frolic with great abandon until the public morale has recovered.

Commence at once!


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Ambrus, I hadn't thought of that! Using mending spells to shred something vital to an especially disgruntled player and then return the item unharmed. Darn...too late to go back now.:(

fallenvash, prune juice? The horror, the horror...

Had some fun with these two, although I also concluded that they were not going to be actively malicious.

The party quickly noticed the pranks but noticed nearly as rapidly that loud noises had gone off twice when they would otherwise have been ambushed and once someone not in the party cast a pair of spells which prevented nearly certain fatalities. This certainly kept the party mood more civilized in their approach.

The crowning joke came when the party had finished with the Stag Lord and moved into the second volume of the series. By now the party had become good humored, some more so than others, about the whole affair but had strangely not embarked on any massive effort to find/trap the fey once they concluded that no harm would be done by them and perhaps some good.

Tyg-Titter-Tut decided some face painting was in order but one of the sleeping party members woke up and managed to catch her. Before she could take action and before he could do anything Perlivash decided on the best joke of all to finish the competition. A sleep spell!

The rest of the party woke up, three out of four with some rather elaborate face masks painted on, and found the fifth member sound asleep with a cat-sized creature, half-woman/half-cricket, sleeping peacefully in his arms.


Perhaps this has already been discussed but is there any way to purchase the new adventure added to the volume which was not first published in Dungeon magazine without purchasing the entire book?


Thrilmarin, good work! Now the party can have a choice of horrible fates!


Given the extremely limited population presented I would suspect that the bandits themselves are few in number because no one with an alternative comes here.

Only if your sole chance of survival depends on near total isolation, to the point of any vengeful types or bounty hunters requiring a week or two travelling just to start the search, would you want to join the gang. As a result most of the bandits are extremely individualistic, which could also explain their poor response time/organization to the arrival of a genuine danger.

By forming a strong(relatively speaking) base and a vague control over other scattered bands the top villain in the first book has changed the situation dramatically.

Previously the few bandits were individuals or tiny groups who spent most of their time hunting, gathering, etc. to remain alive. They'ld certainly rob anyone they thought they could but this was not their primary source of survival. The distance and effort involved in raiding the civilized lands made more than one or two raids per year practically impossible and given the limit of what the raiders could even carry away they eventually found trading pelts or other goods for what they couldn't produce themselves to be the preferred approach. Likely some of the older trappers used to be bandits.

The ones that couldn't adapt became casualties.

Now there have been changes...

Tiny as it is Oleg's post and the trade it sparked among the natives has given the bandits a new and nearby source of unprecedented wealth, by their standards, one they can plunder repeatedly.

At the same time a new leader has rallied the local bandits, less than 50 strong at most, to build a fortification of sorts, develop greater resources and extort from all the locals which can be found. This in turn means the bandits can expect a certain amount of basic foodstuffs and other resources simply by showing up on a regular schedule to extort the locals, freeing up time to plan for bigger things, such as raiding settled areas further away.

Not only would an increase in the number of raids begin, say, three per year instead of two, given a round trip of a month or more each time, but, far more noticeable, the scale and organization of the raids would change dramatically.

A bandit or three take what they can get, preferably without violence, but more than a dozen can take the time to properly plunder an entire thorp or hamlet, taking everything they can carry and even seizing any carts or wagons and draught animals for maximum benefit.

These successes in turn further enhance the influence that the bandit leader has over his crew.

If/when the players arrive by all means have pieces of several wagons and carts strewn around, plus make it clear that ox and horse have been prominent parts of the bandit diet. Also that most of the (stolen) goods are not valuable so much as simply useful.


You could even have a community spring up in response to the players and their actions without the players being directly involved.

In my campaign the first book took nearly a year, which gave plenty of time for the first changes to follow.

In addition to the group of guards and the cleric scheduled to arrive automatically, the cleric...moving elsewhere later, I also assumed that the bandits had been extorting from the sparse local population of hermits, barbarians and at least one maker of potions.

Once the bandits were weakened local trade, such as it was, increased on top of whatever the PCs wanted to purchase or sell. As a result the small monthly caravan would increase, eventually nearly doubling in size and becoming a biweekly caravan. This in turn led to the first settlers of Oleg's Fort to begin trickling in, while Oleg hired a pair of servants and then tried to invite a specialist or two.

By the time the second book was beginning the permanent population had gone from Oleg and Svetlana to @30 but with the families of several newly arrived farmers expected later in the year.


You might make the epic radish quest a minor favor asked after Svetlana learns the party will be passing right by that area, with a more modest payment offered. If the party is of good alignment then a minor quest in an area they'll must pass by might not even see payment requested.

By a remarkable stroke of luck the players arrive just as a band of the kobolds warned of are harvesting the radishes and the kobold's treasure just happens to match the reward originally posted, or that plus any standard kobold treasure.


Oh, shoot. Sorry, Erevis, won't do that again.:(


My own group somehow convinced themselves that Lashonna, the vampiric silver dragon from Age of Worms, not only could but should be redeemed so I'm in no position to judge the potentially catastrophic decisions of other players.


So thrilled that someone referred to Pawn Stars. Fun show to watch and I just love how the owners always know an expert for any given item.

Not to mention the amusement potential when someone drives up with a late 19th Century cannon for appraisal...

When the rewards seem too extreme there are options, like a token reward but the effort to get, say, radishes first encounters a wandering monster who just happens to be carrying a gem or two, or a useful magic item or...

In the case of Svetlana's ring, 1000 gold for a ring worth slightly over 100 gold may seem excessive but success/payment means the PCs have dealt the bandits a crippling blow, with associated risks and possible casualties, and ensured that the ire of the Stag Lord will be direct elsewhere than Oleg and his wife so it isn't that outrageous.

Besides, if he offers a mere 20 gold how will he know if the party never found the ring, actually selling it later for a higher price?


I thought it might be fun to have Tyralandi join the party on a temporary basis. I figure my group, which wanted to 'save' Lashonna, is bound to wind up as the hopeless thralls of some demon or other by the end of this so why not give them some pretence that it was their own choice?

As for the cabin boy, don't be silly. He's not a girl, he's simply the latest androgynous high priest of Malcanthet to make an appearance in Dungeon magazine. And sailors do not try things he doesn't approve of. At least, not twice.


Actually that's interesting in the event of player death. Since the statues can't drown there could be instant replacement PCs on the spot!


I'm cranky because I already posted this yesterday but somehow it did not take to the board. <grumbles>

As I see it there is one area needing some improvement and one which would be a useful thing to do.

On the issue of experience, random dice obviously runs the risk of no wanderers, ie, none of the added experience needed. Not to mention the risk of so many encounters doing serious harm to the credibility of a trade route being opened.

I would suggest a set number of encounters, including one or two deliberately non-hostile encounters where experience is awarded for good role-playing and even one where magic can be traded for or earned for some good deeds

In addition, to avoid the feeling of randomness, note the location where a community was destroyed by lizardmen but the lizzies are all long gone. I'm sure most of us were able to play with the PCs and give a good feeling of imminent attack but...

Instead I would suggest a running battle for the ship, with at least two patrols of lizardmen(or allies), a third encounter of predominantly officer-types whose presence can justify some magic and portable treasure, and a final patrol to be avoided if the PCs appear to have handled matters well(minimal ship damage and crew losses).

Further, note that the Jade Ravens have more magic in Farshore than in Bullywug Gambit and Lavinia has substantially more. If Lavinia is actually carrying some extra magic for trade or for rewarding her loyal mercenaries you can certainly use the defeat of many of the marauding lizardmen to justify a reward for the party. Alternately she could simply trade for some potions and scrolls.

Anyone want to offer ideas as to the encounters, magic acquired, rewards and so forth?


As a sole outpost of civilization effectively monopolizing the trade with a large but undeveloped area you can certainly justify one or two NPCs arriving whose levels and skills are all out of proportion to Farshore's population.


Well, one clear alternative is to let more NPCs survive from the ship, just to create a certain level of expendables. Not to mention if any of the NPCs have become close to the party, or even become henchmen.

Since the fiend has certain illusion and sound-effect powers you could even consider having one or two NPCs vanish screaming to their dooms only to emerge alive in the final lair.


Well, I don't want to give anything away but a few magic items will appear prior to the epic battle including one area where each party member may walk away with a good item. In fact, there are those who complain that this one area was too generous but...


Why do I just know that the best response is NOT to ask Erik any further questions...;)


That can be an interesting state of affairs. In the first adventure path in Cauldron my players got along with most of the NPCs, even the rival adventurers ultimately settled in to a friendly rivalry. So, as a interesting development, when the tremors began threatening the city the players were given the option of breaking in to four groups, each consisting of one PC, one of the Stormblades, one of the Seekers and one other friendly NPC. It actually worked quite well.


As a matter of fact I estimated between 11,500 and 12,000 experience each(not counting stat bonuses) at the end of the Bullywug Gambit.

I noted the risks of counting on wanderers, from none arriving to a crowd so vast that no one can understand why colonization would be plausible at this time.

I also noted not only that some monsters will inevitably escape but that one or more NPCs will be along for many encounters, taking their share of the experience. Lirith for any attacks on the ship, Urol in Tamoachan, and so forth.

Thus I presume that between 10 and 20 percent of the available experience won't go to the party.


I don't know if everyone has had the problem but this adventure is supposed to raise your PCs(assuming 4-5) to 7th level by the end. I don't see that happening, even with a total cleanup of all of the encounters and no NPC aid.

Since some foes will escape and certain NPCs are bound to be involved in certain combats, I see something like 17,000-18,000 experience(plus bonuses) as the likely result.

The answer would appear to be the wandering monsters which have a 28% chance per day while hugging the coast, reduced to 8% per day on the open seas. However, ignoring the risks of random dice either denying you your wanderers or, alternately, drowning your players in random foes, I just don't like the feel of too many such events.

After all, if there are that many regular problems, why would the trade route be viable?

Instead I feel that the number should be limited to 150% of the experience you feel is likely to be needed to reach 7th level and should make a certain degree of sense.

Further, as the PCs are facing monsters on the open sea, treasure is going to be something of an issue.

I'll be back tomorrow with a few ideas I had on this but eagerly await any comments or advice on the matter.


Jason, some good points there and see my next thread on 'Experience Issues in The Sea Wyvern's Wake', posting as soon as I can finish it!

You might also use the lack to encourage party efforts to improve the community.


In New Jersey I am still waiting as of February 4th(as it might be waiting for me in the mailbox today).


How has the battle gone? Well, that's all a matter of personal opinion and your preference as to which side you support.

:(


It has been noted that our players might be at something of an advantage by the time they arrive at Farshore, due to a severe limit on magic to purchased or ordered from NPC craftsmen(due to the limited levels available).

A few possible ways to get around this...

1) Farshore does have spellcasters capable of casting spells of up to third level so you can make potions and scrolls to that level available. Specialists also exist that can produce quality items suitable for enchantment, certainly anything made of leather.;)

2) Increasing the level of the NPC specialists is not to hard to justify. When the Jade Ravens go off on one or more missions of their own, have the local priest(6rh level) or mage(5th level) accompany them without mentioning it to the party. For all we know the cleric is only a few hundred experience from his next level.

Imagine their surprise when 4th level scrolls and potions are suddenly on the market!

3) Olman resources. No reason that the Olmans can't have the ability to create the incidental magic item, especially if the party can provide some service or equipment that they need in return. Since every village reportedly includes a 'zombie master', if we assume they can create the undead we assume a median level of spell casting in each of the seven villages.

4) Let the party develop their own skills. On the negative side it does have the unfortunate side effect of reducing the skill points of at least some party members. On the positive side, a few complaints about 1st level characters going to level 20 in a single year have come up so you can extend the time simply by giving the party greater down time.


I concur. The party may have picked up the odd magic item or two previously but the previous two adventures were somewhat light on magic, perhaps surprisingly so in terms of Tamoachan.

Always assuming that they even found all the treasure, not to mention anything lost at the end of...almost gave something away about one of the first four!:)


You could assume that much of the other treasure is stolen, but offer a finder's fee of some percentage(10%? 25%?) to the party. You might also replace it with a single valuable magic item of use to the party of comparable value.


Considering how long Farshore has gone without reinforcements a party arriving with a few more people might be granted a bonus in the next part of the adventure, or simply for good role-playing and nobly standing by the crewmen and colonists in need.

As already noted, it WILL take an added effort to get everyone there and could be very interesting for the party or very frustrating. As to the other named NPCs, no reason not to save one if he/she is important to your game.

Better yet, let the PCs' actions and choices make the difference. If they seem rather disinterested in planning ahead, few survive. Otherwise many do.

My own group was planning ahead, to the point of convincing the lovely captain to set up floating packages, just in case, while the rogue turned his bag of holding(50 pounds) into a survival kit. Between a long trip at sea and my own record they somehow convinced themselves that a shipwreck was inevitable...


I don't have much doubt that Rowyn runs if she feels her own life to be at risk, regardless of Gut Tugger's situation.

Don't forget to enhance Gut Tugger if he returns to fight another day!


Out of curiousity, even if most aranea don't look like the 'smoking hot spider babe' from the cover, how did 40% of the population completely avoid any sexual relations with the other 60% for generations in a village of less than 200?

Also, do I sense a trend in hot spider babes, here, in the recent Dragonlance trilogy AND in Red Hand of Doom?


You can always increase the numbers involved, if it makes the battle more believable, even if the local militia gets to handle them instead of the adventurers.

Perhaps the @150 level four fighters are simply the first wave and if the players do poorly more will follow? After all, it isn't the total crew of the ships, which is probably well above 150 strong, but how many can be brought ashore by rowboats in one movement?

If the first wave is wiped out, the top dogs(yuan-ti, golems, vrocks, and Vanthus) are taken down, rapid surrender and flight would be the most likely response.

I don't know where Farshore would get many ships of their own. As best I can see, if the party salvages their own ship, Farshore has ONE to stand off the pirate fleet at the entrance to the harbor. A few fireballs followed by a boarding party could be an exciting battle sequence, and if the party counterattacks and takes the enemy ship, then takes out a second, have the remainder begin to fight among themselves as the rank and file face stubborn officers. This would lead to the many prizes and salvage for Farshore.

Just as mopping up begins an enraged Vanthus flies over the party with his vrocks to target his sister.


Well, in six months trade will commence, if all went well. If the intrepid heros were to dispatch a few requests along with a fortune in gold and gems mayhaps some greedy mage might start teleporting in weekly if he thought the rewards would be worthwhile?

You could always take a break of weeks or even months in the adventure to recover from the battle and repair the damage, even in casualties were light.

Bear in mind that potions and scrolls up to level four should be available and in rising quantities. Perhaps a few weaker heirlooms might emerge among the Olmans? After all, the suit of plate mail looks pretty but who's going to wear it in the jungle?

Formulating treasure can be a challenge but surely at least one PC is a bit basic in his/her needs?


On the way to the 'isle of lost knowledge' my intrepid band of heroic figures spotted the fair Lashonna turning into a silver dragon and bravely confronting the minions of Kyuss. Fascinated, the launched a crash effort of legend lores, divinations, etc. to determine just what was going on.

They know now what she is.

They have 'brilliantly' decided to that she must be returned to life and redeemed. Anyone have any ideas how this might be done or do I need to use the DM's blunt instrument as an alternative to TPK?


Well, after the images seen of Lashonna turning into a silver dragon before journeying to the isle of lost knowledge my party has launched an in-depth effort to determine who and what Lashonna truly is. Now, after a series of divinations, legend lores and such, they know the truth!

They want to raise her and redeem her. How, other than a TPK in the final episode, would you handle this? Have any of you had a problem like this before?


I assume she is...

A) Waiting for the inn to be restored.

B) Staying because her fellow Striders sense problems and are massing a small but elite force(including herself) in Cauldron.

C) She MIGHT have fallen for a certain PC.