Greg A. Vaughan's page

Just announced by Bill Webb on another thread:

"Frog God games is pleased to announce Tome of Horrors Complete

This book will be released in 2 formats; Swords and Wizardry and Pathfinder. It will consist of a huge volume encompassing all three Necromancer Games Tome of Horror volumes. Release date is Summer 2011, and retail price is TBD. This will be hardcover release. This massive Tome will contain almost 1000 monsters retstatted and reworked for both game systems, all in one place.

This is the largest, most comprehensive monster book ever released. Each monster is individually illustrated.

Let the discussion begin!"

The art will be in black and white since we're princiaplly reusing the art that already exists in the 3.5 TOHR, TOH2, and TOH3.

It is a complete compilation of those three volumes. Yes, there will be crossover with it and the TOH monsters that Paizo has published in their Bestiaries. For the most part these will look really similar, but we did not constrain ourselves to that if we thought we liked another PF interpretation better. So in some cases there may be minor differences between the TOH and Paizo versions--call it regional variations--but I think these are pretty few and far between.

I'm just now getting the conversion turnovers in from our crack staff of PF RPG monster converters and it's looking good, but it's going to take awhile to sift through and edit the 750+ monsters that comprise those three books not to mention getting them through layout.

You're going to see a lot of familiar names from among your favorite PF writers on these conversions, so you know you're getting quality on this.

I'm just excited that Bill has made the announcement so I can finally talk about what we've been working on for the last several months. Yeah!!!

1 pencil, 1 piece of graph paper...sometimes a straight edge.

Help! I'm stuck in the middle-late 20th Century!

Having a blast running Kingmaker but in prepping for VV I seem to have missed where Handout 1 at the top of page 26 is supposed to come into play. Granted I haven't concentrated on Vordekai's lair much yet. It seems to be a big clue that contradicts some of the other misdirection.

Area L12, in Pendrod's room.

Cool! Glad you liked it, Michael.

We ran in to an issue regarding the classic blunder of putting a Bag of Holding inside a Portable Hole. The parties Rogue decided to go off on his own exploring after the encounter with the Eunuch and flew in to the garden. He was getting destroyed by the Dire Tiger and decided to dive in to his Portable Hole as a refuge.

So given the Vizier's Curse should it create the standard rift to the Astral Plane or something completely different?

I think it will not open a rift to the Astral since the house is effectively sealed from the Astral. But it would probably destroy the two items. Alternately I suppose it could create a localized pocket of the Astral Plane that does not provide access to the rest of the plane, so those in it are still trapped within the curse.

Also, I couldn't figure out who to get to the D floor from the C floor. There's that weird passage behind the secret door that's by the from door, is that it?

And they took some of them out. ;-)

The chuuls are a change from the original manuscript, so I'm not sure what is intended. I'd say pick the one that works for you.

The stairs at D16 (and continuing down between C12 and C13--they have no First Floor egress) are what lead to F1.

The stairs between D7 and D14 lead down to C16.

From page 10:

Teleportation magic and effects like blink or phase
door that rely upon the ethereal function normally as long
as the traveler does not leave the palace grounds...

I'm fairly sure Greg looks like an Invisible Stalker, only one with a malicious aura and constantly drooling acid.)

Aw shucks, flatterer... (slobber, drool, slobber)

Update: Bill says all but about 10 of the signed, limited edition hardcovers were sold in that initial glut before the server broke. E-mail him at bill@talesofthefroggod.com if you want him to reserve one for you.

P.S. The pdf is for sale here at Paizo as well. Don't know about the softcovers.

Well, I wasn't going to go there, but now that you mention it... ;-)

Ah, okay. I missed all that on my read through of the published adventure. I usually do more of a skim unless I'm going to run it just because by that time I've read it in some form or other about 9 million times. I do try to see what may have changed, though, and apparently missed that sidebar.

Well, I just got off the phone with Bill. The Sword & Wizardry hardcover and softcover went up for sale this morning at talesofthefrgogod.com along with a few of the other titles Bill has mentioned. And unfortunately the sudden influx of sales broke the website after about half an hour. From talking to Bill, it's not the website itself but rather the connection to Paypal so that new orders can't be processed. So we've contacted the web guy to fix it. Also unfortunately, it's Saturday morning so it may take us a bit to locate him and get it fixed. We're thinking we'll have it up and running again this weekend, though.

Obviously as problems go, this is one of the better ones to have (so many people want to buy that it's overloading the system!), but it's still not good because that means all of you good folks out there who are wanting to buy it are unable to do so at the moment and, conversely, we're unable to sell it to you, whihc is no good at all. We apologize for the inconvenience. Rest assured it is our top priority to get this fixed.

So keep checking in from time to time at the website, and as soon as I know something I'll post it here.

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

Greg

Hi, is this adventure too long to be played in one long sessin (about 10 hours)?

It would be possible, but you'd really have to hurry. For most groups I'd think 2-3 sessions of 5-6 hours each, longer if you do a lot of RP and tactical discussion. I once ran Monte Cook's Labyrinth of Madness in a marathon weekend, so I know such things can be done, but it wouldn't be the norm probably.

Figure about 20 encounter areas give or take (depending on how directly the PCs make it to their goal) and how long it would take you and your group to do that at 17th level.

I'm curious about something; since Maegar Varn is described as being a Swordlord himself

I don't recal writing him as a swordlord. Where are you getting that info from (it certainly could have appeared in the editing process, but I'm not familiar with it)?

It was actaully yeth hounds and manticores respectively for the different tiers, but vrocks work too. :-)

There were a lot of good German soldiers in WW II* that had nothing to do with Gestapo, holocausts, etc. whose only crime was loving their country and serving under a particularly bad regime. They still got shot by the "good guys". What I'm saying is sometimes an enemy is an enemy and under other circumstances might have been a good friend.

It's just my opinion, oi ocurse, but when I play a paladin he doesn't go in for slaughter of innocents, but an enemy combatant is an enemy combatant and short of surrendering or running is putting his life at risk by being in armed conflict against me. If I find out later it was all a big mistsake and they were also LG paladins and we just had a BIG misunderstanding, then I'd have some atoning to do, but that is not the assumption I would make at any given time short of extremely compelling evidence.

*You can actually probably make this argument for just about any conflict--it's just easy to go with WW II.

Thanks, DM! An excellent and thorough review, as always.

I guess I just found the "humour" to be a turn-off.

You wouldn't be the first.

Hope to have an announcement in regards to the Richard Pett deal in the next week or so. We're getting close...so close...mwahahaha!

Excellent news, Mark! Now get back on your dogsled and mush home for some turkey!

VAAUUUGGGHHHHAANNN!!!!!!!!

You...you, I know. I never forget a face......Names I'm not so good with.

I'm not sure what the answer is to this. When I first wrote it, there were some clues and items in the adventure that would give the PCs bonuses in their final confrontation with Jhavul. I'm not sure if those survived editing or not and can't remember specifically what they were, though one was the finding of his ancestor's old bottle that he was enslaved in and using that as a morale penalty against Jhavul when revealed to him and their knowledge of his ancestor's shame and the fall of his once-esteemed house in the City of Brass.

So, at the end of Shadow in the Sky, the PCs fight Depora Azrinae. In her stat block it says she shoots poisoned bolts. Few questions:

1: Are elves effected by the drow sleep poison - is this a magical sleep?
2: Her attack states (1d4+3/19-20 plus poison) do I assume that all of her bolts are already poisoned?
3: If not, how does applying poison work? How many bolts can one vile cover, how long does it take, and can she accidentally poison herself?
Thanks

1. No poison, is not considered magical sleep, so elves are not immune.

2. Yes, assume they are already poisoned.
3. DMG, p. 296. She does not have the poison use ability so she has a 5% chance of poisoning herself when she applies it. Assume that she did not when she applied it previous to the encounter, but apply this chance if she reapplies any poison. She also must make a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid poisoning herself on a natural 1 attack roll. 1 vial equals 1 dose of poison. As for how long, I believe it would be a move action to withdraw a bolt, a move action to withdraw a vial, and a move action to apply the poison--not something great for the middle of combat.

Sounds like a fun game. :-)

Okay, good deal. Thanks. And thanks for being a subscriber to Slumbering Tsar; I hope it is living up to expectations. :-)

So I am not going to find out in the end that you can't make all the orders Hardcover and some will be getting a Softcover for Slumbering Tsar premium full subscribers?

I'm not sure what you're asking here. There is no softcover of Slumbering Tsar unless you're talking about the individual chapter soft cover releases. Each compilation of Slumbering Tsar is a hardcover book. Those for subscribers are the signed limited edition with the extra material.

Slumbering Tsar is being sold through a totally different model than S&W Rulebook. With S&W, only 100 of the hardcovers are being printed and they will go to the first 100 orders.

With Slumbering Tsar, the subscriptions let us know how many of the limited addition hardcovers to print and pay for those hardcovers, so there's no chance of coming up short like I think you're describing. If you bought the premium subscription, you get the limited edition hardcover, because we're printing one specifically for your subscription and paying for the printing from that subscription's cost. We did it this way so we could start releasing Slumbering Tsar material right away (as we've been doing) without having to wait a year or so until the PF RPG conversion was completed, and we would know exactly how many to print so we wouldn't run into a problem of running out, which seems to be what you're describing.

I hope that is addressing yor concerns, if I read your question right.

Greg

Or Ezer tells them.

Oooh, good point. I forgot about that angle. I suppose you could aslo have a fire cult lizardfolk pop open the chute's hatch at that opportune moment to try to net some firebats (the burning motes in the description of B8. That was part of the original manuscript (that the lizardfolk used the chute for hunting firebats), but was cut for space in editing.

That is correct. There are two hardcover limited edition books being talked about here:

1) Slumbering Tsar - going to the subscribers of the series who subscribed for the hardback book at the end (signed and with extra material included).

2)Sword & Wizardry Complete Rulebook - hardback 100 copies only (more in softcover). I think these are signed too, but I don't recall for sure.

Sorry for the confusion.

I'm not sure of the answer to that, but I'll make sure Bill sees this so he can address it.

When I ran the scenario, one of the PCs spotted the old tunnel on the way in. When she examined the entrance, I advised her that the passage appeared neglected, its masonry decayed and crumbling. The party rowed on to the landing that showed signs of recent use.

That's an excellent example of a good GM nudge.

I agree with Mark, but in adding that line it will let the players know where they are supposed to be. They can certainly still locate the other option and proceed in that direction without checking out the first, but then it is a conscious choice to ignore the initial instruction or their own fault for missing the instruction completely.

I think they should be allowed to choose the second route if they want, but I also believe that the consequences are just. If you miss the contact because you chose your own route, you miss some of the rewards; if you miss the contact because you honestly didn't know which way to go, I agree with Swiftfoot that it isn't fair or fun.

I'd still include the line so the players have an idea of where to go (whether they choose to do so or not), but as Mark mentioned, a nudge here from the GM would be helpful as well.

Well, I'm sure he was no "9-20s-roller". ;-)

Swiftbrook just posted a review of this adventure that brought up a really good point. Apparently in the editing process, an important line was removed in the section on introductory information that is given to the PCs. As a result he and his group missed a major portion of the adventure due to a really good Perception check.

If you run this adventure, please insert the line below to avoid the possibility of having the same issue encountered by Swiftbrook.

@Swiftbrook: I'm sorry to hear that it wasn't a good experience for you and that I hadn't previously noticed the removal of that line of text, because I think it would have probably made a big difference for you (the scenario certainly would've made more sense that way).

Again my apologies for the oversight in the final version that was released.

P.S.

I know, I know, the Desolation is a beast of a puzzle to put together if you don't already know what it's supposed to look like, and it's the central focus of the first three adventures of the Slumbering Tsar Saga from Frog God Games. All I can say is that when I first designed it to be one book it was my intention for it to be a poster map.

Well, after much customer feedback and tapping the esteemed James Keegan (of Wayfinder and KQ fame) for another of his extraordinary pieces of art, Frog God is providing its first free download (I say first, I don't know if there will be more or not, but I do know that it's the first), a players' map of the Desolation (no doubt pried from some unlucky sucker's dead fingers where he was found out in the muck) that can be distributed when your PCs first arrive in The Camp and start asking around about that Big Wasteland sitting in the settlement's backyard. Or make them build it from clues as they quiz the locals and dig for information. Do whatever you want with it; it's yours and it's free!

Ideally it would have been put into the ST1: Edge of Oblivion adventure, but that has already been released and gone to print. My intention is to include it in the big combined book when the whole thing is released at the end, but until then download it for free here.

Enjoy,

Greg V.

Ah, so you really are all about killing as many characters as you possibly can with hyper-optimized monsters? Good to know. I'm so glad that it gives you a thrill - we didn't enjoy either of your scenarios.

This reviewer based HER conclusions on a TPK in a dungeon where the only way out is to defeat the final boss. I purchased the scenario after the debacle, and based my review on reading it after our disappointing experience. It wasn't just about the GM's unholy dice luck (though that didn't help) - it was about what seems to me to be a very deliberate design decision to kill characters who turn out to be underpowered. They were smart enough to flee - they simply weren't allowed to.

It does appear that you're very pleased with your design choices. I wish you joy of them. It's not the kind of experience I'd come to enjoy playing Pathfinder since the beginning of the campaign. If it's indicative (as it seems to be, based on Mark's response) of the overall campaign design and direction I'm afraid I'll be parting ways with Pathfinder.

I'm not just whining because I lost a beloved character, though that does factor into it, I'm also very unhappy with the Gygaxian approach used in the construction of the dungeon crawl. It's not fun for me.

I stand by my one star review, and will indeed be avoiding the author's works in the future unless I hear a decent review from someone whose judgment I respect.

I don't think you know me well enough to know what I'm all about. I do admit to enjoying sowing mayhem among the ranks of the PCs, though. No lie there. However, in my experience on both sides of the screen, those are some of the funnest parts of the game; call it Call-of-Cthulhu Syndrome if you want, but the people who have spoken to me about PC losses in adventures I wrote have always prefaced it with how much fun it was. It does stink to lose a beloved character, but it sounds like you've got a pretty epic tale for the bards to sing of there that can be enjoyed in the telling for many years to come.

Anyway, I'm sorry to have contributed to your unhappiness. However, I assure you that I hyper-optimize nothing in my adventures but rather write what I hope to be challenging encounters based on the appropriate CRs for the levels in question. I cannot foresee results of die roles, player strategies, GM decisions, or sub-optimal/hyper-optimal character builds.

Despite your intent with the comment, I can only take a comparison of my dungeon design as Gygaxian to be a complement. He is the creator of this little adventure game we like to play after all, and that is definitely a goal of adventure design for me.

As for avoiding my adventures, that is fair. Everyone has their tastes, and I'm not about to tell you that yours are wrong. But let's not pretend that mine are wrong because they don't match yours.

I/we do appreciate your feedback, and I always take the opinions of the consumers into consideration. I probably won't write the next adventure any easier as a result, but this kind of feedback can help me find ways to make it more enjoyable even for somebody whose tastes differ from mine and just got suckered into playing one of my adventures through no fault of their own.

However, as for quitting game, that seems a bit extreme don't you think? Besides, I promise they only allow me to write so many adventures. ;-)

Richard Pett wrote:

Greg A. Vaughan wrote:

I pitched this as a Golarion series to Paizo a few years back and suggested just off the map east of Taldor and south of Iobaria. I even worked up a map of western Casmaron to cover it. I'll have to dig it up sometime.

He doesn't sleep everyone!

HE NEVER SLEEPS!!!!!!
YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS...

He's married with children?

DING, DING We have a winnah!

Mark Moreland wrote:

Sir_Wulf wrote:

I'm really curious what happened to that group. On what disaster did the reviewer base his conclusions?

I haven't read or played this one yet, but it was run at NeonCon and I don't remember any howls of despair and frustration.

Yeah, I'm sort of curious for more details myself. It's my job, after all, to reign in the deadly force of evil that is Greg Vaughan.

*sigh*. It was a table I ran at U-Con. I'm on my phone now, I can fill in more details later, but they were a table if three 5's and three 8's, and I rolled NINE natural 20's in only 2 encounters. (claw, claw, bite, rend... rinse and repeat)

Ah, there it's back again.

I'm really curious what happened to that group. On what disaster did the reviewer base his conclusions?

I haven't read or played this one yet, but it was run at NeonCon and I don't remember any howls of despair and frustration.

Hey man, you're ruining my buzz.

heh, heh. I think that review has inspired me to write. :-)

Crystal Skull

Hall of the Rainbow Mage
Maze of Zayene II: Dimensions of Flight
Maze of Zayene III: Tower Chaos

Were these four modules ever made availible via PDF?

I don't see them on DriveThruRPG. You might try e-mailing Bill at bill@talesofthefroggodDOTcom and ask. He would know if they're available anywhere.

Greg A. Vaughan wrote:

Thanks, James! I'm glad you guys liked it. I'll pass on the kudos to my co-writer as well.

Greg,

How did you intend that combat to play out?

Pretty much as in mentioned in the spoiler above, though I certainly didn't intend for that to be the only way. The other ideas listed are good as well.

Thanks, James! I'm glad you guys liked it. I'll pass on the kudos to my co-writer as well.

Masters thesis? Shouldn't let that eat into your gaming. ;-)

I pitched this as a Golarion series to Paizo a few years back and suggested just off the map east of Taldor and south of Iobaria. I even worked up a map of western Casmaron to cover it. I'll have to dig it up sometime.

Ultimately it is not campaign specific, but you can certainly place it in Golarion. East of Taldor might still be a good bet if you work the Great Crusade in with Taldor's own history of crusades and Armies of Exploration.

Good luck on the thesis. Always remember the answer is "C".

wow