Grendel Todd's page

Given that the Emerald Spire is in effect about as big as an AP, are we going to see an Emerald Spire Player's Guide at some point?

Congrats to those of you who made it - I look forward to your merry monster mashing. As one of those no longer under the gun I can finally relax and join the chorus cheering you on. Best of luck!

"We who are about to die salute you..."

Best of luck to you all, and hope to see y'all on the other side (fellow competitors or no).

Hands of the Harridans
Alignment: CN
Headquarters: Woodsedge, Galt
Leader: Y'metari, Matriarch of the Kindly Coven
Structure: Loose network of like-minded vigilantes
Scope: National (principally those nations overlapping the Verduran Forest)
Resources: Safe-houses and caverns scattered throughout Galt, Taldor and Andoran (most under the eves of the Verduran Forest), and an expansive network of assassins, vigilantes and witches

A young maid seduced by a local noble complains to the old woman in the cottage at the edge of the wood. The Noble's heirs are poisoned, and he cursed with impotence. A cuckolded husband complains to a traveler at the inn that he can't take a stand against his wife's magistrate lover. The adulteress and her lover are burned alive during a tryst the following week. The Harridans hear the cries for vengeance, and their Hands respond.
Structure and Leadership
Led by a scattered collection of elders, mostly hags and witches living on the fringes of civilization, these “Harridans” gather together in sewing circles and gossip about who merits their association’s attentions. The younger, more active “Hands” are a motley assortment, working alone or in groups of three (called "Furies") who visit their seniors, listen to what they suggest, then see to it punishment is meted out. So far this loose organization has kept authorities from recognizing them as a threat, but Y'metari's guidance has led to the creation of yet another tier, the Nag's Army, a vile mix of bandits, mercenaries and less savory creatures brought together to implement grander acts of retribution.
Goals
Their core belief is that all are entitled to vengeance. When local authorities do not act or go far enough in punishing those who have wronged others, they act for those who cannot or will not act for themselves. Their methods favor excessive retribution, irrespective of who may get caught in the crossfire. Though many members are devotees of Calistria and Gyronna, faith does not dominate their perspective though it may flavor their methods. With the concentration of leadership at Woodsedge, the Harridans have been increasingly active in Galt, the raw number of outraged citizenry drawing them like moths to a flame.
Public Perception
While most authorities see them as vicious vigilantes, the general public's opinions are mixed. Many find their views of revenge for everyone attractive, especially in Galt, given its' recent bloody history.

I finished my first draft this morning, and given it was a 500+ beast, I've been feeling like Cinderella's step-sister all through the editing, debating which of my toes to cut off just to squeeze my foot into this dang slipper...

Thanks for the romance scores and relationship rewards! I think this is one of the cooler sub-rule sets I've seen. Think we might be getting a few more pieces like this for filling out JR as it comes out?

Being a seasoned gm of heavy rp games may warp my view a little, but I frankly found the two pages quite reasonable for what they're up to so far in the AP. More would to my mind be too much - harkening back to the OPs question as to wither they overshadowed pcs, really. I'm used to having plenty of flex room for allied npcs if they're going to last for more than a scene or two, so making it up to a certain extent suits me just fine.

I think opening a book only to find a soggy waffle covered with fish oil would be classed as the holiest of goblin miracles.

Goblins pray, and Goblins shout,

Turn foulest writ to mushy goo!
Turn pages filled with sticky glue!
Lick the oil, taste the sea!
Then set on fire, fling it free!

Eat the letters! Munch the words!
Mangle nouns! Cut into thirds!
Like horse and Dog we'll chew them too!
Words are evil, cook them true!

Goblins dance with flaming fish!
Goblins love the sizzling dish!
That's the Goblins' edible text!
That's why Gods love Goblins best!

One of the more intriguing areas in KM2 to me is the island in the Candlemere, but I (and I seem to recall I'm not the only one) found the idea of "camping" Will-o-wisps to clear it depressingly tedious, and felt sprucing it up a bit and turning it into an actual side-adventure would make it far more interesting for my group.

Given the lovecraftian flavor of the place, I'd thought to use Carrion Hill, but that adventure requires the place already be settled. The more recent From Shore to Sea, however, seems to have a number of elements that fit very well with how things are arranged in the southern Greenbelt. Using the Island of Nal-Kashel for Candlemere works well, and using the map for that I established several other ruined buildings the party can rebuild once they claim the island (Library, Academy, Graveyard & perhaps a few Monuments), while the village of Blackcove has been renamed Eelsport (not settled on that name though) and placed at the abandoned ferry site (with the potential settlement rewards for acquisition of ruined Waterfront, Ports, Shrine, Watchtower, ruined Alchemist shop, and several Tenements).

While much of the scenario should adapt just fine, I'm still not quite sure how to handle certain core elements. The Azlanti/Scum seem out of place on the one hand, but given the River Kingdoms city of Outsea, anything is arguably possible. The other option might be to switch out the Azlant with more common Riverfolk, and the Scum with Lizardmen, but it seems the adventure looses much of it's "Insmouth" flavor (though arguably the island seems to have enough magical juice for explaining transforming Humans into Lizardfolk).

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

While I'm not all that thrown by the reward for the Moonradish quest, it occures to me that in a Frontiersman economy, they likely will have some good barter items they might otherwise never expect to sell or trade to the usual hunter crowd. Some alternatives to a cash reward that I think would be reasonable in these circumstances include:
[list]

I waved around a copy of the Kingmaker Players guide to my group this last Sunday, and before I knew it had a group all rolled up for Kingmaker (we're still working on SD mind you, but they're itching for Kingmaker once we're done with that, or possibly as an alternate).

My party as it stands:
Variel Forestwalker: Male 1/2 elf Paladin of Erastil and loyal Rostlander.
Natasha Surtova: Noble-born female human Temptress,* dilettante adventuress (in the classic 18th century sense of the word).
Khoran Lebeda: Noble-born male 1/2 elf Noble** up-and-coming courtier.
Morielle Aldori: Male Fighter, a remittance-man of House Medvyed who renounced the family name after joining an Aldori dueling school in Restov.
Sonja Medvyed: Noble-born Female human Priestess*** of Erastil.
Jan One-eye: Basterd male Cavalier**** & member of the Order of the Lion.

I left open the option of Troupe-style play, so we even have some alternate/back-up characters in:
Meenem Riverstalker: a halfling druid.
Zoresh: A human Barbarian from Numeria.
& an as of yet unnamed Gnome Nature Oracle****.

*adapted from Hyboria's Fallen, Mongoose Publishing.
**adapted from from The Noble's Handbook, Green Ronin Publishing.
***from Tome of Secrets, Adamant Entertainment.
****Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide final beta.

I am a little worried at the choice of political over woodsy types going in, but several of them plan on multiclassing into more adventurous and survival oriented classes once they get out into the Greenbelt. Presuming they survive the game should get very interesting down the road, given the background choices they decided to run with.

I know I'm not the only one giddy with starting this AP up. What are the rest of you running with?