Ezren

Jedric's page

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It seems to me that, if "Sir Strong" was able to defeat Armag in fair and honorable combat, then he is also strong enough for the barbarian horde to declare him their new leader.


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OldManJim wrote:
Jedric wrote:
OldManJim: What font do you use on your map? I'm customizing the awesome work you've already done, and I want the map labels to be uniform.
It's called Saber Regular. I found it ages ago when looking for the same font Paizo uses for the Pathfinder books.

Awesome! Thank you!


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OldManJim: What font do you use on your map? I'm customizing the awesome work you've already done, and I want the map labels to be uniform.


It doesn't have the icons on it, but try this.

It's a pretty big file so that it can be edited to your heart's content.


My group is going to be trying out the mass combat system soon, and as I was looking at army stat blocks, I started thinking about the alignment of the army as a whole. Most people probably gloss over it, but I realized that alignment is probably indicative of what sort of tactics an army would use. That leads to my question: what sort of strategy would a chaotic army use? Barbarian horde is a given, but what about more civilized factions like Brevoy? Is it all about personal glory for the soldiers? What are your thoughts?


Queen Moragan wrote:
I haven't received my copy yet, but it sounds like it could go under Candlemere Isle nicely.

That's what I did with the PF version of Rappan Athuk. My players are about to discover that hell soon enough.


The way I handled it was to have the bottom row of hexes from the Tors of Levenies to the East Sellen form the northern border of Mivon, while to the west started the borders of Pitax. I also had the top row almost all the way across the map belong to Brevoy.

You can check it out here.


Have Vordekai fly. Your monk will have a much more difficult time of grappling him if he can't reach him. I'm sure he will find a way eventually (hell, he may even be able to jump 15 feet into the air for all I know), but if he's that proficient and can manage to grapple V, you can't punish him for doing what he does best. Keep in mind that Bestow Curse has a range of touch, so he's putting himself right within the lich's grasp...


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Wow. These last two submissions (Silkenray and Dudemeister) have been amazing! Now the hard part is figuring out which one I want to steal for my group!


DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:

Zuddiger's Picnic

This is a high res version, clocking in at 131 Megs, but I have to say they are 131 quality megs.

Here's the artist URL: Natalie Phillips. She's a true artist, and one of my players.

I keep getting an error message for your link.


Doesn't the inability to receive morale bonuses only apply to mindless undead?


Awesome. That was a big help.

For resources, do you have to pay the cost as part of weekly consumption, or all up front? I noticed that some sample armies in UCam have a recruitment cost separate from their consumption.

Alsi, does anyone else have any house rules they've found aid the mass combat experience?


Sorry, if this has been asked before, but I can't find an answer anywhere. How exactly do you recruit armies in the kingdom building rules? Do they cost BP up front, or do you just charge consumption? Can you only build in cities? If someone could walk me through exactly how you raise armies, that would be awesome.


Dave Rinehart wrote:

How did you get the icons from the books? That is a stellar map by the way!

You can open a PDF of the adventure path in Photoshop and manually select each map icon and export it as its own .png document.

OR...

You can just use mine.

EDIT: If this goes against the copyright policy of the boards, let me know.


pennywit wrote:

What you said...

I really like the idea of the caster's tower. I'm going to suggest it to them.

androstre wrote:
all

Also good ideas. Thanks everyone!


Right, but what does on in this position actually do? The player who is thinking about taking the role is a very proactive individual, and he's wondering what sort of job he actually gets to perform besides idle philosophy and research.


What jobs should a PC Magister expect to do? We've been debating the last few days about what the Magister's job entails, but we haven't come to anything conclusive.


Yeah, I've stolen liberally from Redcelt and the gang. We haven't finished up the Stag Lord yet, but I plan on making the party earn their initial BP investment. They'll receive about 15 from the Swordlords and then need to bargain with other interested parties for start-up funds. I'm really interested to see if they hop in bed with the Surtovas or not, or if the cleric of Sarenrae will give up the High Priest seat so that the Church of Abadar will invest.

I also stole from this thread.


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Check out this thread.


Sounds like it. Keep us updated.


None of your players want the throne for themselves?


@Adumbration: Happy I could give back to the boards who have given me so much!


Ah, I see. Maybe when he gets older, but right now I see Nymixthriin as needing some sort of leadership more than anything. From what I read, silver dragons, unlike many other true dragons, need a mentor to keep them on the straight and narrow and to help them "shine their scales." Nymixthriin, who was born alone and then "raised" for the last few years in captivity, would have only the basic understanding of what it would mean to be a true silver dragon. His instinctual pursuit of justice at this point would be at all costs, whether for better or worse. My main goal is for the PCs to either take him under their wing and provide a good example (which is looking like a decreasingly good idea with every session) or to help him find a mentor so that he doesn't become a tarnished silver. Later on, if the party plays their cards right, he could be a valuable ally in the fight against Ithuliak.


pennywit wrote:
Hey ... what if Nymixthriin decides to pull a Mengkare?

I'm not familiar with the reference.


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Sorry to necro an old thread, but you can read about our Kingmaker campaign on Obsidian Portal. We have a whopping 8 players, and we're using the D&D Next playtest materials for the mechanical side of the game (read: beau-coup de conversion), but it's been a blast so far. We're about halfway through Stolen Land, and in a session or two I imagine the party will be assaulting the Stag Lord's fort. Since we only get to play once bi-weekly, much of the intimate roleplaying is done on the portal forum--which, unfortunately, I don't believe can be viewed by unregistered users. I've stolen liberally from these forums (thanks to all, by the way!), and I hope you enjoy our adventures as much as we have.


So I fit in, me too, please.

Spoiler:
jeffery.a.pierce at gmail dot com


pennywit wrote:

Decoy. One group of bandits ambushes the players when they stop for the evening and leads the players away. While they do that, a second group of bandits enters the players' campsite and steals the players' horses and supplies.

Kick 'em while they're down A group of bandits, led by Dovan or another named bandit from the fort, follows the players for several days. At some point where the players have fought a tough fight, the bandits attack the PCs while their hit points and other resources are low.

Ooh, I love these. Beautiful dirty GM tactics.


T.A.U. wrote:
The only doubt is, are you going to make him an ally for your PCs with some Diplomacy check? Because it will be a DC 25 (Hostile)+Cha = 29...

We're actually playing with the D&D Next playtest rules (so there's been a LOT of converting involved), but the Charisma (Persuasion) roll at DC 20 should be more manageable. The important part, however, isn't what they roll, it's what they say. If they make a really compelling argument, I'm not against giving them advantage/temporary bonuses.

pennywit wrote:
1) The module, as written, assumes that if the players use subterfuge, they'll take a little time to tour the fort and get to know its inhabitants rather than attack immediately. If they do this, Akiros's betrayal doesn't quite come out of nowhere.

Good point.

pennywit wrote:
2) Since you have a few sessions, why not let the bandits come out and play? Dovan, Akiros, and Nymixthriin can all lead raids at various points (or be encountered alone), and the players can learn a little bit about the bandits' internal politics by interacting with them.

Any suggestions or encounter ideas?


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I'm running Stolen Land right now, and I imagine my group will be taking on the Stag Lord in a few sessions. In an effort to shed some light on an otherwise overlooked encounter, and to add some dynamic objectives to the final fight of book 1, I've been thinking of replacing the caged owlbear with a very young silver dragon named Nymixthriin.

Background:
Nymixthriin was but an egg with Ithuliak descended upon his mother's lair. The matronly silver fought valiantly to defend her unborn children, but the great black wyrm proved too great a foe and slew her, smashing her eggs and stealing her hoard. Nymixthriin would have joined his poor siblings, but through a strange twist of fate, Ilthuliak's acidic breath brought down a cave wall in the battle, sealing the unborn dragon away. It would be some months before Nymixthriin would break from his shell and crawl into the gruesome aftermath. With nothing and no one to call his own, yet burdened with an unexplained desire to bring justice and law to this strange land, the hatchling set out into the wide world in search of someone to mentor him.

The wyrmling flew west over the Tors and into the lower Kamelands in search of companionship. He wandered alone for the better part of two years, his silver scales losing their youthful luster as he sank into the loneliness of depression. Then one day, as he was resting on the shore of the Tuskwater, he was attacked by a man clad in a helm of stag horn. The powerful man easily defeated the young and inexperienced dragon, and dragged him, barely alive, back to his fort on the north shore as a prize.

The Stag Lord's men said that they should skin Nymixthriin and sell his hide, but he had greater plans for the dragonling. Locking him in a dank cell, the Stag Lord came to the dragon each day and beat him bloody. He belittled Nymixthriin, starved him, and stole what little pride the young dragon had left.

Then one day, the cell door opened, and the Stag Lord threw in one of his underlings, a man that had not been completely honest about his take that month. "You must be hungry," the bandit leader growled. "Eat." And eat Nymixthriin did.

After that, the beatings stopped, and suddenly fewer bandits laughed at Nymixthriin from outside of his cell. He had become an instrument of the Stag Lord, a tool of justice that cut down unruly or too outspoken members of the bandit gang. For the last five years he has resided in that cell, all the while hating the Stag Lord. With that hate, however, he has grown strong.

If my players decide to infiltrate the fort instead of simply assaulting it, they'll meet Nymixthriin and begin to wonder why a silver dragon is aligned with the cruel Stag Lord. Canny players should make note of his ferocity and willingness to kill, but also his ill will towards the master of the fort. My vision is that, during the course of the final fight, Nymixthriin will be released by Dovan and attack the party. What I hope the party does (for their sake--even a very young silver is a very tough opponent for characters of their level) is try to reason with the dragon in the middle of the fight, appealing to his higher sense of righteousness and justice. If they are successful, Akiros (who will hear all of this) will also feel compelled to throw in with this new group of heroes. It always bugged me a little that the ex-paladin simply converts at the first sign of trouble, so I believe it would be much more poignant if he sees the "paladin of dragonkind" switch sides first.

Opinions?


This is a phenomenal idea! I might suggest going one further, however, to really throw off your players. Mine would instantly begin to question the reliability of voices in the ruler's head, so you may consider working through a third-party agent.

I plan on using Erik Freund's Venture Capitalism idea of having the players politic for their initial BP fund from various political factions in Brevoy instead of receiving a flat 50. One of the first individuals they'll encounter at the celebratory banquet (read: investor's meeting) is Lady Vellara (thanks, indigoreeds!), a Kyonin expatriate who only offers a meager amount of BP, but sweetens the deal with the promise of savvy political advice (which will be a great boon to my sometimes tactless PCs). If she can ingratiate her way into the party's good favor, she would make an excellent adviser to the future ruler (and maybe attain the Councilor position).

Now, if she were an unwitting pawn of Nyrissa (perhaps through a compulsion effect or similar magic), she could provide the party with warnings of certain events (further characterizing her as a trusted ally) while at the same time providing Nyrissa with invaluable insider information of the party's actions. Who needs to scry when you have a firsthand account? Much later on, when it seems their enemies have foreseen their every move, or when blooms begin manifesting directly from Lady Vellara's noble villa in the capital, the party may begin to look askance at their trusted ally, and upon finding her to be under magical compulsion, will be dying to get back at whoever has been playing them for all these years.