Joseph Jolly's page

Welcome back! I've been on a little hiatus, but the itch must once more be scratched. Our group is currently concluding our Coucil of Thieves campaign, and will be beginning Kingmaker in the next 3-4 weeks. In the mean time, I'm going to be posting background bios on the PC's as they become available. Enjoy!!
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The Brazi family has existed for generations in the city of New Stetven. Long ago Niko Brazi migrated from the River Kingdoms back when our family was little more than traveling brigands and bandits. He united his immediate family and extended relatives and moved to New Stetven to start a new life, one not only more profitable but more civilized. Over the years, my family was able to establish itself in many trades, but what we excelled at was the spy network. While we have not existed as long as our rivals House Surtova, we have been able to cut our own space into the country of Brevoy by serving House Lebeda and House Rogarvia.

I am Luka Brazi, second son of Antonio Brazi, the current head of the Family. Word has come down the line that the Sword Lords are looking to expand into the Stolen Lands, but aren’t willing to put forth their own direct resources towards that claim. That is where I come in. Father, deciding it best not to send his first son out, as he would soon be taking his place as head of the Family, decided it was best to send me. His intent is to establish a strong holding in the new found kingdom, one that might one day rival even House Surtova in its influence..and in my Family you do what father "requests".

So with that, I have set out into the Stolen Lands to break new ground and establish a foothold for my Family, or die trying.

You've met the League, the Legion and even the Sandpoint Seven. Now, allow me to introduce to you K.I.A...the Korvosan Intelligence Agency. Join them as they set off in search of petty vengeance, and end up the saviors of a nation...

'Ratbone', Half-Orc Druid of The Five Companions

* 'Ratbone' was born in the Mindspin Mountains in a small tribe of half-orc barbarians of Shoanti descent. Having been shunned by their human ancestors generations before, the tribe's founders set out on their own and started a small village where they could farm, hunt, and forage in relative peace (for a tribe of half-orcs). Ratbone's given name was Gruzzak Stonesmasher, and his parents both served the village as tribal shamans. When Gruzzak was 10 years old, the village was raided by a group of Chelish slavers, and the entire tribe was either captured or killed. Among the captured was Gruzzak's father and seven of his ten siblings. Among the dead were his mother and the remaining three siblings. Upon delivery to the slave masters, Gruzzak and his family were separated, and he has no idea as to their whereabouts, or even if any of them are still alive. Through an intermediary associated with the Korvosan black markets, Gruzzak was sold to Gaedren Lamm, whereby he became one of his 'Little Lambs'. For four years, he suffered under the depredations of the petty criminal. When Gruzzak had reached the age of 14 (the point where he no longer appeared as an innocent child) Gaedren abandoned the boy, but not before gleefully torturing him and leaving him for dead on a garbage heap. Gruzzak struggled to survive, and found a home living on the streets, eventually making his way to the Shingles above the Bridgefront neighborhood of Old Korvosa. There among the city's poorest and most desperate individuals he lived for four years, making it by on scraps found in others' garbage and capturing and eating small animals, such as stray cats and rats. Due to the numerous carcasses the growing half-orc boy would leave behind him, he was nicknamed by the other denizens of the Shingles as 'Ratbone', a name he didn't like but has become accustomed to. With all that he had seen and been exposed to, Ratbone had developed a deep sense of right and wrong, and he found himself aligning with the former far more than the latter. Before long, this was noted by powers above, namely Kharash the Stalker, one of Talisid's fabled Five Companions. The great lupinal had a soft spot for children, and he ventured on to the Prime and approached the half-orc adolescent. Kharash convinced the youth to take up the cause of good, and in doing so also unlocked his natural druidic and shapeshifting talent. Due to hard living on the streets, the half-orc was physically fit and was very cunning. However, he had never been exposed to any sort of learning and had little ability to develop or comprehend complex plans , and due to his tortured youth and subsequent life as a vagrant he was in no way adept at social situations . The half-orc's ability as a druid was unrefined by any sort of formal training or apprenticeship, but due to his life in the Shingles he was extremely attentive and self-reliant. Ratbone pledged his service to Kharash and the Companions, and also vowed to protect the poor of Korvosa. Kharash told Ratbone that if he were to give up material wealth, then he would be further blessed and protected by the Powers of Good. Ratbone agreed. Since making his promise, Ratbone has taken it upon himself to act as the protector of the poor, weak, and innocent of Bridgefront, especially children. By day, Ratbone continues his life as just another 'bum on the streets', but at night he prowls the alleys of Bridgefront in the form of a large mongrel. One more than one occasion he has broken up a minor scofflaw or stopped muggings as they were occurring. As a result, minor rumors have started about the 'Guardian Hound of Bridgefront'. Against those he finds to be evil and needing to be stopped, Ratbone neither asks for nor receives quarter. Ratbone has recently started trying to learn of the whereabouts of Lamm, so that he might free the enslaved children and put an end to his evil.

Valeris Aquitaine, Human Duskblade

Valeris is a Varisian orphan who ran away to escape abuse, only to fall into the hands of Gaedren Lamm and become one of his "little lambs." For once in his life he loved his new position and really loved the freedom of taking what he wanted and doing what he wanted. With the exception of Gaedren, he had no one to boss him around. Once his powers started to surface, however, and Gaedren realized that he might one day grow into someone powerful enough to challenge him, the crime lord tortured and beat him unmercifully, leaving him for dead. Now all he lives for is to find Gaedren and kill him slowly to make him pay for what was done to him. Over the years he has hired himself out as anything from a guard or bouncer, to roughing up shopkeepers for protection money. When possible, he has tried to study magic at the Theumanexus College when he can come up with gold to pay for it.

Herc Stoneheart, Human Fighter

Stoneheart comes from a long line of fighters and bodyguards. He has been training with arms and armor from a young age and loves the spirit of battle and fighting. Herc prefers his longsword and a spiked shield, although he has trained with all arms and armor. He is always been strong, fairly acrobatic, and has decent intestinal fortitude, although like most of his family, he is not terribly bright or good looking. Still, he has seen some battles and knows the streets. His family has been exclusively employed by the various members of the Orisini family over the last 150+ years, and Herc had been serving as the bodyguard to Vencarlo's 2nd cousin Aberalo for about a year when Aberalo's son went missing. Aberalo suspects his son ran away, since he never received a ransom. Herc Stoneheart has vowed to find Aberalo's son. After all, he had been teaching the boy to fight and look out for himself. He blames himself for giving the lad too much confidence and Herc was not smart enough to instill the need for him to remain at home where it was safer. Herc has been knocking on doors and scouring the streets looking, and has recently gotten a bit of news that a boy similar to Aberalo's has been spotted with Gaedren "Little Lambs."

Katarina, Human Beguiler

Katarina is the daughter of one of Korvosa’s most prestigious Harrowers, the feytouched Varisian Mistress Ilga. Her father is a shameless Korvosan rake who serves as his wife’s “business manager.” While Mistress Ilga is singularly devoted to the Harrow as many are to their gods, her husband understands that those who approach fortune tellers may be taken advantage of just as easily as those religious fools. Katarina has two sisters: The oldest, Siouxsie, inherited her mother’s love of the Harrow. She is a skilled Harrower in her own right and is also a trained Varisian dancer. The youngest is Saryja, a dilettante who assumed all of her father’s larcenous tendencies. Siouxsie and Katarina share their mother’s fey heritage, long raven tresses and green eyes (Cha 14) , while Saryja keeps her chestnut hair cut short in the latest Korvosan style. Ilga trained Katarina and her sisters in the mystical art of the Harrow from a young age. Siouxsie embraced the Deck and grew in power, Saryja thought it was all a bunch of superstitious nonsense, but that their mother sure made a fortune by telling fortunes and it allowed Saryja to enjoy the decadent lifestyle she craved. Katarina was conflicted in her feelings. She acknowledged her mother’s powers with the Deck, but also saw the enormous power that lay in manipulating those who blindly believed every word from a soothsayer. Katarina was certainly capable of studying at the Acadamae. Unfortunately, the daughter of a Varisian Harrower – however famous – would never be accepted, so her father hired private tutors to further her studies. Her favorite tutor was charismatic young man named Tarim, and the two quickly developed a deeper relationship. Later, Tarim revealed to her that he really wasn’t a wizard at all, but a beguiler, somewhat limited in the magical arts, but gifted in many other ways. Tarim’s adventurous life quickly captivated the teenaged Kat, and she imitated everything he did. Tarim’s greatest frustration was the fact that he felt he couldn’t advance further due to his natural limitations, and he longed to impress his brilliant student and lover. He began to secretly experiment with various methods of achieving greater enlightenment. Finally, his search led him to try the dream-inducing street drug known as “shiver.” It didn’t take long for Tarim to become hooked, a fact he tried desperately to conceal from Katarina. His eventual overdose left the young beguiler in a coma and broke Katarina’s heart. It also made her mad. Mad at Tarim. Mad at “shiver”. Mad at the people responsible for the horrible drug - people who would have pay for what they had taken from her. Katarina has combined the powers of her Harrowing with her developing beguiler abilities to discover that a petty crime lord named Gaedren Lamm supplied Tarim with his “shiver.” She learned a lot of other nasty things about Lamm in her research, and now she’s ready to take him out.

Mandrake Sheekmore’: Human Paladin of Abadar

Mandrake never asked to be a paladin, never wanted it, in fact. The choice was taken from him, however, the day his brother, Petros, went missing. It was on that day that he had the Dream, or perhaps it was a vision. In it, Abadar spoke to him. How he knew it was Abadar, especially in light of the fact that he was agnostic, he couldn’t be sure. He just knew. The god told him where to find his brother. He had become addicted to the street drug shiver, and was holed up in the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, a drug house in Eel’s End. All that Abadar asked in return for this revelation was that Mandrake commit himself to the church body and soul. He didn’t explain why, except to say that his new paladin had been chosen for the turbulent times that lay ahead. When Mandrake woke, he set out immediately for Eel’s End. When he arrived at the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, however, he found that Petros had died in a drug-induced coma the night before, caused by a tainted batch of shiver. Once he had…persuaded…Bezzeraty, the proprietor of the Dragon’s Breath, the man had told him where the shiver had come from…a local crime lord by the name of Gaedren Lamm.

O’reginald Rijad: Human Sorcerer

O’reginald had been clean for sixty-four days, six hours and thirty-five minutes…yet he still craved shiver as if he’d last used yesterday. The young sorcerer had not always been thus. No, he’d once been a lesser scion of a minor noble house. True, he would never assume the role of patron of his clan, but still, he had prospects. When he first began to show an aptitude for magic, his family’s name had insured that he would gain admission to the prestigious Acadamae’…at least until it became apparent to all that his gifts were not of an academic nature. He was a sorcerer…a freak, born with a minor talent for the arcane that would never amount to anything of worth…or so he’d been told when his application to the college was torn up in front of him. To make matters worse, his father took his rejection by the school as a personal insult and embarrassment, one which he blamed on O’reginald. In no uncertain terms, he was informed that he was no longer welcome in his own home. He took to the streets, intending to use his skills to earn a modest living until he could come up with enough money to apply to Theumanexus College. As fate would have it, however, he fell in with a bad crowd during his travels thru the seedier sections of Korvosa, and it was thru his new friends that he first met Gaedren Lamm. It was thru Lamm that he was next introduced to shiver, and the rest, as they say, is history. His life began to rapidly spiral out of control from that point on, and he had faced many a debasement in his pursuit of the dragon. It was only as he sat by helplessly and watched his only friend, Petros, die in a fit of seizures that he realized that was the fate that awaited him if he didn’t get clean. Through a ferocious act of will, he endured days of sickness as he went through gut-wrenching withdrawals. Now, it had been over two months since he’d used, and he was determined that he would never watch another friend die to the drug that had almost consumed him. He knew that to kill a dragon, you had to cut off its head, and in Korvosa, the head of shiver was Gaedren Lamm.

These questions may already have been asked and answered, but I can't seem to find the info.

First, how many war ape brutes are with Ulu-Thurg?

Second, what is the Badge of Passage that Ulu-Thurg carries? The text references the appendix, but I can't find an entry for it there.

This may have already been answered, so you'll have to forgive me, but I note that in City of Broken Idols, the "Advanced Elite Wastrilith Demon" is listed as a CR 15. In the Fiend Folio, however, the plain old run-of-the-mill wastrilith is a CR 17! Can anyone explain the discrepancy to me?

So I started reading Into the Maw, which is a great adventure by the way, but I have a few questions. In area 16, it says that opening the door to the room alerts the two filth demon sentries in area 19. The only problem is there are no such sentries listed in area 19. Which brings up a second point: how are the doors to areas 16 and 17 supposed to be reached if they're 20' above the floor of area 19? I don't see stairs on the map. I suppose PC's could fly, but the description for area 16 specifically says any creature STANDING outside the door when it is opened takes acid damage. Should this be changed to any creature outside the door, or below it? Finally (so far), in area 20, the description speaks of a slippery staircase, but no such stair is illustrated on the map.

Can anyone tell me what the Cursed Wound ability of the Obah-blessed clay golems does? Is this unique to obah-blessed, or is this a clay golem ability?

I've read thru the adventure once, and one problem jumped out at me. Aren't Kulas' "pets" susceptible to his gaze attacks? Are they just supposed to stay thirty feet away, or are they constantly averting their gaze?

I've noticed in both Sea Wyvern's Wake and Here There Be Monsters, that the Scaling the Adventure sidebars are missing. Is this on purpose? If not, can some general advice be given?

Is it at all possible that we might be seeing some old friends from the original Bastion of Broken Souls AP, such as Nurn or the Cathazar? Both of these epic baddies were tight with Demogorgon, as I recall.

First of all, if any of my players are reading this...stop now!!!

Now, as I'm reading some of Kyuss' spells, I notice that he has Gate. At his level, he could Gate in a creature of 40 HD or less, so, what is to stop him from Gateing in an epic creature like an Infernal (which can in turn immediately summon 4 pit fiends or balors), or a Phane (which can summon a past-time duplicate of one of the PC's)? I mean, Kyuss by himself is powerful enough. Throw in another epic level creature, and it smells like TPK to me.

I am about to start running STAP, and I'm trying to come up with a mechanic to deal with low-level PC death. In other campaigns I've run, rarely do the PC's who start out the adventure finish it. Usually each player goes through two or three characters. I would like to find some way to keep players playing the same PC without having to spend lots of gold or experience level loss. One think I was thinking of was that if a PC died, they would be out of commission for that "game" day, and when they revived, they would lose enough xp to put them back at the beginning of their current level. The problem is, what if that's where they are already, or what if they are first level? Any thoughts?

Can anyone provide me with the high points of this template? I don't have access to the issue of Dungeon in which it was originally posted.

Can anyone tell me if there is a forum for buying/selling/trading minis?

Any word from the staff on the ETA for issues 134/135 supplements?

I would just like to say that I DM the biggest group of munchkin min/maxers you've ever come across, and it has truly amazed me throughout the Age of Worms adventure path how many times you, James Jacobs, and you, Eric Boyd, along with your fellow Legion of Doomers, have been roundly cursed at my gaming table by said twinks. Keep up the good work!

Just wanted to post a brief note of thanks to you guys for not only getting the 132 online supplement up, but 133 as well! Nice Surprise!

I thought I might start a thread to hear some amusing stories about PC's adventures in Alhaster. At our last gaming session, our group (after three sessions in Alhaster) finally obtained invites to the gala. The group had split up to do a few things around town, and two of them, an elan psion and a dwarf ranger/deep delver/tempest were relaxing at the Ogre's Hideout when they were approached by B'kruss. Words were exchanged, and ultimately the hobgoblin challenged the dwarf to a hog wrestling contest. B'kruss pinned the dire boar in 5 rounds, and then it was the dwarf's turn. The dwarf managed to grapple the boar in the first round, and then...the psion Ego Whipped the boar, dropping its charisma to zero. The boar then went comatose, curling into a fetal position. The dwarf continued to act as if the boar was giving him a rough time, jerking it this way and that, and holding his 'pin' for three rounds, ultimately beating B'kruss' time by one round.

Just wondering how other FR DM's are altering the Overgod to reflect aspects of the Dead Three. My thoughts were to give it a skull-like head for Bhaal, and skeletal hands for Myrkul. Not sure what to do about Bane and the six arms. Any thoughts?

Someone had to do it, so it might as well be me. I very much appreciate the back-to-back supplements that were recently released, but I was wondering if there might be a rough estimate as to the release dates for the next three. I'm running AoW in Forgotten Realms, and our group is just about to finish up Spire of Long Shadows. With Prince of Redhand, Library of Last Resort and Kings of the Rift, it seems there will be quite alot to change in the details for FR.

Thanks!

The group I'm DM'ing just encountered Kelvos and his minions, and it was at about the mid-point of the battle that I discovered two vital errors.

First, under Kelvos' speed, it lists fly 150 ft (perfect). What it fails to mention anywhere in his description is that only applies when he is in globe form. In fact, nowhere in the description is there anything about alternate form or the light ray ability, so anyone not intimately familiar with ghaele eladrins would assume Kelvos can simply fly. In orb form, he cannot use his clerical spells, only spell-like abilities.

Second, Kelvos has the spells Blashphemy and Unholy Blight. In the Monster Manual, it states that if a creature has the Good sub-type, even if the creature is evil, it suffers the full effects of alignment-based spells. So, why would Kelvos have two spells that would affect both himself and his archon minions?

My solution for the first problem was to substitue Air Walk for Restoration as one of 4th level spells. I would also suggest using his Death domain ability at 4th level rather than his Evil one, and choosing another 7th level spell in place of Blasphemy.

Just finished reading this adventure and noticed that the Scaleing sidebar is missing. For the editorial staff...any way to get this?

In Gathering of Winds, the shadow spider Flycatcher is supposed to use hit and run tacticts against the PC's in order to kidnap one of them. The problem is this: shadow walk does not allow you to simply appear next to someone. In reality, you appear several hundred feet away from where you are trying to go. Also, it only works in shadowy illumination, so if the party even has a torch, much less a more powerful light spell, Flycatcher can't shadow walk within twenty feet of them. Am I missing something here? This seems to make him a pretty ineffective adversary, and will reduce him to simply lumbering out to melee with the group when they find his lair.

Just a brief rant about some of the new magic items in DMGII, and how they have affected my AoW game so far. Specifically, I'm speaking of surge weapons, notably stunning surge. For those of you not familiar, these are weapon upgrades that can be purchased for 2000 gp each (NOT +1 weapon equivalent), and can be used as a swift action AFTER you hit, up to a number of times per day equal to CHA modifier. The paladin in our group has a +1 holy surge/electrical surge/stunning surge weapon...total cost...8000 gp. He can use each ability 5 times per day (CHA 20. With stunning surge, after he hits, his target must make a REFLEX(!) save with a DC 10+half level+ CHA mod...in this case...19.

Here's an example of how it has affected our game...Champion's Belt...Fighting Bozal Zahol. The priest got off exactly one offensive spell before the palading stuck him (anti-life shell had been dispelled). With his whopping +3 Ref save, he of course failed his save, stunned for four rounds...battle over.

Next example...Froghemoth. Paladin goes before Froghemoth...stab...+7 Ref save...fails...stunned for four rounds...combat over with major baddie never even striking a blow.

Opinions?

I'll pose the first question here...in the true tomb it states that when the Seal of Law is placed into the niche on pillar F, the pillar begins rising until it reaches a point ten feet below the ceiling, at which point anyone atop the pillar is lifted thru an illusory wall. Is this confusing to anyone else? Is the illusory wall there already, or does it not appear until the Seal is placed? Why does the pillar stop ten feet below this wall?

My group just started HoHR this past weekend, and it's pandemonium already! I went for option #3 in the Body Thief scenario, and enlisted on of the PC's ahead time, in this case, a Paladin of Helm.

During the bar encounter, things did not go according to plan: the party rogue was wont to go out carousing at night, and not return until morning. Well, on this night, shortly after he left, the second doppelganger walked back in disguised as the rogue and promptly stabbed the innkeeper. He then tried to run for it, but the PC's were too quick, and ultimately cornered him. He surrendered, at which point the city watch showed up and arrested him, thinking they were actually arresting the party rogue. During the night, the doppelganger was freed from jail by his cronies in the city watch.
The next morning, when the real rogue returned, the other PC's told him what had happened, then took him down to the jail house to show that he was set up. Imagine their surprise when they were told the prisoner escaped last night, and it was good of him to show up and turn himself in again. So...now the real rogue gets arrested. Well, this time the party "paladin" volunteers to stay in the jail house with the rogue until his name can be cleared. Lo and behold, another contingent of doppelganger guards shows up the next night for a "prisoner transfer." The rogue is blind-folded, and then the "paladin" voices his objections to the transefer, to no avail. Long story short, the rogue gets taken to Sodden Hold. The PC's are now there, having taken the key off of the original doppelganger, but they still have no idea of the traitor in their midst. Meanwhile, as far as the city watch is concerned, the rogue, an attempted murderer, has now escaped custody twice, and a massive man hunt is under way. Fun, fun!!

Is it just me, or are the wind warriors in the true tomb a TPK waiting to happen? What is to prevent them from just hovering over party members 20 feet, and blasting them with sonic attacks every round until they are dead? Most third level PC's will have no means of flying, and peppering them with arrows or Magic Missiles is chancy, considering they don't have to roll to hit, and can do 2d6 per round.

My solution was to treat their sonic attacks like breath weapons, ie, they could only be used every d4 rounds. Also, one of the PC's in our group is an aasimar, who took the feat celestial wings, and could thus fly (though he was the first to fall in the combat).

Just wondering...

This is mainly directed to Erik, but I would welcome any other input. I think the group that I DM may have stumbled upon an unexptected easter egg. In room 23, the one where Alastor is encountered, the floor is filled with "softball sized" iron balls. Iron balls...in a mining town dependent on iron ore. My group, which includes an engineer, figured this out. The room is 20 feet wide, by 50 feet long, and is filled to a depth of 15 feet with the balls (as indicated by the room's side view). Now, assuming approximately four of these balls could fit in 1 cubic foot, that would make a total of around 960,000 of them. We estimated each would way in the neighborhood of 10 pounds. In the PHB, it states that one pound is iron is worth 1 sp. So, that would make one of these balls worth 1 gp, or, in total, the whole horde is worth 960,000 gp. My group is wondering if this means a new group of mine managers has just entered the scene, dealing in pre-smelted iron balls. I'm sure this was not intended in the module, but it has left a very interesting door open.