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Unfortunate for the simple fact that it is assumed that the players are assumed to be there to join the Starfinder society? Why? What in their past warrants it. Why are they even together? I always liked options -- with attendant traits or in-game bonuses to give the players. If the character creation had a system like Fate or Traveller or Cypher that brings the companions together during creation that could help as well.
Is there going to be a Player's Guide PDF like for the Pathfinder APs? I do like the adventure except for ... Movie plot spoiler: Stellar Degenerator?? really..why didn't you just call it the Starkiller...I'm definitely changing it in my campaign...the name just doesn't roll off the tongue
Since Kobold Press is doing some adventures will probably buy, but will be using Pathfinder/Mythic rules for future gaming. If they update Eberron, I will buy adventures/campaign info for them as well. I have done the 5E playtests and do not like their "pugwampi" mechanic (disad/ad) or the fix where it is now more based on GM fiat. It's a bad design mechanic that bogs down play, IMHO.
PCs lost the Vhane fight, with two players down and the others fled (though one fleeing player grabbed a down comrade). Spoiler:
They got caught in the Jhorun + babu fight and with the addition of Staunton and his minotaurs, with the duelist succubus materializing behind them from ethereal. I forgot about Nurah... So now the one PC is captured. Interestingly he is the paladin with Radiance and the nice armor they just found. I'm thinking they will try to corrupt him, but give the other PCs with mythic Irabeth a chance to mount a rescue. Does that make sense? Generally PCs in a similar situation would just kill the enemy. NPCs?
I am very surprised that WotC has not tied in their RPG system to Magic.
I guess Legacy of Fire is pretty tough and the players have to be kinda savvy. I have only just started Howl of the Carrion King and have had 4 PC deaths. (Granted 1 player has lost 3 characters) Death 1: 1st level human cleric of Desna overrun by pugwampis and baboons in the abandoned monastery. The other players held back and a baboon bit his face off. Death 2: Same player now a 2nd level human barbarian, CDG'ed by choker in Ruined Shrine to Nethys after the choker called the PCs bluff during a standoff when one of the players advanced to try and heal the downed barbarian. Death 3: Haider crit'ted with En-nebi and cut a human oracle (2nd level) in half. The oracle has succumbed to the fumes of the place and was confused for 3 straight rounds. This was almost a TPK, but the moldspeaker rogue/barbarian used hero points to somehow mysteriously run away. The other PC, a human gunslinger ran when he saw that the group was going to loose and managed to hide in the hills after the wereleopard gave chase. Death 4: Human 2nd level human cleric of Sarenrae. Heart ripped out by Peryton at the ruined mill on the outskirts of Kelmarane. The group did get separated as half failed their saves when the harpy decided to sing/call them over. The cleric fell behind and the two ranged combatants (gunslinger and dawnflower bard archetype w/shortbow) failed to take it down in time.
Name: Innara
Spoiler: The Gory Details: The party triggered the slamming door haunt in the entry room, abandoning Innara outside. I rolled a random encounter to see if anything else would be attracted to the noise. Another haunt manifested (the Rapping Spirit haunt)and caused her to flee in fright. Randomly, she ended up fleeing into the murky pool, and by the time she emerged, cold and fatigued from swimming in the near-freezing water (the campaign starting in early Calistril in Ustalav), the skeletons had arrived. The rest of the party could not escape the slamming door room in time to rescue Innara who perished after a valiant but futile effort to take down the skeletons single-handedly. Once they turned to fire, it was all over. Two of her companions arrived 1 round to late to stabilize her.
Maybe, I'm used to playing/running investigative-type adventures from the CoC genre, because to me, the hooks are pretty obvious compared to how they hide in other games and unlike in CoC where they can be obscure or ToC where putting together clues can be challenging. Is the d20/Pathfinder engine not conducive to investigative-heavy games? How do you GMs run the skill checks involved? Do players generally get bored when forced into non-combat situations? In KM, there are two camps of players in my current game: the diplomats and the killers. The diplomats love the various intrigues and NPC interactions while the killers tend to get bored. I wonder if the players will draw up along those lines in CC as well.
4d6 drop the lowest, three sets to choose from character creation. Total Party Wipe (4 PCs -- Oracle of Life, Gunslinger, Monk (martial artist), Fighter) also to Tsutamu. A wakazashi crit took down the martial artist monk after he had charged Tsumatu, and then the skeletal champion preceded to take down the other three PCs piecemeal starting with the healer. I will probably start the next batch of PCs at lvl 2, hired by the principal NPCs to find out what happened to the previous party (two took younger sibling..to Shae and Ameiko).
Aww, thanks my man. What did you think? I thought it was very good.
I really enjoyed what I saw in both the Player's and Campaign guide. Then again, I signed up as a subscriber because of the previews of both this and Santiago. However, with the different religious set up, I did not see Domains for clerics. Will those be offered/suggested somewhere in the future? thanks!
Name: Magnus the Red, Marshall of Wulfenstein,
The Gory Details Magnus tried to get in front of the column to try and support General Torkemada who was fighting one dread zombie with two other party members, including the Duchess Sendara. Before Duke Yuri could intervene, the second dread cyclops charged the dwarf, then the next round got full attack actions, by the time the bite came up, poor Magnus was already dying and helpless. His brain was subsequently eaten after a low Fort save. He (well his positive channels) will be missed. Spoiler: Sindri, the Grand Diplomat was also almost killed by the soul eater who decided to attack at this time, and later Arnor the Counselor was nearly carried off and eaten by a wyvern near Vordakai's Tomb. The GM had a lot of fun today!
That's what my players love about CoT. The building of the story with reoccurring names and villains. They unlike Jubbly's group loved the play.
In RotRL -- no deaths..just starting Hookmountain
CoT and Kingmaker have been different beasts; In CoT -- only 1/6 characters is still one of the original who started 'Bastards' is alive. We had only lost two characters (the same player with the same poor tactical choices and bad luck), until Nessian Spiral, and then things went south with a multiple encounter pull and the party being separated. In Kingmaker -- only 1/6 characters is still one of the original charter members remains, and that character just had to be raised. Maybe, Pathfinder adventures are a bit more brutal that APs that were done in 3.5. The GM definitely has more options with the abilities that different adversaries can use.
Name: Sindri {RAISED}
The Gory Details: The party was ambushed and the forest drake got the drop on them with a well placed acid cloud. Sindri failed his Fortitude save. The Forest Drake took to the air using a swift action after charging the party priest and I rolled a '1' for its acid recharge. Even after a fireball caught the drake, Sindri could not predict that the drake would retaliate nor that he would fail to save versus the acid ball a second time. He fell, drowned by the caustic liquid as it filled his lungs and burned his skin. A few rounds later, the party were able to taunt the drake to ground and put it down, but Sindri was dead by then. However, the party kept him under gentle repose and then was able to procure a raise dead scroll from Restov. As the last of the original members of the Stolen Lands Charter, and their irreplaceable Grand Diplomant, the rest of the party felt that they had to bring him back.
The soften earth&stone makes the 10x10 area like quicksand where on a failed reflex save anyone moving through there or caught in it is stuck for 1d2 rds. The FX sounded like 'quick-drying cement/concrete' to me so I ran with it. The PCs liked it too. She wanted to not let the remaining beat'em up (dwarven barbarian) get close. It worked. He botched his reflex saves...twice. Her bestow curse failed on the barbarian earlier, but he couldn't make a save vs the imp's poison a few times and it cost him. And she hasn't used her dispel or sound burst. Was going to use one of those to 'inflict' but never got the chance. Now she's blind and in room 12, holing up to rest and try and cure her wounds (7hpts) and blindness. Faerith drove her away though so I did give him full xp. My philosophy is to play named NPCs like a PC. My PCs bring their A-games and 'tiltaweights' so why shouldn't the NPCs? Fortunately, my PCs like winning by the skin of their teeth. The mage player survived with some quick-thinking and pre-planning...he was resistant to fire from resist energy and had cast pro' evil on himself since he was tired of charm attempts by bad guys. The player lamented not casting pro'evil on others since it also helped against the hellfire. And he made key rolls when they were needed. Spoiler: Faerith is now trying to find her with the new heroes before she can get a rest&recover. They just knocked the vulpinal agathion unconscious and secured her for her own good (after much convincing to the cleric of Cayden C.), after recognizing what she was, and connecting her brokeness to Vheed's tortures. I really hope they can rescue her.
Names: Tanner McTavish, Ghim, Seras
Avazhi cast wall of stone and fled (successfully rolling her amazing spellcraft!). Novankia tried to, but was hit with glitterdust and then destroyed by Faerith. The mage/priest took some time to mourn, loot, and dispose of his former companion's bodies. Then went back to the city and the Children of Westcrown to find replacements... Anticipating their demise, the other players had made new characters...the Sixfold Trial Survivors are now Faerith (1/2 elf cleric 1/wizard 7), Ixa (female elven fighter6/wizard1/arcane archer 1), Korax (1/2 elf alchemist 8), Olie (1/2 orc cleric of Cayden Caliean 8) and Khalide (female tiefling shadow bloodline sorcerer6/shadowdancer 2) **The players blame themselves for triggering the encounter cascade..or allowing it to happen and finding themselves separated
I guess that could happen. The Council would need the contract (PCs) and have to find the Key. It could very well happen in my game as the PCs might get whacked in the next session by Avahzi and her minions. One PC might escape, but how long do I give them to see if the CoT succeed in releasing/taming Liebdaga. What does the pit-fiend do upon release? Go back to Hell or take over Westcrown?
Name: Sleeping Bear
**The scary thing is that Avahzi still can hellfire and now Seras, Ghim, and Tanner are in range...all very hurt. It might be a TPK since it will be Avahzi's turn when we reconvene.
Name: Khangar
Name: Torkemada
After the charm wore off, the druid felt bad and followed the angry party at a distance as they trudged off back to Shrikewall to bury their fallen comrade. Before the funeral pyre was lit, Diesa cast reincarnate on Torkemada bringing the burly fighter back as a Bugbear!
The Replacements win! The Bargest that had killed four of the previous crew, now CR 6 after two months of feeding, was defeated in an epic battle which saw one player plunge into the raging Thorn River and carried downstream, while trying to cross a rope bridge, another player bull rush the bargest into the same river, and then the first player who fell in meeting the bargest on the beach and cutting him down, while on death's door himself. The rest of the goblins were easily routed upon the defeat of their otherworldly boss. The replacements -- Torquemada -- 6th level half-orc fighter
Perhaps Wulfenstein's fortunes are changing....
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