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 Recent Posts
Sindri Nerele at first looks confused at the question. After a short bit she smiles though and gives a small shrug. "Starsong has given me a gift, a talent that I can make use of. Times come where others have need of this talent - when wounds strike them or sickness claims them. I provide relief and succor where I can. In exchange I am supplied with the physical needs... food, warmth, shelter." She pauses, gesturing at the building around you. "What is needed to survive. Still I wander and search and explore, learning of the land about and seeking what there still is to be found, but always have this place to return to and these people waiting for me." She smiles and cants her head slightly to the side. "Curious. What has your lady asked of you, so different from my own?" --- Orent, Odette, Gunnar Orran rumbles slightly as he hefts himself back to his feet and follows the group out back after Odette arrives. Unlike before, the myriad dogs don't simply respond with curiosity to the presence of the little bear - many are actually somewhat hostile, snapping and growling until Orran drives them around the corner to the far end of the yard. The old ranger remains there, just out of sight and still in earshot, keeping the dogs out of the way of the trio of adventurers. Like before, there's little to see: some time has passed, and fresh snow has covered or obscured most of the tracks. Odette however can pick up that there were several presences all packed into a relatively small area - too small to be anything relatively human-sized. You're either dealing with halfling and/or gnomish bandits, or goblins or kobolds. The break in the wall was likely caused by repeated hammering with stone weapons - crude clubs and spears, no doubt, all blunt and no blade. Odette Spoiler:
Knowledge Nature
Odette gets a better look at the remains of the fur wedged in the fence. It is indeed worg fur, having the familiar greasy texture and deep black shade of the feral beasts.
Well the catch is one of the players played the first 2 or 3 chapters of St and has done the general idea of it so it's no big on that stuff if things get trimmed. I will probably change the puzzle though I've got others to tinker with....The iron cobra idea I like, although I'm contemplating completely dropping the encounter and making Lavinia less uninformed about the vault, only staying away due to lack of a "key".Do leave in the puzzle, that one's fun to watch the players try and figure out (unless they just try to Disable Device it, then it kinda gets boring, heh; none of my players were good enough though). Ah that's true, new puzzle would probably be necessary in that case.
The iron cobra idea I like, although I'm contemplating completely dropping the encounter and making Lavinia less uninformed about the vault, only staying away due to lack of a "key". Do leave in the puzzle, that one's fun to watch the players try and figure out (unless they just try to Disable Device it, then it kinda gets boring, heh; none of my players were good enough though).
Ah, a luddite! When shall we be expecting you? =) NEVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR *hides in log fort*
Sindri Nerele smiles brightly and nods. "My time of prayer is at an end, and I have made my rounds... you may stay in this place as long as you need, friend Sindri. You and your lady's are my guests this day." She circles the room, lighting the candles and braziers with a flick of her hands and a few muttered words in a language you don't understand but is probably elven. By the time she finishes the room is significantly brighter and more comfortably warm. She then takes a seat in front of the altar, happily lowering herself to her knees and resting in a kneeling position on the floor. She motions for you to take a seat as well, and simply smiles, leaving you to open the discussion. ------ Gunnar With Orent gone to fetch Odette, Orran has returned back to his seat inside the kennel office. He takes a moment to clean the pipe he lent to Orent, then returns it reverently to its drawer. He welcomes the sorcerer to a seat in the office while he waits; alternatively, if he goes out into the yard the dogs will attempt to approach and sniff at him and most will let him pet them, but for the most part they are well-behaved.
You got that funny feeling too, huh? ;) I was just thinking that about the same time you posted.I sense a rant.So is anyone else amazed at the long supply lists the schools are giving out? I've had many a raging rant on subjects all too similar to this myself within the past few years. And yet I want to go into teaching. I truly must be mad.
My desk is in a back corner. Can easily make it from there to a chair to the couch. IF I can get the blinds open and open the glass door beyond, I can get outside easily. Otherwise I have to reach the actual door, which is significantly trickier - it's a long jump with a lamp in the way, no further furniture, and it's shut and locked at the moment. Assuming I can get the glass door open, I'm good. Otherwise probably sunk.
Some more suggestions for The Bullywug Gambit! Play up the Wormfall Festival, big time. I failed to do this in my campaign, it ended up just getting a passing reference and my players didn't seem like following it up, and when the time came for the actual engagement in the events of the Festival it got mostly ignored, and felt kind of lacking. Your players, however, will probably enjoy it much more and will possibly want a chance to get more involved. For Kraken's Cove, play up the freakiness of the mutants. That's a general rule for ANYONE running STAP - Kraken's Cove is the party's first taste of the Savage Tide and it should really stick. I would reduce the numbers of active mutant pirates, but I would keep the particularly cinematic encounters - the cook, the Phanaton, Brissa, and Ripclaw - fairly intact. I would drop excess hints as to what's happened - perhaps make the shattered pearl easier to find (my players didn't even think to search the water for treasure) for example. I would NOT change the encounter with Harliss at all - her decimating the last few remaining mutants is supposed to be a dramatic combat event where she shows off just how much better than the party she is. However, I would make her more willing to talk, if the players say the right things, and make it easier for them to dissuade Drevoraz later. For the return to the Festival, I would remove the stiltwalker/Diamondback combat entirely, and replace it with a few skill-based challenges. Alternatively, have the assassins around, but if the players play their cards right they can avoid the combat entirely (instead of getting jumped inevitably like it's written). The Bullywugs in the manor is the hardest part of this chapter to convert for this kind of play, I'd think. The best solution I can come up with is to reduce the frogmen's morale and loyalty, making them more likely to barter, parley, or flee, with the exceptions of the leaders (the Chief, the Huntress, and the Shaman at the end). OR!!! You could change the way the Jade Ravens are involved - instead of them being incapacitated and captured along with Lavinia, possibly try having them just returning from Cauldron and having to make their way through the crowded festival to the manor, and have them fight their way along at the party's side to rescue their mutual employer. That could quickly get to be a handful to the DM though, unless you're comfortable with handing out extra character sheets to your players for a session and your players are happy to accept the extra work. That's all for now, be back later :)
That seems like a reasonable solution. Unless they do like my players did and take the entire crew to the Mother-of-All with them (didn't want to leave anyone on the ship to be eaten by the Sargasso monsters; that said, my players were on a third ship they had captured - with a skeleton crew of 6 PCs, Skald, Diamondback, Chunkus the rust monster renamed "Rusty", Father Feres, two captured pirates, and a very restrained Rowyn - and not the Sea Wyvern with the colonists). The one thing this misses out on is Fogmire. You can solve that by having the crew start getting captured as they make their way south - guided by Urol - and have the PCs stumble upon Olangru's leaving-behinds or a small group of the colonists that got separated or something. They investigate the temple and all that, and then find the remainders at the gate. Alternatively, the PCs just get stuck in Fogmire and Olangru taunts them without kidnapping anyone, trying to lure them to the temple where he can sacrifice them.
Pulling extraneous "random" encounters is a good idea, but I disagree with removing the Savage Monkey encounter. They are not much of a threat but provide a valuable bit of foreshadowing for the upcoming and significantly more dangerous encounters with the Savage pirates. Seconded. That one's just too much of a scene-setter to remove. The "what the FRACK happened here" reactions I got from my players after attacking them with tentacled monkeys and hook-clawed parrots literally MADE that first half of Chapter 2 - the fights with the mutated pirates were just gravy.
I haven't done it, but I can give a few suggestions, having gone through the AP with a fine-toothed comb up to Chapter 7 or so (for the opposite reason, amping things up for an overpowered Gestalt group). First and foremost, you're going to want to encourage your players to take things slowly. The combat encounters can get pretty nasty, even trimmed down, with only two players. If they invest a lot in Perception and Investigation type abilities, they can nix a lot of their problems by getting information and making preparations in advance. Okay, now suggestions. For "There Is No Honor", the first mission is where a lot of full parties die; dealing with the Rhagodessa will very easily bring a 2-person game to an end. You might consider replacing it with an equally-exotic but less-lethal critter, or removing that part of the event completely. I'd also trim down the smuggling crew's numbers. Have the Iron Cobra in the Vanderboren Vault be less aggressive. It won't let anyone go near, and will attack anyone who repeatedly attempts (or attacks it) but if the players back off from it revealing its presence have it take a defensive posture and try to usher them out of the vault rather than try to kill them. Possibly reduce its HP or DR to make it an easier battle if you like, too. For Parrot Island, chop the zombies' numbers down some, and remove their "feeding" save. That way if one of the two goes down to negatives, it's not an auto-death rolling on the ensuing will save. Either remove the huecuva, make him willing to parley, or don't have any zombies along with him when he does attack. The thief attacks and the Lotus Guildhall are the next places most people die. I would seriously reduce the amounts in which the thieves will be encountered, and remove or tone down most of the "death trap" encounters - like the crocodile in the Crucible or the thieves disguised as combat dummies - to suit the party better. Have Rowyn more willing to talk and/or less willing to fight; possibly have her cut and run at the first sign of negotiations going sour, leaving Gut Tugger to take care of the interfering adventurers while she makes her escape. Hope that helps :) Will come back with stuff for later chapters later.
Issue 1: Sounds fine. The Naga seem rather out-of-place there anyway. I replaced them with Kopru Mages. Issue 2: Perhaps they don't worship him so much as are taking advantage of things left behind by the Aboleth that D has gotten his tentacles into? Or perhaps the reason they moved into Golismorga is that their old Flayer Enclave kicked them out for being a little too fanatical to a demon lord?
Wow. And I thought I was a wreck now for not being able to fall asleep last night until 7 AM this morning. I bow to your superior endurance.
If you wanted to do a complete PF-only conversion then yes, that would likely be the most appropriate conversion; 6 Rog/3 Ftr might also work. Alternatively, you could just leave him as-is, convert his Grapple to CMD and rearrange his skills to suit Pathfinder (Stealth instead of Hide/MS, etc.) and be just fine.
The fur is rough, somewhat crusted with ice and a scaly grey substance, and coarse. It doesn't seem like it would belong to one of Orran's dogs, as he takes excellent care of their feeding and grooming, but it can't hurt to ask. "Aye, I no expect anyone t' go out in th' wilds on my account and no be paid fer it," the breeder responds to Orent's inquiry calmly and with an understanding nod. "I be offering 500 gold pieces fer each dog ye bring back t' me alive, an' 200 fer each ye find dead or wounded too far ter be profitable, an' bring me back th' news." Should that offer suit Orent's expecations and he continues, the breeder nods slightly. "A few be black coats or have black in 'em. I'll have a look at this fur ye found. As fer thieves... these be good breedin' hounds and good workin' hounds, they be well worth the cost. I'd wager upwards o' one-fifty, two hundred gold t' th' right buyer. Maybe more if'n they be interested in startin' their own breedin'." If the pair lead him back to the fence to show him what they found, Orran kneels down - groaning slightly and clutching his wounded knee as he does - then studies the object carefully. He rises after a few moments, making a grumbling noise deep in his throat. "No be any of mine. Tha's bad fur, animal ain't been gettin' a good diet an' no been bein' cared for proper. Livin' off th' hunt, I'd wager. Feral dog, or wolf. Maybe worg."
The Skinwalkers have multiple potions of fly apiece - if they don't have them listed in their game stats I'm adding them, especially the ones working in the pyramid, accidents happen - and are smart enough not to jump down into the pit. Drop some things down that can survive the trip maybe - alchemical bombs, summoned critters that can wallcrawl/fly, something that has a way to negate falling damage, etc. etc. etc. - but go down themselves? They aren't idiots, and frankly that would be a rather idiotic move. Even a full bandoleer of fly potions wouldn't get them back up from Golismorga. I don't see it as logical for what they'd do, I see their logical course of action being "hunker down and intensify defenses". Also, making the Skinwalkers "in disarray" later is a bad idea IMO, my players are piledriving through the encounters enough as it is....
Orent and Gunnar Further investigation bears fruit. The past few days have obscured even the most obvious tracks, and neither of you are a ranger by any means; but the fence's sturdy construction reveals much about the break-in. It was done using blunt tools, likely made of stone, and repeated force... or simply a large group of attackers. A tuft of thick, black fur is wedged in the wood planks, as if something lost a patch trying to squeeze through the opening. Perhaps your elf companion might be able to identify the animal it belonged to? ------ Sindri After quite some time of waiting, you are at last intruded upon in your silent vigil. A young girl who looks to be in her early twenties, only about five feet and a shave tall and bundled up in a heavy parka that looks far too big for her but very warm, enters the building and gives a slight gasp when she sees you. She quickly recovers her composure with a slight giggle, however, and brushes back her hood. There are three rather striking things about the young woman at first glance. The first is that her cheeks and the space just under her eyes are decorated in intricate tattoos that seem to shift in color depending on the angle you view them at. The second is that her eyes look to be the same color, shifting as well depending on how the light strikes them. The third is that though she looks quite young, her hair is stark white. Her ears have a slight curve and come to points, marking her as a half-elf... you think. "Good morn to you stranger," she says with a lilting laugh after a few moments of observing you in silence. "Welcome to my shrine. I am called Nerele. What brings you to my lady's abode?"
For sure! Unfortunately my ps3 is hooked up to the wide screen tv which is being used for football purposes.Lol thats good to hear. It's that akward time of year where people are hogging the TV to watch the cowboys and I have to lock myself up in my room and ride out the storm.MMm, more good ones You have my deepest sympathies.
Lol thats good to hear. It's that akward time of year where people are hogging the TV to watch the cowboys and I have to lock myself up in my room and ride out the storm.MMm, more good ones My laptop was my best friend ever in those years. Nowadays I just don't use the TV for anything except playing PS3 games.
I don't know. I sometimes think it's a good mental exercise. Also, I find that I feel I get a better "balanced" view of things (especially political) through reading things here.Used to think the same. But, I think debate over the Internet eventually dissolves into the most partisan of either side squatting over the landscape hurling epithets at each other. I tired of it, so much that several times I have closed up the OTD forum altogether from disgust. Now I just want to discuss game stuff here. If I want political debate there are dozens of sites dedicated to it. Religious too. If were going to have a debate, lets debate which new APG feat is broken. I mean that's what this messageboard is about, right? =P Pretty much my take on it too. I just participate in too many of the silly threads down here to completely close off the OTD...
Are we having a playlist-off? Spoiler:
Avantasia
Blind Guardian Demons and Wizards Dream Evil Dream Theater Edguy Falconer Gamma Ray HammerFall Helloween Iced Earth E. S. Posthumus Kamelot Masterplan Megadeth Metallica Muse Nightwish Northern Kings Paradise Lost Scorpions Sirenia Sonata Arctica Stratovarius Theatre of Tragedy Therion Thirty Seconds to Mars Three Doors Down Tristania Whitesnake Within Temptation
Spoiler:
The realm is bleeding;
It suffers, old and weak. No further argued, There is war at hand - The system’s weak, The engine's running.... Then after all I sense the end is starting:
There’ll be
The misery’s shown -
I’m bleeding, I’m fading,
It’s out of hand,
I’m sinking, I’m drowning,
I know I will not fail anymore...!! Bind the one forever -
Yesterday’s gone -
There at the gates,
And now I drown in deepest shadows,
No one lives forever -
Morning all.
You'd think after 11,000 posts (including aliases) they'd give me a personalized avatar but noooo.Your avatar would look awesome with a holly wreath and big red bow around its neck. Very merry indeed. If they didn't do it for Heath, why would anyone else get it? :P
Gotta love it when players do something the DM never expected. The full story is spoilered for those who don't want to read or don't care about the background behind why I'm making this request. Spoiler:
One of the players in my game is playing A'Reth Guar'Dian, a warforged Crusader|Cavalier gestalt. He has the Adamantine Body feat (or at least I think that's the name); it gives him DR 2/adamantine, and due to the rules regarding DR and natural weapons I ruled that his warforged slam attack is adamantine as well. He has taken heavy advantage of this repeatedly by using his character effectively as a wrecking ball, but never more so than the stunt he pulled last night.
The group is in Golismorga in "The Lightless Depths", and just defeated the Neh-thalggu Scion in Tlaloc's Crater. A'Reth was rather unharmed by the fight - the Brain Collector was invisible and flying, so the meleers spent the entire fight attacking it with arrows and thus didn't get caught by most of its counterattacks - so while the rest of the group recuperated, healed up, and rested in a Secure Shelter (the cleric and psion were almost out of magic, and the psion had died during the fight) A'Reth decided to scout around... or more accurately up. He'd acquired the Boots of Levitation from someone (Olangru I think) and between their at-will activation, his unwounded state, and warforged's lack of need for rest decided to spend the night upward bound. After getting a good look around Golismorga and finding the ziggurat, wouldn't you know it he found the tunnel carved by Tlaloc's Tear being sent down and followed it up. He then reaches the stone circle blockading the top of the entrance in Thanaclan and beats his way to it, intentionally doing only minimum damage with his slam (since adamantine ignores hardness) so that he only grinds off stone powder rather than sending chunks of rock careening down into Golismorga and possibly hitting his friends. He then emerged out onto the surface and found himself in an ancient Olman temple. TL;DR version: A'Reth skipped ahead to halfway through "City of Broken Idols" and is now at the pyramid of Tlaloc (area 25 I think). He's been engaged by four Skinwalkers - which I didn't yet have statted up in my conversion to suit gestalt + high-powered 3.5/PF hybrid, so I called the session at the beginning of that battle - but I'm pretty sure he's going to head back down into Golismorga and resume the adventure there. What's my issue then? The Skinwalkers have now been thoroughly informed that someone is causing trouble down in Golismorga and is very likely to head their way next, and will make due preparations for when the group comes to the Taboo Island. I'm looking for suggestions as to how they can fortify themselves against assault - preparing both for an attack by land and a raiding party to come up through the Temple of Tlaloc like A'Reth did in the first place. Thoughts?
Of course, I think that the OGL is the BEST thing that ever happened to gaming. Freedom and open-source code will always be preferable (IMO) to proprietary gaming engines. I like having 3pp options and a true cross-fertilization of ideas. Just reading the villans and monsters from the final Kingmaker AP installment (with templates and monsters pulled from many different non-Paizo sources) I was reminded what the OGL's main strength is. A shared community with a unified gaming engine. And that just about sums it up.
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