paizo.com Recent Posts by Ozrethpaizo.com Recent Posts by Ozreth2024-03-21T16:39:04Z2024-03-21T16:39:04ZRe: Forums: Age of Worms Adventure Path: Red Hand of Doom in Age of WormsOzrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2q46s?Red-Hand-of-Doom-in-Age-of-Worms#42024-03-15T18:31:16Z2024-03-15T18:26:28Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Touc wrote:</div><blockquote> As an update, I love one of the primary hooks from the Hall of Harsh Reflections and incorporated it into RHoD. •• spoiler omitted •• </blockquote><p>How did this campaign end up?Touc wrote:As an update, I love one of the primary hooks from the Hall of Harsh Reflections and incorporated it into RHoD. ** spoiler omitted **
How did this campaign end up?Ozreth2024-03-15T18:26:28ZForums/Pathfinder First Edition: General Discussion: Age of Worms PC tie-ins? And a rant.Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43y43?Age-of-Worms-PC-tieins-And-a-rant#12024-02-26T16:50:47Z2024-02-26T16:38:01Z<p>I posted this in the AoW forum as well but realize it gets little to no traffic these days.</p>
<p>I've just begun running age of worms, they are nearing the end of the first dungeon in Whispering Cairn, four sessions in. There isn't much buy-in presented in this adventure, but my PCs have some hooks that I'd like to tie into this AP.</p>
<p>1. Two dwarves from Greysmere, one looking for an alchemical substance to help thwart a disease that is growing on the fungus farms kept underneath Greysmere. Another who is looking for a lost artifact of St. Cuthbert.</p>
<p>2. A wild elf whose warrior lover disappeared overnight.</p>
<p>3. A monk from the Twilight Monastery living in Diamond Lake to protect the trade envoy who trades Kalamanthis between the Moanstery and Diamond Lake, and works as a barkeep to gather intel on the town ever since the violent conlfict between DL and TM years ago.</p>
<p>I'm thinking potentially the hills that the Monastery harvests Kalamanthis from and the fungus farms at Greysmere are potentially becoming infested with Kyuss worms, and the PCs learn of this after returning from the Cairn back to Diamond Lake.</p>
<p>Maybe the lost lover replaces Alastor Land? Perhaps being last of the bloodline was drawn to the Cairn, unsure why when he died he remained in limbo (is this even explained for Alastor?), but needs his remains buried and wants them buried in the Bronzewoood Lodge cemetary. Upon arriving, they find that other elves/druids etc remains are missing. The wild elf PC had previously shunned the inhabitants of the lodge and their studies/worshipping as pointless, but now may feel some attachment.</p>
<p>Now, a rant:</p>
<p>I regret not having read through the whole adventure before running it, and definitely should have waded through the many threads on the AP. The entire first adventure seems very disconnected and pointless to me, and more like a way to impose a bunch of irrelevant GH lore onto the party. It seems to take until the end of the second adventure before the party even have a real reason to be invested in anything at all, and even then, why should they care about a worm and some prophecies?</p>
<p>I've read through the overload and see some promise in the overall adventure, I can see how it plays through to the end epicly, but it feels like it will be a chore to get there. But I'm sort of taking that as a challenge. It seems almost universally praised (though all of the praise comes with caveats about all of the issues), and I want to see if my group gets enjoyment out of it the way others have. Things often play out differently than they read.</p>I posted this in the AoW forum as well but realize it gets little to no traffic these days.
I've just begun running age of worms, they are nearing the end of the first dungeon in Whispering Cairn, four sessions in. There isn't much buy-in presented in this adventure, but my PCs have some hooks that I'd like to tie into this AP.
1. Two dwarves from Greysmere, one looking for an alchemical substance to help thwart a disease that is growing on the fungus farms kept underneath Greysmere....Ozreth2024-02-26T16:38:01ZForums: Age of Worms Adventure Path: How would you tie these PCs into Age of Worms? And a rant.Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs43y42?How-would-you-tie-these-PCs-into-Age-of-Worms#12024-02-26T16:01:15Z2024-02-26T15:24:14Z<p>I've just begun running age of worms, they are nearing the end of the first dungeon in Whispering Cairn, four sessions in. There isn't much buy-in presented in this adventure, but my PCs have some hooks that I'd like to tie into this AP.</p>
<p>1. Two dwarves from Greysmere, one looking for an alchemical substance to help thwart a disease that is growing on the fungus farms kept underneath Greysmere. Another who is looking for a lost artifact of St. Cuthbert.</p>
<p>2. A wild elf whose warrior lover disappeared overnight. </p>
<p>3. A monk from the Twilight Monastery living in Diamond Lake to protect the trade envoy who trades Kalamanthis between the Moanstery and Diamond Lake, and works as a barkeep to gather intel on the town ever since the violent conlfict between DL and TM years ago.</p>
<p>I'm thinking potentially the hills that the Monastery harvests Kalamanthis from and the fungus farms at Greysmere are potentially becoming infested with Kyuss worms, and the PCs learn of this after returning from the Cairn back to Diamond Lake.</p>
<p>Maybe the lost lover replaces Alastor Land? Perhaps being last of the bloodline was drawn to the Cairn, unsure why when he died he remained in limbo (is this even explained for Alastor?), but needs his remains buried and wants them buried in the Bronzewoood Lodge cemetary. Upon arriving, they find that other elves/druids etc remains are missing. The wild elf PC had previously shunned the inhabitants of the lodge and their studies/worshipping as pointless, but now may feel some attachment.</p>
<p>Now, a rant:</p>
<p>I regret not having read through the whole adventure before running it, and definitely should have waded through the many threads on the AP. The entire first adventure seems very disconnected and pointless to me, and more like a way to impose a bunch of irrelevant GH lore onto the party. It seems to take until the end of the second adventure before the party even have a real reason to be invested in anything at all, and even then, why should they care about a worm and some prophecies?</p>
<p>I've read through the overload and see some promise in the overall adventure, I can see how it plays through to the end epicly, but it feels like it will be a chore to get there. But I'm sort of taking that as a challenge. It seems almost universally praised (though all of the praise comes with caveats about all of the issues), and I want to see if my group gets enjoyment out of it the way others have. Things often play out differently than they read.</p>I've just begun running age of worms, they are nearing the end of the first dungeon in Whispering Cairn, four sessions in. There isn't much buy-in presented in this adventure, but my PCs have some hooks that I'd like to tie into this AP.
1. Two dwarves from Greysmere, one looking for an alchemical substance to help thwart a disease that is growing on the fungus farms kept underneath Greysmere. Another who is looking for a lost artifact of St. Cuthbert.
2. A wild elf whose warrior lover...Ozreth2024-02-26T15:24:14ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: Help! I've Got 10 Players!Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pmxr?Help-Ive-Got-10-Players#242013-09-23T08:49:11Z2013-09-23T08:49:11Z<p>I just wanted to come back here and say that I've been using the method that DoomedHero presented here for close to 6 months now and it hasn't failed me. It works wonderfully :)</p>I just wanted to come back here and say that I've been using the method that DoomedHero presented here for close to 6 months now and it hasn't failed me. It works wonderfully :)Ozreth2013-09-23T08:49:11ZForums: Rise of the Runelords: I can't use Thistletop, what should I use instead? :(Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pr74?I-cant-use-Thistletop-what-should-I-use-instead#12013-05-11T20:10:18Z2013-05-11T20:10:18Z<p>Sooo in my last homebrew campaign I dropped the first levels of Thistletop, as well as the surrounding area into my game because I was short on prep time. Now, months later I'm actually running RotRL and they are about to head to Thistletop. I can still use the Dungeon Levels because I didn't use that before but what should I use for the rest of it? Suggestions? Thanks!</p>Sooo in my last homebrew campaign I dropped the first levels of Thistletop, as well as the surrounding area into my game because I was short on prep time. Now, months later I'm actually running RotRL and they are about to head to Thistletop. I can still use the Dungeon Levels because I didn't use that before but what should I use for the rest of it? Suggestions? Thanks!Ozreth2013-05-11T20:10:18ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: Help! I've Got 10 Players!Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pmxr?Help-Ive-Got-10-Players#222013-04-08T21:47:19Z2013-04-08T21:47:19Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Tangent101 wrote:</div><blockquote><p> It depends. How are they build? If a Paladin has a high strength and is built to be a front-line fighter then he's a primary melee character. If, however, a paladin was built with a decent Wisdom, high Charisma, and seems designed more to take advantage of the Paladin's healing abilities (which can become truly spectacular at higher levels) then he's a utility character.</p>
<p>The same goes of course for Druids. And for other characters. If they are meant to go toe-to-toe then they are likely melee characters. This can include a rogue - if the rogue takes Combat Expertise, Improved Feint, and Offensive Defense then the Rogue is well on his or her way to becoming a frontline fighter (especially if a few other feats are tossed in to enhance damage). I'm talking about someone who, with Vital Strike and Improved Vital Strike, could be doing 12d6 damage with a Rapier at 17th level before magic enhancements.</p>
<p>———-</p>
<p>I take it the group doesn't want to break into two smaller groups? It would be a lot easier for you. And it would mean they won't be stuck at lower levels for some time. </blockquote><p>I see. Well here is the group makeup and what I think each falls under...
<p>Barbarian (melee)
<br />
Scout (utility)
<br />
Bard (utility)
<br />
Swashbuckler (melee)
<br />
Druid (utility)
<br />
Druid (utility)
<br />
Knight (melee)
<br />
Shaman (not sure yet..)
<br />
Fighter (melee)
<br />
Inquisitor (back ported to 3.5 since we're stil using that)</p>
<p>As far as them splitting up, probably not. My last homebrew campaign had 9 of them for 8 months and it worked out, mostly because I didn't worry much about balance, I just put monsters where they made sense to be and they could either fight or run. It was very sandboxy. They are all of my best friends and we work well together so I have no problem "handling" them at the table. I'm just concerned here because an AP is much more balanced and structured than running your own sandbox.</p>Tangent101 wrote:It depends. How are they build? If a Paladin has a high strength and is built to be a front-line fighter then he's a primary melee character. If, however, a paladin was built with a decent Wisdom, high Charisma, and seems designed more to take advantage of the Paladin's healing abilities (which can become truly spectacular at higher levels) then he's a utility character.
The same goes of course for Druids. And for other characters. If they are meant to go toe-to-toe then...Ozreth2013-04-08T21:47:19ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: Help! I've Got 10 Players!Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pmxr?Help-Ive-Got-10-Players#202013-04-08T21:26:21Z2013-04-08T21:26:21Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Doomed Hero wrote:</div><blockquote><p> I ran a game with 10 players for nearly three years. It can be very hard to challenge a group of that size because they have 2.5 times the action economy the game is built around. In order to challenge them, you have to upgrade your enemies in a way that doesn't make them outclass the group in terms of CR.</p>
<p>Standard party makeup is 1 Primary offensive caster, 1 Utility, 2 Primary melee. </p>
<p><b>For every primary melee character beyond 2, add 50% to each enemy's HP.</b> (an average melee character is expected to deal between 25 and 75% of an enemy's HP a round. Adding 50% means the extra melee characters will be needed.)</p>
<p><b>For every Utility character beyond 1, add 1 enemy of CR equal to the average party level.</b> (Utility characters are usually defined by buffing the party or controlling the battlefield. Adding extra baddies means they might not control everything, giving other characters something to do)</p>
<p><b>For each Primary caster, add +1 to enemy saves.</b> (Monsters that fail saves against primary casters are usually out of the fight. You want to make it so the bad guys have a better chance of making their saves so that other casters have a reason for being there. Beware multiple casters spamming AoE control/damage spells. A few failed saves in a row, and the fight is over on round 1.)</p>
<p>Lastly, <b>Maximize all monster HP.</b></p>
<p>This isn't a perfect formula for every group, but it works as a pretty good gauge as to how much you should boost encounters to still challenge the party. </p>
<p>Finally, and I can't stress this enough, mixed groups of enemies. If you run a bunch of enemies of similar types, they'll crush them. If you're running goblins, throw a pet giant scorpion in and some goblin dogs. If you're running giants, add giant eagles and summoned elementals. Make them diversify their tactics.</p>
<p><b>Do not</b> simply tack on Hit Dice. It creates a ton of problems, mostly linked to special ability DCs and saving throws that outstrip what the party can handle. Adding Hit Dice will quickly neuter... </blockquote><p>Doomed, you truly are a hero. This sounds like a solid formula. It goes into practice tonight and I'll report back! Thanks!
<p>Just for clarification, do you consider Druids and paladins utility? And am I ignoring things like rogues, rangers, scouts etc? Thanks!</p>Doomed Hero wrote:I ran a game with 10 players for nearly three years. It can be very hard to challenge a group of that size because they have 2.5 times the action economy the game is built around. In order to challenge them, you have to upgrade your enemies in a way that doesn't make them outclass the group in terms of CR.
Standard party makeup is 1 Primary offensive caster, 1 Utility, 2 Primary melee.
For every primary melee character beyond 2, add 50% to each enemy's HP. (an average...Ozreth2013-04-08T21:26:21ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: Looking for 1 inch gridded map of the initial gobin assault to print out! Not sure how?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pn86?Looking-for-1-inch-gridded-map-of-the-initial#52013-04-07T08:42:51Z2013-04-07T08:42:51Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Grimbold wrote:</div><blockquote> I'm having problems linking, so go to Community Created Stuff, and scroll down to the bottom of page 9 to Willot's message. They should be OK to use. </blockquote><p>Sweet! So do I need to blow those two maps up to a certain size?Grimbold wrote:I'm having problems linking, so go to Community Created Stuff, and scroll down to the bottom of page 9 to Willot's message. They should be OK to use.
Sweet! So do I need to blow those two maps up to a certain size?Ozreth2013-04-07T08:42:51ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: Looking for 1 inch gridded map of the initial gobin assault to print out! Not sure how?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pn86?Looking-for-1-inch-gridded-map-of-the-initial#32013-04-07T07:48:30Z2013-04-07T07:48:30Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">the David wrote:</div><blockquote> <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy8s9x?GameMastery-FlipMat-Town-Square" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Do you mean this one?</a> </blockquote><p>Whoa! Awesome, but I have to buy it. I suppose I will. Now, I need it for Monday so ordering it won't help. If my FLGS dosen't have it I'll DL the PDF...but then how do I get something like that printed effectively?the David wrote:Do you mean this one?
Whoa! Awesome, but I have to buy it. I suppose I will. Now, I need it for Monday so ordering it won't help. If my FLGS dosen't have it I'll DL the PDF...but then how do I get something like that printed effectively?Ozreth2013-04-07T07:48:30ZForums: Rise of the Runelords: Looking for 1 inch gridded map of the initial gobin assault to print out! Not sure how?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pn86?Looking-for-1-inch-gridded-map-of-the-initial#12013-04-07T07:20:57Z2013-04-07T07:20:57Z<p>So I was wondering if anybody has designed a large, 1 inch scale map of the goblin assault area that I could have printed at a printer and laminated for my players to battle on?</p>
<p>And if so, whats the best way to print something like this out? I've never printed anything so big ha :p</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>So I was wondering if anybody has designed a large, 1 inch scale map of the goblin assault area that I could have printed at a printer and laminated for my players to battle on?
And if so, whats the best way to print something like this out? I've never printed anything so big ha :p
Thanks!Ozreth2013-04-07T07:20:57ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: Your thoughts on the Player's Guide?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pmy2?Your-thoughts-on-the-Players-Guide#42013-04-04T19:16:58Z2013-04-04T19:16:58Z<p>Thanks guys! I'll let them read it as is. I guess I was mostly worried about it killing some of the mystery and intrigue of coming to a new setting, or ruining something down the line, but it seems safe. </p>
<p>Also, we are still using 3.5 so the old version works perfectly. Thank you! :)</p>Thanks guys! I'll let them read it as is. I guess I was mostly worried about it killing some of the mystery and intrigue of coming to a new setting, or ruining something down the line, but it seems safe.
Also, we are still using 3.5 so the old version works perfectly. Thank you! :)Ozreth2013-04-04T19:16:58ZForums: Rise of the Runelords: Your thoughts on the Player's Guide?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pmy2?Your-thoughts-on-the-Players-Guide#12013-04-04T09:07:34Z2013-04-04T09:07:34Z<p>Is it a solid handout for the group before the game starts? Are there things that should be added or taken out? Changed? </p>
<p>THOUGHTS!</p>Is it a solid handout for the group before the game starts? Are there things that should be added or taken out? Changed?
THOUGHTS!Ozreth2013-04-04T09:07:34ZForums: Rise of the Runelords: Help! I've Got 10 Players!Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pmxr?Help-Ive-Got-10-Players#12013-04-04T05:40:09Z2013-04-04T05:40:09Z<p>Soooo I'm about to start running Burnt Offerings with 10 players. Has anybody run it with even close to this many? What can I expect? What is a simple way to alter things to keep some resemblance of balance (I'm not stickler on balance, but something resembling it would be nice haha.)</p>Soooo I'm about to start running Burnt Offerings with 10 players. Has anybody run it with even close to this many? What can I expect? What is a simple way to alter things to keep some resemblance of balance (I'm not stickler on balance, but something resembling it would be nice haha.)Ozreth2013-04-04T05:40:09ZForums: Rise of the Runelords: Is there too much fluff/background story?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pmte?Is-there-too-much-fluffbackground-story#12013-04-03T06:52:42Z2013-04-03T06:52:42Z<p>So I'm pretty good at running modules, wrapping my head around the setting and fluff and taking down solid notes...but RotRL seems to have a LOT going on in the past and in the background and I just can't tell how much of it is needed.</p>
<p>Does anybody else feel this way? Do people often trim it down?</p>So I'm pretty good at running modules, wrapping my head around the setting and fluff and taking down solid notes...but RotRL seems to have a LOT going on in the past and in the background and I just can't tell how much of it is needed.
Does anybody else feel this way? Do people often trim it down?Ozreth2013-04-03T06:52:42ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: (Request) Hi-Res B&W map of Sandpoint that will fit almost perfectly on 8.5x11?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2mwvb?-HiRes-BW-map-of-Sandpoint-that-will-fit#52011-09-28T22:00:25Z2011-09-28T22:00:25Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">godsDMit wrote:</div><blockquote> I printed off the picture from the pdf both at home on my printer (nothing fancy) and once again at Staples. One of them is very clear, and teh street names are readable. Also, the map takes up pretty well the entire page already. </blockquote><p>Somehow didn't even think of printing it off the PDF. DURR. Thanks!
<p>Greycloak: Those are rad and will come in handy. Thank you : )</p>godsDMit wrote:I printed off the picture from the pdf both at home on my printer (nothing fancy) and once again at Staples. One of them is very clear, and teh street names are readable. Also, the map takes up pretty well the entire page already.
Somehow didn't even think of printing it off the PDF. DURR. Thanks! Greycloak: Those are rad and will come in handy. Thank you : )Ozreth2011-09-28T22:00:25ZForums: Rise of the Runelords: (Request) Hi-Res B&W map of Sandpoint that will fit almost perfectly on 8.5x11?Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2mwvb?-HiRes-BW-map-of-Sandpoint-that-will-fit#12011-09-28T18:21:23Z2011-09-28T18:21:23Z<p>Like the title says, need a very hi-res image of Sandpoint that will fit almost perfectly on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, maybe with a bit of a boarder left. Would like to be able to very clearly make out the small street names.</p>
<p>Can anybody help with this? Thanks : )</p>Like the title says, need a very hi-res image of Sandpoint that will fit almost perfectly on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, maybe with a bit of a boarder left. Would like to be able to very clearly make out the small street names.
Can anybody help with this? Thanks : )Ozreth2011-09-28T18:21:23ZForums: Rise of the Runelords: So Much Backstory - Where to start?!Ozrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2mwev?So-Much-Backstory-Where-to-start#12011-09-25T20:18:05Z2011-09-25T20:18:05Z<p>So I'm preparing to run Burnt Offerings and there is sooo much backstory. My basic method of running a module is sitting down with a notebook and making bullet notes of each section in the module from start to finish (although I only do it piece by piece in between sessions, not all at once!) This way I can run things quickly and smoothly, but still have the module next to me for more in depth references.</p>
<p>Anyways, I'm working on jotting down quick descriptions for the backgrounds of Sandpoint and each of the main characters, but it is all pretty insane. It seems like the amount of fluff they give you for each character could be a module in itself!</p>
<p>How much of this stuff did you worry about in the beginning? Can most of it be tossed? </p>
<p>Thanks : )</p>So I'm preparing to run Burnt Offerings and there is sooo much backstory. My basic method of running a module is sitting down with a notebook and making bullet notes of each section in the module from start to finish (although I only do it piece by piece in between sessions, not all at once!) This way I can run things quickly and smoothly, but still have the module next to me for more in depth references.
Anyways, I'm working on jotting down quick descriptions for the backgrounds of...Ozreth2011-09-25T20:18:05ZRe: Forums: Rise of the Runelords: Combat MapsOzrethhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ho6v&page=6?Combat-Maps#2522011-09-02T01:22:45Z2011-09-02T01:22:45Z<p>Just about to start running this and would love some great maps : )</p>
<p>jordanburkex@gmail.com</p>Just about to start running this and would love some great maps : )
jordanburkex@gmail.comOzreth2011-09-02T01:22:45Z