I add this inside to prevent from spoiling ANYTHING about this excellent campaign. I'm rerunning CoCT using Pathfinder, and in the second adventure I'm thinking that adding a little ALCHEMIST to Davalus and his creepy doctors would make MUCH more sense than Rogue/Bards. Here's my first attempt, comments are welcome:
Queen's Physician
CR 2
XP 600
Human Alchemist 3
NE Medium humanoid
Init +7; Senses Perception +6
DEFENSE
AC 15, touch, flat footed ( +3 Armor, +2 Dex )
hp 29 (3d8+6)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
Defensive Abilities
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee masterwork shortsword +6 (1d6+1)
Special Attacks
5 bombs, +5 ranged touch, 2d6+2
Poison: Large scorpion venom injury DC17 — 1/rd. for 6 rds. 1d2 STR , 1 save
Giant wasp poison injury DC18 — 1/rd. for 6 rds. 1d2 DEX, 1 save
Tactics: Queens physicians try to avoid battle. They cast Shield, drink their mutagen and throw explosive bombs. In close quarters they use their poisoned short swords.
STATISTICS
Str 12 Dex 16, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 8
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Improved Initiative, weapon finesse, Toughness
Skills: Craft(Alchemy) +8, Heal +7, Disable Device +5, Perception +7, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic Device+4, Intimidate+1, Bluff +0, Stealth +5
Languages Common, Varisian
SQ Alchemy, bomb, brew potion, throw anything, poison resistance +2, poison use, swift alchemy
mutagen: +4 DEX, +2 natural armor -2 WIS
discovery: Explosive bombs
I've read on more than one thread that all parties pretty much figure out who blackjack is as soon as he appears on the scene. Taking advantage of the magic in the world I did the following.
- Vencarlo is a powerfully built human of average stature
- Blackjack is lean and tall
- Vencarlo is missing half of his left arm
- Blackjack clearly has two perfectly working arms.
This was done by:
- Mask of blackjack: Works like a hat of diguise, but turns you into blackjack.
- magic arm: A wood and mithril hand and forearm. Attached to the stump, they work as a perfectly normal arm.
Also, I stressed the point that blackjack was at least a hundred years old. Also when Vencarlo tells them about blackjack he mentions him as "an old fencing friend, I hadn't seen for a decade, he looks the same but I'm quite older".
I also built the PC's relationship with the guy. One of the PC's uses a rapier, so Vencarlo offered to teach her (giving her a temporary +1 bonus to attack with the rapier)
The Wharf district has seen better days. Most of its stores seem run down with flaking paint and mossy windows. The salty sea air and the humid cold weather don't help either.
A notable exception is the Golden Goblin. This aging structure has been recently refurbished and turned into a casino-inn.
Lecian:
You wake up in a comfortable double bed, set in a simple but decent inn's room. You are lodged at the Golden Goblin and hopefully the bad weather the town experienced these last couple of days will be over, allowing you to study the mysterious phenomena known as "The Blot". You also have a complimentary invite for tonight’s “Cheat the Devil and steal his gold” gambling tournament.
Urza:
It's a cold morning; the cooling embers of the fireplace do little to stave off the chill. You are in a comfortable double bed on the inn you chose to visit while researching the Blot. The owner of the inn, Saul Vancaskerskin seems like a nice fellow and he gave you an invite for tonight’s “Cheat the Devil and steal his gold” gambling tournament.
Galahd:
The streets of the lawless town of Riddleport are almost as empty as your pockets this cold and overcast morning. Tonight, you have a pass for the “Cheat the Devil and steal his gold” gambling tournament at the Gold Goblin, hopefully you’ll find some work there, but meanwhile, you have a day to kill.
Calinder:
It’s a cold morning, after several weeks making inquires you found out that the mysterious symbol that connects you to your missing father is somehow related to the purchase of the Golden Goblin, you have a ticket for tonight’s “Cheat the Devil and steal his gold” gambling tournament” where you can finally meet the owner.
I've directed quite a few campaigns in real life, currently going through the second Adventure Path (CotCT) and finding it really fun. Having recently started a dissapointingly slow play by post game as a player, I tought of starting my own and trying to keep a faster pace.
For this I'd need 3 to 5 volunteers who are willing to check the boards daily or at most skip a day (posting may wane on weekends).
I must warn you all that I've never participated in a succesful PbP campaign, as a player or as a DM. They all seem to die for lack of interest.
As soon as I get my hands on the SD players guide I'll post guidelines for character creation, but I'm thinking on making it 20pt buy and NO EVIL CHARACTERS. These AP are usually made for heroic characters and selfish destructivly evil chars usually take a lot of work to handle.
One feature I liked about this AP are the beautifully tought and designed castles.
I'm talking about Castle Korvosa and Castle Scarwall.
It's a shame that I can't find a good rendering to give my players a perspective of such wonderful buildings.
Has anyone tried making a good representation based on the detailed floorplans? I've tried, by software and by hand but my desing skills are lacking with both mediums.
Isn't there any architects or 3D designers that have drawn this?
Well, there isn't much movement in this boards about the second a.path.
My players thoroughly enjoyed Rise of the Runelords, in fact they are finishing the last adventure, but while one of them is on vacation we'll be starting on crimson throne meanwhile
The critical focus feat tree gives plenty of cool options, but I have a question:
What happens when you hit a creature that is immune to criticals or has fortification? Do the "negate critical" effect cover more than the extra damage?
What about the burst weapons?
I specifically have a sword that applies to targets a petrify effect on a critical hit.... how does it work?
Terrifying Howl (Ex): The barbarian unleashes a terrifying howl as a standard action. All shaken enemies within 30 feet must make a Will save (DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the barbarian's level + the barbarian's Strength modifier) or be panicked for 1d4+1 rounds. Once an enemy has made a save versus terrifying howl (successful or not), it is immune to this power for 24 hours. A barbarian must have the intimidating glare rage power to select this rage power. A barbarian must be at least 8th level before selecting this power.
What happens to enemies that are not shaken when the barbarian howls? Nothing? Do they also panic?
I'm running this adventure for my group with great success. We are at the 5th module and having great fun.
Of course reading in this forums helped me avoid some of the pitfalls that stalled other campaigns.
The thing is... my players would LOVE to play up to level 20, maybe beyond (I've been wanting to run the uber-epic adventure Quicksilver Hourglass since I got the magazine, but levelling them up to lvl 30 is a bit of a stretch).
So, has anybody thought a way of continuing the campaign, if possible to patch in another published Dungeon mag adventure?
This idea has been running through my mind and I will have to prepare something..
My group and I are greatly enjoying this marvelous AP, and we are halfway through. I wanted to post a thread to enjoy some memorable and almost lethal moments. I personally consider a success when the players ALMOST die and surivie just barely through determination or luck.
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