Power. Tyranny. Destruction.'s page

The best suggestion I can give you is to ditch the caravan rules. They are at best a headache (as you're discovering) and at worst aren't balanced against some of the encounters as written (see plenty of other threads on the subject).

I started incorporating a pared-down version of the caravan rules into my game that removed the extra tier of non-character-level rules i.e. the caravan stats. However, I've recently found that even these rules are becoming a headache to incorporate and keep the verisimilitude of the game. This AP puts plenty of pressure on a GM with the tag-along NPCs as it is, you don't need a bunch of rules on top of that, especially rules that don't quite work right.

I have begun thinking of ways that the party can ditch the caravan altogether and it will make sense for the story and the PCs and the NPCs. I'm very much looking forward to that day and bringing this campaign back to focussing on the PCs and not having them feel like they're being led around by the nose by events and NPCs and aren't in control of their own destinies.

Basically, what I'm saying is, if I could start this AP again knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have had the caravan involved at all. Heck, if I couldn't convince my players to take the roles of the NPCs I'd probably have left most of the NPCs out of it too so that the players can realistically take the spotlight and aren't wondering why they're doing all the legwork.

I have deliberately cut most of the exploration aspects of the AP after Book 2. It wasn't relevant to my players or campaign, so I did away with it. I can never stop myself from slipping in a few extra mini-quests and that has helped make sure they're not losing out on xp.

There is a definite delicate balance that needs to be struck regarding kingdom-building, however. Some of my players love it and some find it the most boring part of the game.

In Kingmaker, as in all campaigns, the GM's most difficult and most important job is trying to keep everyone happy. If something isn't working for your group, don't use it. If you know something is going to bore them, don't use it. If you think something is missing, put it in.

Kingmaker isn't perfect, but it's rewarding for players in a way that few other campaigns are. I've found it rewards hard work on the part of the GM as well.

GIEF!

rando1000 wrote:

My question is, to you or anyone who owns this module, would it be easy to rip just a few of these encounters out of Fellnight and put them in forest hexes on the regular Kingmaker map?

Kindof, but that wouldn't be worth the price of admission.

Fellnight spoilers:** spoiler omitted **

In my game...

Regarding making Vordakai a bigger threat closer to the end of the AP, I have every intention of introducing the original Vordakai after the climax of the AP as published. Remember that the Vordakai in the Varnhold Vanishing is only an apprentice of the original...

Perhaps I did not clearly state what I was looking for. I just want a spot where I can add in a demon/devil that I can use for closure on a character background. Doesn't have to be part of the main story. Just want a good location/time to put a higher level demon/devil into the AP.

Candlemere Island? I know the inference there is the Great Old Ones, but it doesn't have to be.

Vordakai's Tomb? I know he prefers daemons to demons, but there's no reason he couldn't have one bound there or a pact with a devil.

I'm planning on introducing Rhoswen from 'Realm of the Fellnight Queen' as Nyrissa's daughter. She's still trapped, but she's working with (or rather, as a puppet of) her mother. It seemed an obvious link to me, since Rhoswen's crime was combining shadow and fey magics that her parents should be Nyrissa and Count Ranalc.

I'm also planning on linking the Eye of Abaddon to the Vanishing of the Rogarvias in Brevoy. Not directly, but another artifact similar to the Eye was used. I'm hoping my players make the connection themselves but I'm prepared to give them lots of hints.

I just want to explain some elements that are going on in the background, because I know that some of my players will want to know and I have ideas for how this can all tie into an ongoing campaign after the AP concludes, whether that is the return of Choral, an invasion from Iobaria, revolution in Brevoy, a combination of all three, or something else entirely I haven't quite worked out yet...

If I was your GM I would have let you blink as a free action, with a 50% chance you would still get hit by the flash since you were looking at the area. Blinking rapidly will not help you avoid the effects of the flash, but the 50% chance was whether your eyes you were in the middle of a blink or not when the flash occured.

If you had readied an action to close your eyes when you saw the toss, and then open your eyes after the flash/explosion, no problem.

This. Or something like this.