Siobharek's page

This Sunday, Irovetti threw everything he had at the capital of Cambia. Westport (formerly known as Fort Drelev) was attacked by the Pitax Horde, the Catspaw Marauders, the First Flight of Wyverns and a 500-mand mercenary army from Mivon who wanted to take down a Swordlord upstart whose very presence as a ruler was an affront. With them, they had three siege engines to bring down the wall, the watchtower, the garrisson and the castle.

The final phase of the battle saw the Westport Defenders and Happ's Riders rip the Mivon Mercenaries and the Pitax Horde to shreds, but at the cost of both regiments. Happs Bydon himself was killed.

But a small adventuring party (who has been mentioned in Kingdom Events) made a stand by a wall and there, the group's Pathfinder Bard inspired courage with his horn. The result was a song that somehow found voice throughout the breached city.

I had prepared it beforehand, and half an hour before my players arrived, the lyrics came to me. A note: Cambia is Lawful Good in alignment. The main deity is Abadar, but Erastil also has a strong following. The author of the lyrics worships Calistria, apparently, and Cambia has many beehives, which help the country's BP.

This is the tune. There's a bit of an introduction, but lyrics should begin at 0:43. The two lines B-piece lyrics start at 2:13.

And here are the lyrics:

In forest by lake and through hills I will roam
To find and defend that which I call my home
A beacon of order! A promise of wealth!
Oh Cambia, give my family health

From flower to flower the blessed bee goes
And brings golden riches that keep us from woe
The stag’s in the meadow and the key’s in the lock.
Oh Cambia in you we place our stock.

[instrumental]

So help me get into my armour and let me gather my arms,
For I will die and fight and suffer to keep my loved ones from harm!

[instrumental]

And stand man and woman, yea stand up as one!
For through our community wars will be won.
We fight and if needed we give our lives here.
Oh Cambia, your name lives through the years!

We're done with RRR, and as I got Ultimate Campaign, we did the necessary conversions. The conversions were easy enough, and now it finally makes sense to make mines, sawmills, quarries and farms!

However, VV requires - or advises - that the PCs' kingdom is around 50-60 hexes large, and as the Kingdom of Cambia was only 11 hexes, they players felt pretty overwhelmed. So we changed to "Kingdom in the Background", but it was definitely sub-optimal, as they felt they were quitters.

How have others fared? You can't really expand your kingdom without building settlements to ensure that Economy and Stability remain at a level where you can make Control checks and expect to succeed. But building settlements takes TIME. Deciding what buildings to make, rolling for magic items, it's a bit of a pain.

My players loved kingdom building, but having to do 40+ hexes before the story could progress, was murder - or Medieval Monopoly as one player called it.

I want to play up the angle that Nyrissa is using a lot of resources to de-stabilize the region, so I've come up with the following - also to bring the history of the Stag Lord's Keep into play:

Background: A Mysterious Visit
When the PCs return to Oleg's the militia tells them of a group of strange women who rested and resupplied there. They paid with Numerian coinage and a few even had strangely glowing crystals on their armour and weapons. One of them also carried a glowing bundle that Happs Brydon (or any other trusted NPC) recognized as being arrows. When asked about it, however, the leader - who looked human but came across as being somewhat odd - replied with a mutter that "such beauty was not for all to hear about".

A member of the militia followed them for a while, as they thought the group's asking for directions for Tuskwater was a bit unsettling - especially as they seemed to venerate the area with an almost religious fervour.

Finding them
It's up to the DM to decide how easy or hard it should be to find the group and indeed if the chase or the eventual combat is the main part of the excitement. Abandoned camp sites, murdered and mutilated hunters and trappers, ordinary tracks - these are all part of this encounter.

The Group
The group is a small collection of Gyronna-worshippers. Their leader, who only calles herself The Eye, is a forlorn elf who in her bitterness has devoted her witching energies to furthering Gyronna's status in this area. Accompanying The Eye is Magrith, a warrior who's filled with visions of evil men casting aside women. Unfortunately, these visions have led her on a crusade against all men, and she's an accomplished murderer. The last two women in the group are disfigured and bitter ex-prostitutes from the River Kingdoms. The gang hired two guards in Numeria, whom they have charmed and coerced into being loyal followers.

The group met Nyrissa who used illusions to appear as a manifestation of Gyronna. She has given the group a package of six +1 bane arrows keyed to the race of the most civilizing member of the group. The group will give these arrows to the Stag Lord, which will make taking him down somewhat more challenging.

GUARD CR 1/2
XP 200
Male human warrior 2
CN Medium humanoid
Init +0; Senses Perception +2
DEFENSES
AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +2 shield)
hp 13 (2d10+2)
Fort +4, Ref +0, Will -1
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee longsword +5 (1d8+2/19–20)
Ranged longbow +2 (1d8/×3)
STATISTICS
Str 15, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8
Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 14
Feats Skill Focus (perception), Weapon Focus (longsword)
Skills Intimidate +4, Perception +2, Ride +5
Languages Common, Kellid
Gear studded leather armour, light steel shield, longsword, longbow with 20 arrows, 2d6 sp, 1d8 gp

Cultist (Rogue 1/Cleric 1) (2) CR 1
XP 400
Human rogue 1/cleric of Gyronna 1
CE Medium humanoid
Init +3; Senses Perception +6
DEFENSES
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 14 (2d8+2)
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +4
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mwk dagger +3 (1d4+1/19–20)
Special Attacks channel negative energy – may be used through weapon (2/day, 1d6, DC 9), destructive smite (5/day, +1 dmg), sneak attack +1d6, touch of chaos (5/day, for the next round, target must reroll any d20 rolls and choose the worst result)
Spells Prepared (CL 1st)
1st—command (DC 13), shield of faith, true strike(D)
0—light, mending, virtue
D domain spell (Chaos, Destruction)
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 14
Feats Channel Smite, Guided Hand
Skills Acrobatics +7, Climb +5, Disguise +3, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, Perception +6, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +7
Languages Common
SQ spontaneous casting (inflict spells), trapfinding +1
Gear leather armor, masterwork dagger, 20 gp

Champion of Gyronna (Inquisitor3) CR 2
XP 600
Human Inquisitor (Gyronna) 3
NE Medium humanoid
Init +5; Senses Perception +8
DEFENSES
AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +2 Dex) – DR 1/- until 10 hp have been absorbed
hp 23 (3d8+6)
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will +6
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee 2 mwk dagger +4/+4 (1d4+1/19–20)
Special Attacks Judgment 1/day (used on damage, unless she’s hit a lot, in which case it moves to AC), solo tactics, touch of evil (6/day, for the next round, target is sickened)
Spells Known (CL 3rd – Concentration +5)
1st — (4) cure light wounds, expeditious retreat, magic weapon, returning weapon
0 — (usable at will) acid splash, bleed, brand, daze, detect magic, detect poison
D domain spell (Chaos, Destruction)
STATISTICS
Str 12, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 10
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Double Slice, Outflank (+4 to attack rolls when flanking), Two-Weapon Finding, Weapon Finesse
Skills Bluff +6, Intimidate +5, Linguistics +0, Perception +8, Sense Motive +9, Spellcraft +5, Stealth +5, Survival +10
Languages Common, Kellid
SQ monster lore, stern gaze, cunning initiative, track, solo tactics
Gear 2 masterwork daggers, masterwork agile breastplate, composite longbow (+1), Numerian force field protector (as least iron ward diamond, Magic Item Compendium 26)

Eye of Gyronna CR 3
XP 800
Female elven witch 4
CE Medium humanoid
Init +2; Senses Perception +6
DEFENSES
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 17 (+3 Dex)
hp 20 (4d6+4)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee short sword +1 (1d6-1/19–20)
Ranged longbow +5 (1d8-1 plus 1 electricity/×3) – +1 atk/dmg within 30 ft.
Special Attacks Hexes: Cackle (prolong evil eye effects one round as a MEA), Evil Eye (–2 to one of the following (witch’s choice) AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks; Dur.: 7 rds, Will DC 16 to reduce duration to 1 rd), Slumber (Sleep for 7 rds, Will DC 16 neg.), Ward (+2 deflection bonus to AC and +2 resistance bonus to saves until subject is hit or misses a save)
Spells Readied (Patron: Insanity, CL 4th – Concentration +8)
2nd – burning gaze, hold person, pox pustules (APG)
1st – cure light wounds, delusional pride (UM), mage armor, ray of enfeeblement
0 – bleed, dancing lights, detect magic, resistance
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 13
Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 13
Feats Extra Hex, Point-Blank Shot
Skills Heal +5, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Perception +6, Spellcraft +11
Languages Common, Elvish, Kellid, Sylvan, Taldan
Gear Masterwork longbow with a Numerian shock emitter (as [/i]least crystal of lightning assault, MIC 64), 20 arrows, short sword, +1 cloak of resistance, necklace of fireballs with one 3d6 fireball (Ref DC 14 half), silver rings (20, 15 & 35 gp), 30 gp in various coins

Familiar: Greensting Scorpion
CE Tiny vermin
Init +3; Senses Perception +6
DEFENSES
AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 17 (+5 natural armor, +3 Dex, +2 size)
hp 10 (4 HD)
Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +4
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee sting +7 (1d2–4 plus poison)
Space 2½ ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks poison
STATISTICS
Str 3, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 2
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 9 (19 vs. trip)
Feats Weapon Finesse
Skills Climb +7, Perception +4, Stealth +15; Racial Modifiers +4 Climb, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth
SQ Alertness, Empathic Link, Improved Evasion, Share Spells, Store Spells, Deliver Touch Spells
Poison (Ex): Sting — injury; save Fort DC 12; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect sickened for 1 round; cure 1 save.

Party:

Played by 5 13-14-year olds (my stepson and his friends), concentration can be an issue.

Half-elven fighter1/rogue3
Half-elven summoner4
Elven oracle2/brabarian2
Gnome bard4
Human (Mwangi) Monk4

As the group sailed from Smuggler's Shiv to Eleder, I described the city as it looked from the sea. I pointed out, in particular, the Grallus Lock, where they could see the slaves being kept. Naturally, the LG immediately announced that he was going to free the slaves.

First thing he did was blow all his cash from Smuggler's Shiv on buying, then freeing, as many slaves as he could get. Then he asked about the Grallus Lock, what kind of guards they had, how the slaves were kept, and how he could get them out. That was when I called it a night.

Two weeks later, I'd decided that the slaves were kept on narrow pathways and platforms floating on the water. This meant that many men were clinging on to planks while the weak, the women and the children were on the rafts. I'd assigned some guards in some towers, some on a platform between the two piers where the slaves were kept, and a few animals - guard dogs and a hidden cage of sharks to be released if things went really sour.

In a running battle the group managed to kill all the guards and the monk even took on the three angry sharks before too many slaves were killed.

And then I skipped the Freemen revolt. I think I need to keep things a little simple for the group.

I'm putting my Ptolus campaign to rest in a few weeks and I've made all Player's Guides available to my players. They've narrowed their immediate preferences down to four, and now they ask me for my preference. But I love 'em all! So what can you tell me and why?

The nominated Adventure Paths are:

Serpent's Skull

Kingmaker

Jade Regent

Legacy of Fire

Which would YOU choose? Oh, we're all in our 40s, have played D&D for a minimum of 20 years and are switching over to Pathfinder now.

On p. 36, it says that Lady Evgenya will cast change self on somebody else to disguise them. Unfortunately, that's not really an option, given the spell's mechanics.

What alternative would you suggest?

As someone who as of yet does not have the Bestiary (SRD to the rescue!), the idea of revisiting monsters is particularly useful. And even if I had every last tome, book or pamphlet from Paizo (curse the economy!), I would still think that a more focused revisiting existing monsters is an excellent idea. Please keep it up!

If I have the Double Slice feat, which gives me my full Strength bonus with my off-hand weapon, do I still only get half the damage bonus on my off-hand weapon when I use Power Atatck?

Title says it all, really, but Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved is completely out of print, and judging by the prices on eBay and at Noble Knight Games, there's still a demand.

So... Paizo to the rescue? Let's make this thread one where we can show our interest.

Are there any details about Magnimar besides the larger map on the July blog? Because even if I click the map there, I don't get the additional locations and routes. Am I doing something wrong?

Oh, and huge, HUGE praise for making such a wonderful Adventure Path.

Once again, Christianity in one of its more extreme forms rears its head to try and influence how my magazine should behave. I'm writing, of course, in response to Jim Alpeter's "In Defence of John"'s letter (#146) and - by extension - to John Simcoe's "Dungeons & Devils" letter in #143. Where to start?

A) It bothers me that I feel I have to establish some kind of worshipping credentials in order to feel that I won't be perceived as yet another Christianity-bashing roleplayer. So <grinding teeth>: I, too, am a Christian gamer. I chose to be baptized in a late age (my mother did not feel the same way), I had my daughter baptized, and because of that, my wife rediscovered her joy in religion.

B) "Judge not, lest you should be judged", yet we have seemingly normal, sane people who are either willing to cut and slash a magazine because a drawing makes an imaginary being look too good (I'm looking in your direction, John) or who use a threat of not buying the magazine to enforce their limited view on the world on Dungeon Magazine (that would be Jim I'm looking at here).

C) Small factual nitpick: James Jacobs did open himself up for correction when he implied that turning Devils into Baatezu and Demons into Tanar'ri caused TSR to suffer as a company. If you read his statement (in his reply to Jim's letter) to say that the game suffered, it's a much more subjective statement, but one that makes more sense. I believe 1996 saw the rise of right-wing Christianity across the board - from forcing D&D to rename monsters to seizing congress. But that's another rant entirely.

Please keep your religious beliefs out of my game. I don't take my game to Church, so why take the Church to my game. It won't make you a poorer Christian. I'm sure that John, Jim, and all the other conservative Christians would join the rest of us in a resounding "Hell No!" if an islamic gamer called on Dungeon to cover all the women in their illustrations in an abaya or abstained from showing pigs in a rural scene.

I call on Dungeon's (and Dragon's) editors to keep up the good work the way they see fit to do best. And should you guys discover that the Religious Right has left gaming and caused your sales to plummet, please let us know, set up a Pay Pal account and ask for donations. You'll get some from me.

Søren, Denmark

After a period of so-so adventures in 2001-2, Dungeon has really picked up steam again (I've bought it religiously since no. 19 or so), and I actively look forward to each issue. This is even higher praise if you consider the fact that I run a campaign with Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved and therefore have little to no chance of actually running the great adventures I get in my mailbox each month.

You have consistently set the bar ever higher, which is why I was quite surprised to see an adventure like Bright Mountain King in issue 142.

3 things: You actually expect one 16th-level character to get the McGuffin (i.e. Darsam-tor-ews)? And when the adventure takes the fact into account that you don't get to be 16th-level without learning to take care of your stuff, the only advice DMs get is that Carradoc will send his minions to steal the club. Not that good a briefing for a very likely situation.

Second: The cutaway diagram doesn't really show me how the whole staircase-in-the-shaft thing works. There's no scale to the map, and the steps aren't drawin in.

Third, and this is a whopper: The hoard at the end of Bright Mountain isn't detailed. The whole adventure, but especially this chamber (M19) makes some pretty hefty assumptions of a kind I haven't seen in the magazine since the early-mid nineties.

Frankly, Bright Mountain King, while it had an interesting premise, didn't live up to the standards set by the other adventures in that particular issue and in those of recent years that have gone before it.

In the adventure (magazine as well as HC), the key with the letter "Z" is mentioned twice - in areas J34 and J52. Obviously it's an error, as one should be the letter "D". But which? Is there a difference as to what key should be placed where or should I just choose?

Edit: never mind - searched the archives. Yuathyb in J45 has it round his neck. My bad.