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Would LOVE an AP featuring dragons. I was SO bummed when I realized it was going to be Age of WORMS... not Age of WYRMS. It was still a great AP, and Dragotha was sweet, but with The Rage running around the same time it was announced, I assumed it was all going to be dragons. Never quite got over that let down feeling...
Tiger Lily - I've peeked into your post history, and it looks like this post might also help jog your memory if there's anything else you need to do. Thank you, I've saved all this is a word doc now for future reference.
I tried downloading the updated Plague of Shadows ePub novel, but when I open the zipped file I just see another set of folders rather than a book. I know I had this problem before, and I fixed it by just opening it a different way (think I opened and then saved or something like that), but it's not working this time. This is the first download I tried since we got our new computer. In case it matters, we have Windows 7 with Office 2010. Any idea how to get my computer to stop taking apart my book?
Agree that if you're cutting out Adimarchus, the players should have more opportunity to interact with at least SOME of the Cagewrights, and they should hear that name more often. There was so much going on, and the players didn't know what info would be important down the road and what wouldn't, that they barely remember the term. If I had it to run again, I would do what you're doing. The Occipitus and Adimarchus plot could make a great second, post-Cagewrights story arc for the same group or another higher level group. Kind of a "and here's what REALLY was the influence behind the Cagewrights!" follow up campaign.
I ran Shackled City long ago, and unfortunately was not very forward thinking in what I saved. I'm going back now to visit "Cauldron... 15 years later", but one of the things I've lost is my list of the original Cagewrights. I only have the names of two. I've tried searching the boards, but I'm not using the right combination of keywords apparently. Can someone post a list of the 13 cagewrights? Or a link to another post that answers the question? Thanks!
If you're not seeing a single file at all, and you're only seeing a folder, you need to figure out how to stop your unzipping utility from automatically unzipping the epub file. If this is the case, can you tell us what browser, OS, and unzipping utility you're using? After reading this post I went back and started over with a fresh download. We have trouble with our pop-up blocker interfering with the downloads, and there's something my husband was doing to bypass that which was changing the file. This time I was able to do it without changing the format, so I have one pretty little file just like I'm supposed to. Thank you so much!
have you just tried changing the extension from .zip to .epub? I've seen that suggestion, but I don't know which file to change. I have a folder that doesn't HAVE an extention (the AltPub one). When I opn the folder, I have two other folders and a file called "mimetype" of a type that my computer doesn't recognize (I have other ePub books on my computer that it DOES recognize, so I'm assuming that's not it). No extention on that file and no option to change / rename it. The META-INF folder has a document named "container", and the OEBPS folder has the slinkies. Help?
ePub help:
How do I take the zip file and turn all those odds and ends back into one nice document to load on my Sony reader? Other ePub books I have are one document, which I can drag and drop quite nicely, but this zip file is starting to feel like one of those cans you open where all the slinkies jump out all over the place. Thank you.
I've actually found them to be a good tool in character development and consistency, both as a player and a DM. Players in our group are expected to think about their character's backgrounds and motivation, and play that character accordingly. As a moral compass, alignments help with that when used correctly. I espcecially find this true when working with new players, and trying to get them to understand the differnce between reacting to things the way THEY would, and reacting to them the way their CHARACTER would.
I loved DMing both of them, and my group loved running through them. RE: the dungeon crawl parts - any AP has big dungeon crawl segments, as well as heavy role play segments, to make itself attractive to a larger audience. DMs then get to emphasize the areas they like and skim over the areas they don't. My group hates dungeon crawls, so I've made two standard changes that actually has them enjoying these again: 1) I prepare a players map for them and give it to them at the start
Getting the map gets worked into the story in role playing goals of some sort, which is what they enjoy doing. Once in the dungeon, since they don't have to concentrate on imagining the shape of the room, halls, whatever, I find that they focus in better on my scene setting descriptions (humidity, sounds, temperature, texture)and respond accordingly. The beacon happens in lots of different ways. I really just mean some type of plot device (an NPC guide, a journal, a spell, whatever) that lets them know what the main path is. Usually, they wind up exploring off the path on their own, but it becomes less frustraing for them because they KNOW they are making a side trek and they are CHOOSING to do it. After the horrid sighs I got in Shackled City from the dungeon crawls (though they much enjoyed the rest of it), I started using this strategy in the AoW games. They loved it, and I've kept it through that one and Curse of the Crimson Throne, and it's worked very well.
In the OP, he SPECIFICALLY SAID the therapist said he shouldn't play if he was a good christian. The therapist was not linking it to his disorder or treatment of his disorder. He was stepping out of his professional bounds and into the area of his own personal interpretation of what does and does not constitute good christian behavior. I agree that dropping the therapist should not be done quickly if the OP is happy with him and achevieving results. I further agree that the OP should have a converstaion with this therapist. However, I would not have that converstaion be about the therapist's religious values and asking him to explain further what he meant by his comment. Rather, the therapist needs to have a boundary set for him that ministering to his patients is not part of standard treatment for mental health disorders.
I think the assumption in general is that the options of raise dead / resurrection aren’t often used by those not of the adventuring persuasion. “An untimely death” is a well used plot device, and it simply doesn’t work (or detracts from the story) if you have to think up blocks for the different ways the victim could have been brought back. If you need an explanation because your players won’t let it go, you can use one of the ones James provided. Alternatively, you could simply say that it’s local tradition among the monarchs of Korvosa that they get one shot at life to make their mark, and no one would follow a monarch who had to be brought back for a second go at it. Can create all sorts of taboos against it for the royals.
...Day 1: Taxfest! In this version of events, the tainted silver has already been placed in the Vault of Abadar, so it's already being actively circulated to Korvosa's poor... ( Keep in mind that this IS actually part of the story as written. Not the taxfest part, but half the tainted silver already WAS in the vault and starting circulation before the ship ever sailed into port. Brienna wasn't really patient zero, just the the first "face" of the plague for the PCs. I changed some of the events as well, but mainly to make things more personal for the PCs. It was familiar places and people who got sick, got looted, etc. I put the scene with Trinia near the start as well, but mainly because one of my players needed the closure. She got so wrapped up in the story during Edge of Anarchy that she actually left the table in tears during the "execution" scene before I could get to the part about Blackjack's intervention. One of the other players had to tell her what happened. She blames it on the quad starbuck's she'd just drank, but I know better. Anyway, it was important to me for her to be able to have that interaction with Trinia as closure from the previous storyline early on.
The Quarantine happens and they can't get back. One of the side bars mentioned other events that are happening in the city, and one of them is the bridges getting blown to Old Korvosa. This game ends with your group cut off from the island, stuck on the penninsula.
Doing some practice readings alone helped me get comfortable with them also, so I urge you to do that. Also, remember that you're not supposed to interpret EVERY card. Once they're laid out, you look for true matches or misaligned cards, and ignore the rest. You only need to go to partial matches if you don't have one of the other type. My suggestion is that you only pick ONE in each column, even if the spread would have more that you could interpret, and focus on just weaving those three together in a reading. If the side bar stuff about "these are the most important cards for this adventure should they come up" is getting too confusing, ignore it. Or just use that and ignore the way a reading would normally be done. Point is, if you want to incorporate it but are having trouble, just make it as SIMPLE for yourself as possible. That's when you'll start having fun with it.
My group seems to get into the story more when they know early on who the bad guy is and what the main theme is. Shackled City felt very disjointed for them, probably because it was disjointed for me as well. After running a game, I didn't know what was coming next and had NO idea where the plot was going. With Age of Worms, I changed tactics and gave them lots of info earlier than they were scheduled to receive it in the AP. They reacted very well to that, and felt much more connected to the main plot thread than they did in SCAP.
Major spoilers, so you have been warned in case I can't get the little spoiler thingie to work. <spoiler>I'm missing something in how Neolandus knows specifically about Fangs and their link to Kazavon. I get that he knew about her little trips to the treasury, and the poisoning, and that he noticed her behavior changing, but I'm missing where got to the SPECIFIC information about the Fangs existence. Please note, I am not asking for suggestions on how to make up the connection. I can see some very clear ways to do that on my own. For example, I can assume as seneschal he knew about the secret room, and as it IS specified that he knows the Shoanti were guarding something I can take it a step further and say he knew exactly WHAT they were guarding. However, if there IS a place where it's laid out how he knows about the fangs and what I laid out contradicts that, it can bite me later in the AP. So if someone can point me to where I'm missing the magic text, or whether I'm not missing anything and we're supposed to make some logical assumptions, I'd appreciate it.</spoiler>
On another note, how much roleplaying is there in Skeletons of Scarwall? So far it looks like mostly a giant dungeon crawl to me, which I'd like to avoid. I haven't read through that one yet, but the trend for each AP seems to be that at least one of them is predominately a dungeon crawl, and I've heard that Scarwall is it for this one. I would assume this is because there are lots of folks out there that LIKE giant dungeon crawls and they're trying to appeal to a wide range of preferences... which I appreciate as variety is nice. I'm like you, and I tend to avoid the big dungeon crawls as well. What I've done in previous APs and will likely do with this one as well is work in role playing for the party to get themselves a map. When they can see the whole thing in front of them (minus any DM info surprises of course), I tend to see fewer glazed eyes around the table and the action parts are much closer together.
Actually, it makes sense as is, with the idea that lycanthropy is at its base a human tainted by the beast whether by virus or curse or however the game system you're using explains it. The human(oid) is what you start with... and what you revert to in death.
My math seems to have escaped me. The chart at the end gives Rewards / Citizens saved, however it gives a total max possible of 3600 while my addition only bring it to 2800 in my first readthrough. I note that 2800 is the high end of the "third tier" amount, so is the idea that the DM uses the side bar suggestions to make more encounters to carry it over into "fourth tier", or am I missing a body count somewhere? Here's what I'm seeing in my first readthrough:
=2800
And what is each character's link to the city? Even evil aligned characters can and do love and have things that are important to them personally. In fact, they're more likely to jump in to protect things important to them quickly without thinking or caring about what their actions mean for society at large. So, make them each give you something or someone in the city they care about, and that lets you personalize the hooks in a WONDERFUL way for your players.
... Now instead of running the grave warrens, I'll probably be running the six trials of larazod from CoT. ... The Dead Warrens becomes important later. Not necessarily the challenge itself, but specifically the act of gaining the trust (or at least thanks) of the Shoanti involved. It can make life in History of Ashes easier if things start to get tough for the PCs. If you skip it, you may want to think of some other way of the PCs interacting with and gaining the trust of the Shoanti mentioned there during the first three urban modules. That still gives you the DM flexibility of pulling in Shoanti contacts later if you need them.
Players should not be reading these threads as it amounts to cheating.But if you check the OP you'll see that this thread was started by a player in order to give feedback on his play experience. ...which is perfectly fine once the campaign is done, at which point the spoiler point is moot because the player isn't a player anymore. However, even some of the thread TITLES can be spoilers based on how DMs are structuring their campaigns and how close to the chest they are playing their cards. So I still say... players reading the boards are GOING to pick up information they shouldn't regardless of how liberally the spoiler button is used.
Guys keep the spoilers down as there is a player reading this thread. Players should not be reading these threads as it amounts to cheating. It's quite impossible to have any type of conversation without revealing SOME spoilers. A player can click on the spoiler link as easily as anyone reading the board, and every post reveals SOME part of the story that may be a spoiler to someone, so technically we should all be seeing nothing but a bunch of spoiler buttons.... which would be really silly. To Players.... if you're reading a discussion thread of the game you're currently in, it's the same as sitting in the store reading through the module. You succeed in nothing but spoiling your own fun.
Yes, it was an intentional change on my part because it rolls off my tounge easier without the extra t. I actually made two changes, I just forgot to change the sword's name back when I copied it for the board. The other change I made was to make the hero's name "Mandravius", so that it pronounces with 4 syllables instead of 3. BTW... if anybody can come up with something better for the two stanzas that don't rhyme, I'll happily steal back! :) I gave up trying to fix them.
I'm getting ready to start CotCT, and I wanted to do something a little different from this AP. The others I've experienced, both as a player and a DM, all have this great indepth backstory.... that only the DM really appreciates because only the DM pours over it enough to really understand it all. Players hear it once or twice and mainly just remember the big stuff. I wanted to try something different with this game's backstory. Given that I have a couple of bards in the group, I thought about what songs might be sung in the area over the last two centuries having to do with the orc invasion, coming of Kazavon, etc. So I made up The Ballad of Kazavon and am giving it to the bards ahead of time so that when all of this DOES become pertinent, they're not hearing it for the first time. Wanted to share it in case anyone else likes the idea. Mind you, this wasn't written to be a great epic, merely to get the big plot points across: The Ballad of Kazavon In golden times,
But all that changed
Now chased away,
And Kazavon,
And army gifted unto him,
With bravery,
The orcs did crawl
The people danced
He looked at them,
Now kingdoms fell,
Until one day the heroes came,
“We cannot fail, he has to fall!”
For Kazavon, the Conqueror
Mandraivus, the Warrior,
Mandraivus, the Warrior,
I think part of what's really helped it to stay alive for my group is the "arc" groupings of the stories... 3 or 4 modules grouped around a particular theme before moving on to the next part. I ran the first session in July of 2005. We just killed Dragotha a couple of weeks ago and are gearing up for the last module. Clearly, my gaming group has changed over time, and I've had different groups around the table for the beginning, middle, and end. Yet, I've had the same group for the Dragotha "arc", and they don't feel the loss at all of not being there in the beginning. They feel this story is THEIRS, because they were in on the start of that arc and saw it through to it's conclusion. I think that structure has allowed different people to come and go, and ALL of them to enjoy their time and feel some completion.
This is also when it gets very clear that things are getting personal. If you want your players to know more about the backstory, use Ilthane to do it. Also, consider the PCs loosing some people close to them to solidify their need to continue with the main story. This the last game in the Diamond Lake area and kind of transitions where the PCs are going now. I used it to kill off some of the NPCs, to make it more personal as well as cleaner on my end. Allustan did not survive, and he was not the only one kidnapped. Each PC has someone important to them taken, and frankly the group cared more about THOSE NPCs than they did Allustan. Despite my best efforts, they never really trusted him due to the situation with his brother. He was already a corpse when the PCs found him, which Ilthane tauntingly pointed out, but they did rescue some other NPCs that were important to them. If there's mroe you want your players to know about Kyuss, then if nothing else, Ilthane could have been boasting of stuff (anything you want the PCs to know) to an abductee who passes the info on. Use this opportunity to get your group caught up on where you want them to be.
Wow. You could have SO much fun with this... Spoiler:
...in Skeletons of Scarwall. I haven't read through it completely, but the forward talks about it being a throwback to gothic horror. I see him renouncing his new direction entirely in horror if you do it right. Be careful what you ask for and all that. ...'course... that's just me. (evil grin).
I'm finishging up Age of Worms and then starting this one. What I did for Korvosa was the same thing I did for Diamond Lake: I gave the players a city background and then had THEM tell ME where they wanted thier characters to fit in. If they ask for something that's not going to work, just tell them it won't work for this and pick something else. Once they told me what area of the city they wanted to live in, I started fleshing out that area for them with where they live, work, hang out, etc. It is also THEIR responsibility to give me their points of connection to each other, as I've told them the game starts with them having lived in the city for several months at least (for those that aren't native) AND that they know each other well. I also told them their characters need to feel that the city is home, so to tell me what they need from me for it to feel that way if they want more. I want them to think about what their day is like, who they interact with, how they spend their off time, so the city can come to life for them. They are really getting excited about it, which I want them to, because that feeling is what will keep them hooked in when things start going bad. I won't even have to think of a reason for them to want to stay. They just will. :)
Short answer: It's important that your players not end with a feeling of, "so.... that's all?" If you need to make adjustments to keep that from happening, then do so. At the same time, though, you don't want them to feel cheated. If they did everything they were supposed to do to make the fight easier, then it SHOULD be easier... just not a cake walk. Some other groups have posted that the last fight wasn't as much of a challenge for their groups as they felt it should have been for various reasons, so I suggest you look up some of those and take their comments into mind when you're making up your last fight. Oneof the sugestions I saw was to pack up some of the minions with Kyuss in the last fight. That way your players get a satisfying fight while still reaping the rewards of the other stuff they did to depower him.
I allowed items that convey immunity to disease to block the ability damage and subsequent turning and it didn't break the game. As the AP progresses, they're going to be fighting tons of things that are literally dripping with these worms, and I felt that with the risk of getting splattered EVERY TIME a character does melee damage in addition to every hit by a Kyuss thingie resulting in a worm transfer, I would soon have mulitple groups of Kyuss turned, worm dripping heroes if I DIDN'T allow it. Basically, there was a desperate scramble at the low level games for the PCs to find things to make them immune, which was lovely to watch. Not all of them found items, so the remainder continually make sure they're stocked up on things that do the same thing. It's rewarding players for taking the threat seriously and making sure they spend resources one way or another to deal with it. Also, it doesn't remove the physical bite damage, so I still play up the "ick" factor of worms hitting, biting, and burrowing under the skin... continuing to move "upstream" for a few seconds before the warding kicks in and they die. I just finished the 11th module last weekend, and my players STILL shudder around the table when the worms crawl out... one even brought gummy worms for everone to munch on.
As I read through the adventure, I noticed a couple of references like, "...should the players get through the vault doors without the keys..." or some such wording, indicating that's a possibility. However, I didn't see any stats on the doors themselves and I'm assuming there should be more involved than a simple open locks. I'm looking for ideas on stating / warding the door in case they try to muscle their way through from any of you who may have come up with something on your own, or stories of things your players did to try and bypass the need for keys.
We had a heavily modified version of AD&D 2nd we were running when 2nd ed was still being published, and saw no reason to change it when 3.0 and 3.5 came out. We just figured out how to convert the 3.5 stuff to our system. We change things as we feel are needed and have incorporated things from 3.5 as well as other systems, but the main structure and feel is still the 2nd ed. rules system.
Post was too long to snip the part I wanted, but this is in response to the question of where to reference the Dark Elves / Drow thing: Evermeet by Elaine Cunningham is a history of the elves in Toril, including the descent of the Drow. The Ilithyri (sp?) were referenced as Dark Elves before they became drow, and it mentions a change in their skin to jet black with white hair when they become drow. The physical description of the Ilithyri, however, and exactly WHY they were called Dark Elves (personality vs. appearance... seemed to have aspects of both) wasn't really clear to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't an electronic or paper copy of something you already own legal? In the 3.5 corebooks, in the back where the battlemaps and sample PC sheets are, you'll notice a disclaimer on the bottom with something to the effect of "WoTC gives persmission to photocopy for personal use." (not copying verbatim). Logically, if it were legal to photocopy something you already own, that disclaimer wouldn't need to be there.
When my DM put us through the Tomb of Horrors (we played it twice... the original and the "Return to.." with a second generation tie in group), he made some changes just for us... Because of character / racial immunities like the woodling thing mentioned above, he kept the traps but changed their content so that they WOULD be dangerous for our group. His goal was to give us the feel that Gygax intended groups to have running through this thing, and he made the changes he knew would be necessary to accomplish that when running it for our group (which he DID accomplish... quite well in fact). As I never read through the module as written, I'm not sure, but I think he STILL had to pull some of the traps so that it wouldn't be a TPK... and we still left two PCs behind in playing the original (which is quite a rare occurance for us). So, while I don't know the 3rd ed revisions or how it affects 3rd ed PC chances of death or incapacitation, a DM who knows his group and wants to get the feel of the first could easily pull it off.
If WotC can't handle a three part adventure, it's hard to believe they can handle an 18 part adventure with all the additional complications of an Adventure Path. True, true. They've taken what was built up to a monthly publication and in nine months have turned out 4 issues (and that's being generous. Really 3 + a bit more). Not inspiring lots of confidence.
Agreed. At least at the top of the AoW board (don't go to STAP board, so don't know if this is a constant there as well.) Has been answered by Paizo staff several times. They can't do it. Period. Ask WotC if you want a hardbound.
In a nutshell, these are the definitions I use when thinking of alignment: Law / Chaos: There is a natural order to things that must be maintined as a preferred state VS. Order is a myth and any system that exists is an artifical creation that will break down as soon as it's no longer supported Good / Evil: Altruism for altruism's sake. Heavy emphasis on empathy for one's fellow man, elf, dwarf, lizardfolk, whatever because it's the right thing to do VS. What's in it for me? Now, the "What's in it for me?" can be handled lots of ways. Evil doesn't mean that you don't care about anyone but yourself (though obviously there can be MANY PCs and NPCs like that), it just means that personal investment is more important to you than serving some "greater good". So running an evil campaign just means that you have to make things a little more personal to give the characters a reason to bite the hook. When I"m trying to explain alignment to new players, I actually use my husband as an example of a Lawful-Evil alignment (though he'd really be somewhere between Lawful-evil and Neutral-evil). He follows the rules because he doesn't like the negative consequences that would be applied to him if he didn't (jail). He doesn't have an altruistic bone in his body, nor does he admire those who do as being in some noble state. And he really doesn't care about natural disasters that don't affect people he cares about. Really. He doesn't. However, he is EXTREMELEY loyal and protective of the people in his life he cares about, is someone who will absolutely be there when you need him (provided that has been reciprocated), and will go out of his way to do whatever the people who are important to him need him to do. The people who are his friends would never think of him as evil (unless they know him REAL well). Strangers who irritate him would DEFINITELY call him evil. It's a matter of perspective and what's important to an evil aligned person, and I think you can actually get much deeper and meaningful storylines out of games where you're motivating evil PCs because you have to go deeper than just "This village we happened to crash in for the night is having a Goblin problem in the hills West of here. We planned on continuing south this morning, so it really doesn't have anything to do with us, but whatsay we go way the hell out of our way to deal with it anyway just 'cause?" Now, if your group WANTS to run a maurauding horde that crosses the plains like a pack of humanoid locust, that's what they should ask for, but "Evil" doesn't necessarily mean that's what the game would look like.
I would say who you hit depends on who the worm is on. If you're trying to get it off yourself, I would say it's just a miss. Picture looking down at your arm and seeing a giant tarantula (unless you're type that likes them as pets of course... can substitute whatever). You freak out, you flail, you jump, and you try in a panicked way to brush it aside. Do you do damage to yourself if you miss it in your akward flailing? Likely not. But if it's on your friend, and you yell "Hold still!" and then pick up a telephone book to smack the wasp on their back, you may leave a bruise or a red mark from a smack. If the attack roll is particualrly high, you may roll 1d4 for damage to the friend (as the hit was particularly exuberant.) And if you REALLY wanted, I guess you could make the worm harder to hit if it's crawling on your friend with the assumption that your friend is jumping about screaming "Get it OFF me!". Though if your friend is standing calmly, then no, I wouldn't raise the AC. Again, a lot of the answers depend on the situation you're setting up and the way your players tell you their characters are responding (or the way the dice decide through reaction rolls... panicked or calm).
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