Venture-Captain Shalelu's page

I just purchased the 52-52 deal and am really excited about the contents coming up throughout the year. I have only received the MegaBundle thus far, so I'm not sure how long I will wait to access the new January material. Even though a lot of the material in the megabundle is not relevant for my gaming, it is good quality. If the 52 products are similar in quality, this will be a GREAT investment!

I am looking for a pair of passes and banquet tickets, but banquet tickets are unavailable (I guess that means they sold out?). If you have two of each, I will happily buy them. Please check your email - thanks!

The group that I am DM'ing for defeated the Scarecrow, but figured they weren't strong enough to face Xanesha (based on what they learned from Ironbriar) - and they are only 6th level with a couple of 4th level PC's. They decided, once the Scarecrow was defeated, to forego the stairs (without even realizing the faceless stalkers were up there) and they blasted the bells and their supports with fireball spells. Then they took off as two of the four bells snapped in the fire and fell down, destroying much more of the stairway and nearly crumbling the entire tower.

Realizing that her lair had been "discovered" - Xanesha had no real choice but to grab her most precious possessions and take off in flight. Makes sense - since she can obviously no longer run her operation from the Shadow Clock.

My problem is, what do I do now to ensure the PC's stay on the adventure path? They need to gain the concrete evidence from Xanesha's list that shows that the Lord-Mayor is on her list. Also, has anyone else experienced a similar dilemna, and how did you resolve it?

Finally, anyone have some good suggestions for where Xanesha would choose to hold up until she can exact her revenge on the heroes for busting up her plans?

Oh, and we meet in the morning so any fast responses will be appreciated!

I'm now realizing that there are literally hundreds of different ways that people have defeated her, and they're all awesome! The group I DM for finally defeated her with a well-timed stunning fist attack from the monk. Just as she had descended upon our rogue to inflict moderate wounds on his head, the monk had readied his action and when she appeared he stunned her knocking her to the ground. The dwarven fighter then grappled her (easily) and the rest of the party pummeled her until she was dead.

The other thing to remember is that her +1 Tiny Returning Dagger returns to the square she left it from. If she moves after throwing it, it won't come back to her. So, she throws the dagger, is no longer invisible, and now has to wait around until her next turn to get it back. All the while she's no longer invisible and easily targeted.

If they run away then they should check to see if anyone in town has a scroll of Glitterdust for sale. It's only a DC4 caster level check to cast from the scoll since I assume they are not 3rd level yet.

When I had her throw her +1 returning dagger, I was having it immediately return during that same action. Does the dagger not return until the next round? I was not aware of that.

My PC saved Aiko (or whatever her name) in Glassworks ("La Verrerie" :D). And my bard PC really want to flirt with her.

How do I manage that ?
I introduced her as a rather wild beauty who loves song, story telling and dance but can sometimes be rather sad.
It's either they start to flirt and get married and have plenty of children .... (and the bard gets rich).
Or she gets very much back in the old trails (excuse my french ;o) ) and behave as noble should be and find a noble man to marry.

I think the best way to handle it is to allow the PC to flirt a little, and if his charisma is high enough and he's not offensive, she might possibly seem interested - but I wouldn't let it get past that. I most definitely would not let it get to the point that marriage is an option or her going back to her adventuring career - I haven't read the future installments yet, but I believe she continues to play a major role as an NPC down the road. As long as your player thinks he has a chance, but doesn't "seal the deal", it should keep things interesting.

Also in PF1, there is a hint that Cydrak the bard at the theather(yeah i'm not good at names ) does not really like Aiko due to some old story in MAgnimar. Could you give me a hint on that. My PC Bard is of course a good friend of Cyrdak and would be interested to know his story.

I don't know if this story is developed in later installments, but I think at this point the players are not supposed to find out. If they are extra pushy and you want to go that route, here are a couple of options I have thought of:

1. Ameiko starred in his plays for a bit, but was replaced by another actress by Cyrday, who gave in to demands from the local Sczarni.

2. Ameiko discovered that Cyrdak had been having "improper" relations with her half-brother, Tsuto. Even though Tsuto is infatuated with Nualia currently, he could have been a vulnerable target for Cyrdak at some point.

3. During Ameiko's adventuring days, Cyrdak hired her and her companions to investigate something and return an item to him. She did so, but was not paid. She could not go to the lord-mayor because the act was questionable, and she did not want to attract attention of the Sczarni. This was one reason she chose to quit adventuring.

Finally, that's really a shame that the smugglers tunnel has no map because the writings do not REALLY help. I don't imagine a tunnel running NE with the southernpart of the tunnel running West .... It is simply not possible IMO.

I agree - it's confusing figuring out how the tunnel leaves the glassworks and ends up in the Catacombs of Wrath. I simplified it for my characters, and didn't really focus on mapping it for them. The just know that they walked in a long tunnel, where one part opened up into a sea cave, and the other side had a collapsed passage and the path that eventually leads to B1 - the Sinspawn.

I realised I have a final question... Sinspawn and the Quasit have respectively "Fast healing I & II". what does that mean ? They heal HP every round ?

I had the exact same question, and had a hard time finding a clear answer. I am playing it as though those two creatures regenerate HP at the rate of their healing. For example, the sinspawn heals 1hp per round, and the quasit (Erylium) heals 2hp per round. Maybe someone who knows more than me can clarify that.

Good luck with your campaign! My players and I are loving it!

I had actually never heard of a hagfish until reading through the adventure, so I made up my own description of the fish. I said that it looked like a deep sea angler with a face that, if drunk, looked like an old hag. The water in the tank is green in most areas, with a pale green slime swirling around - Norah is constantly excreting green fluids as a defense mechanism. Seems disgusting enough.

Unfortunately, my group does not have many points in charisma, with only one hero even above a 9 (he has a 12). The player controlling him is usually not very interesting in those types of situations or role-playing, so I chose to skip the whole affair altogether. I think it only works for some groups.

For the same reason, it was a bit hard figuring out how to handle Aldern Foxglove. Only two PC's were directly responsible for "saving" him, the others were occupied down the street with Pyros. Of the two that saved Foxglove, one was the 12 charisma male sorcerer, the other was a 9 charisma dwarf fighter. I decided to focus on the dwarf mostly because that particular player really soaks in the role-playing opportunities more and will make this much more interesting. Foxglove seems enthralled with his fighting prowess and knowledge of engineering.

They turned down the boar hunt, sadly, since there were more "pressing" matters to deal with following the attack. I couldn't argue.

Okay, session #3 complete: Basically, after encountering the initial sinspawn in the first cave, the heroes went straight to Erylium's throne room before hitting anything else (I was worried this might happen). They were very cautious, but were not prepared for this particular fight - the wrong spells were memorized, etc. After realizing how difficult Erylium was to hit, and dealing with her summoned monstrous spiders, they finally succumbed to her "cause fear" spell in which all but one party member fled. They managed to rescue the lone incapacitated party member and ran back to the glassworks to once again board up the entrance. They were clearly overwhelmed, but they have gotten together and come up with a strategy for going back and taking her next time. I don't know what that strategy is, but I hope it works!

I felt like I played Erylium fairly. After the initial summoning round with the runewell, I basically alternated each round between spell casting and turning invisible, or dagger throwing and turning invisible. A couple of rounds she remained visible because she chose to move instead. The party never hit her once, and her +12 attack with dagger startled them, though she still missed a lot with it.

Our group will meet again on Monday, so I will try to post the results of "Erylium - the Return" that evening. Thanks again for your insights.

Thanks for all the feedback and ideas - I really appreciate it. We will be meeting in the morning, so I have precious little time left - but I need help with one more thing.

If Erylium can go invisible at will, does that mean she can begin her round invisible, then become visible when she attacks, and then end her round by becoming invisible again (like a free action?) - does she have to wait until the next round to go invisible?

My group will be meeting for session #3 in a little over a day, and they will most likely be entering the Catacombs of Wrath. I'm pretty comfortable with most of the material they will encounter, but I'm concerned about how the showdown with Erylium will go.

I have read in several blogs that the battle tends to go one of two ways:
A. The quasit consistently becomes invisible at will and pelts party members with her dagger until they get frustrated and leave, OR
B. The quasit takes enough damage that she retreats, only to live for another day.

I know from past experience that dealing with creatures that have the abilities that Erylium has can lead to very tedious, frustrating combat episodes, and I desperately want to avoid that while staying true to the rules.

Could some of you who have DM'ed for RotRL please let me know exactly how you handled the battle and your results? Also, please share any tips that you wish you'd known when you ran it?

Thank you!

We have concluded two session so far with my gaming group, and a similar situation happened. The morning after the Swallowtail Festival goblin attack, the PC's chose to visit with the sheriff and try to investigate. They went straight to the cemetery where Old Father Tobyn's body had been exhumed, and like another DM posted, the party ranger starting making some sick tracking rolls. We actually have TWO rangers in the party, both Shoanti, so tracking was relatively easy.

The party went into the Thistletop tunnels via the Nettlewood (I would have like to have been more prepared for this, but didn't want to fudge an encounter to discourage them from doing what they thought was the right thing). Ultimately, one of the rangers lowered himself down into the sea cave where the Bunyip lives, and the creature proceeded to surprise him then follow up with a critical hit for massive damage. The party pulled his limp body back up and high-tailed it back to Sandpoint.

I then did the old "Sheriff's goin' outta town and asks you to make your presence known in town while he's gone" routine. In my campaign, Shalelu is acting as an agent for the Pathfinder Society, of which each character is seeking initiation, so she encouraged them to stay a few days as well. This allowed the Glassworks events to transpire, and the party got back on track.

Good times.

How do you pronouce Sihedron I have been wondering since I heard the guy who was giving a voice to Karazoug

I'm no professional linguist, but I've been pronouncing it "Sih HEE drun".

And what voice of Karzoug are you referring to?

While I'm EXTREMELY disappointed that Dragon and Dungeon will no longer be published, I have to say that "Pathfinder" sounds like a great series. I like campaign arcs, and the synopsis of the Runelords sounds like good, solid, D&D.

This is the option I chose, since I had subscription credit. I have enough for the entire six-issue arc, and plan on wrapping up my current campaign in time to prepare the players for the Pathfinder campaign next fall.

I just hope the quality of writing, art, and even paper material is as good as Paizo is indicating.

Any chance that there may be an item pack in the future, or possibly booster packs, that would contain non-magical adventuring gear? Such cards could include backpacks, lanterns, thieves' tools, spell component pouches, non-magical clothing, fine jewelry and/or gems, and other miscellaneous knick knacks.

Maybe the demand is not out there, but I would be thrilled to have all the inventories of my characters in decks of cards! I'd buy a ton! Honest! :)

After reading many threads, and all of this one, I realize that this is probably the best scenario for everyone. I own the Item Pack I, and love it, and have already used it the last two gaming sessions!

While the nice folks at Paizo may not want to say it, we all know that the bottom line is that they are a business and they want to make a profit off of this venture. The success of this marketing formula is proven, and Paizo knows that booster packs of random cards will sell more than booster packs of predesigned sets.

I'm actually one of the folks that would prefer to purchase sets of potions, sets of armor, sets of scrolls, etc. so that I know what I'm getting without getting duplicate artwork. However, I can deal with having several potion cards that carry the same artwork.

I think the prices are fair (but don't go any higher!) and the quality is very good. I will buy plenty of these cards, and even if I don't use them all the time, it's an idea I want to support, and is long overdue in the gaming community. My family and I actually toyed with the idea of trying to start a series of cards like this (including more mundane objects like non-magical gear) many years ago.

Maybe future Item Decks will include everyday adventuring objects so that entire inventories can be in cards, not just magical! We'll see...

BTW thank you Paizo for responding to these queries on the boards, even from those who are not happy about aspects of the product.

We had them made specifically so you could write on them in pencil, but I have get to get our office copies. Once I do, I will immediately start writing on them with all manner of implements to see what works best.

But the box on the back of the cards is definitely "knocked out" on the gloss run, so it's not waxy and smooth like the rest of the card.

--Erik

I have the Item Pack I, and have preordered three booster packs. I have noticed the patch of non-waxy surface designed to be written on on the back of the card, but was wondering if you (Erik) or anyone else has experimented with different pens so that I don't have to mess up my own cards to find out what works best.

Thanks! I wish GameMastery would produce these a lot faster!