Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: The Haunting of Harrowstone (Carrion Crown 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: The Haunting of Harrowstone (Carrion Crown 1 of 6) (PFRPG)
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Chapter 1: "Haunting of Harrowstone"
by Michael Kortes

When Harrowstone Prison burned to the ground, prisoners, guards, and a host of vicious madmen met a terrifying end. In the years since, the nearby town of Ravengro has shunned the fire-scarred ruins, telling tales of unquiet spirits that wander abandoned cellblocks. But when a mysterious evil disturbs Harrowstone’s tenuous spiritual balance, a ghostly prison riot commences that threatens to consume the nearby village in madness and flames. Can the adventurers discover the secrets of Harrowstone and quell a rebellion of the dead? Or will they be the spirit-prison’s next inmates?

    This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Carrion Crown Adventure Path and includes:
  • “The Haunting of Harrowstone,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by Michael Kortes
  • A tour of Ravengro, village of mystery and suspicion, by Michael Kortes
  • Expanded rules for creating and running horrific haunts, by Brandon Hodge
  • An ancient revenge is reborn in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider
  • Six new monsters, by Adam Daigle and Patrick Renie

Each monthly full-color softcover 96-page Pathfinder Adventure Path volume contains an in-depth adventure scenario, stats for several new monsters, and support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set.

ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-308-8

The Haunting of Harrowstone is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (561 KB zip/PDF).

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Bad encounters

1/5

A creature with 10 hardness and a creature with permanent invisibility, both with negligible accuracy and damage to be fought at second level are bad encounter design.


Spooky Goodness

5/5

I loved running this part of the adventure, the setting of Harrowstone is perfect with a eerie Luigi's Mansion vibe throughout Book 1.


Haunting of Harrowstone: How to do it.

5/5

It is a great adventure. So do the extra work to do it right.

The Trust system doesn't work well. So just fix it. Don't subtract a point every day. Find other reasons to give away trust points. Like defeating a random encounter, be seen coming back from the prison with injuries, making acts of good faith in town, etc.

The time limit on the blood written names I too much time. Because its soo much time it does not provide the urgency it was meant to and I fear the point is often lost. Have a letter be written every night. This gives 9 days. Skip a night if they stop Gibs or whoever replaces him.

Haunts: Make sure you really understand how these work. To learn how to destroy the haunts have the players make two checks. One for Knowledge religion and one for Knowledge Local at DC 15s. Maybe higher for more powerful haunts. Remember you can make untrained knowledge checks if you have access to a library (like the professors). Give a bonus to these checks if the characters have communicated with the haunt via linguistics.

Somebody on this thread made their own cards for the results of these knowledge checks. They are great, use them.
Also a company called Legendary Games made a bunch of 3rd party extra material for this. They call it Gothic Adventure Path Plug ins but it is designed specifically for this Adventure Path. Great stuff there.


Good atmosphere but no trust points

4/5

The premise is simple. The PCs are old friends of professor Lorrimor, a researcher of dark magic. When they get word of the professor's death, they can't but attend to the good professor's funeral in Ravengro, a small little town in a remote location. His daughter Kendra is the only living relative and she hosts the party, with whom the characters will become well acquainted during these grieving days.

In the professor's will, he asks our heroes to deliver his most valuable books to the university of Lepidstadt but wait! this can wait for a month. During the month that the characters are stuck in Ravengro, they have the chance to read the old man's research journal and start investigating why and how their old friend died. It is during that investigation that they learn the grim history of the town's old jailhouse and the spirits that haunt it.

I find the logic of the story a bit flimsy. A friend of mine dies and he wants me to stay in town for a whole month? Who seriously expects a complete stranger (as good a friend as he can be) to drop his or her whole life and babysit his daughter for a month before embarking in a perilous journey just for old times' sake? If your players are moderately normal, they'll try to sneak out of the small town to start the mission straight away.

What I find most baffling is that the author felt the need to create a point reward system to encourage talking to the locals and establishing ties with the town. This comes off as weird because 1) The adventure does not take place interacting with locals (except perhaps the adventure hook, the daughter of the dead professor) and there's not a lot of downtime to allow this and 2) There aren't enough encounters to gather those 'trust' points.

Faced with a point system that forces the players to fail, what's the worst thing that could happen anyway? The punishments range from surcharges in shop prices to negative diplomacy bonuses to being chased by an angry mob (in the very worst case). Not too terrible as long as the score is positive. You have to wonder why they bothered creating such a system. I didn't like it much.

Most of the module is a great dungeon with a creepy horror mood looking for some ghosts and unraveling the backstory of the whole place. Really good, except for the glitches outlined above,

My rating: 4 stars. It’s a good adventure with a lot of character and atmosphere. Some minor things detract from it: a faulty trust point mechanic that needs to be fixed and pointless events that distract from the mission without adding anything in return.

Read my whole review here


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Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Cool cover, i know it is not the finished cover.

Liberty's Edge

Dibs on playing the Paladin!!

Scarab Sages Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games

All six adventures sound cool, but I think I actually like the sound of the first one the best.

Also, the placeholder art is very cool; where's it from?

Liberty's Edge

Jason Nelson wrote:

All six adventures sound cool, but I think I actually like the sound of the first one the best.

Also, the placeholder art is very cool; where's it from?

The green lantern bearer is a ghost from classic horrors revisited I think. Not sure about the background - maybe soemthing from Council of Thieves?


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

This AP sounds very much in the vein of my favorite D&D setting, Ravenloft--even the Rule of Fear book is coming around the same time...

I love horror, but my players often don't.

This is going to be very sweet.

Paizo Employee Director of Game Development

The Mighty Mike Kortes!?

Hell yes!

Dark Archive

The background art is out of the final chapter of Curse of the Crimson Throne.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Paizo have somehow stolen my brain!

But I have another player who wants to run this so I get to play an AP w00t!

Dark Archive

One thing I really hope for is a good article on Tar-Baphon.


Wow, I can´t wait to see this AP´s starting.


Yeah... I definitely see how the APs are working for me. Based on everything I've seen so far, the 'second AP set' are far superior than the 'first AP set', i.e.:

CotCT, LoF, Kingmaker, Carrion Crown

>

RotRL, SD, CoT, Serpent's Skull

Dark Archive

So who are the iconics for this one going to be then?

Dark Archive

Ooh, I'm already drooling... (sorry, Wes, some of it just dripped into your favorite velvet corset! ;))

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kevin Mack wrote:
So who are the iconics for this one going to be then?

We actually just finalized the iconics for this one yesterday. They'll be:

Merisiel (rogue)
Seoni (sorcerer)
Seelah (paladin)
Feiya (witch)

Liberty's Edge

James Jacobs wrote:
Kevin Mack wrote:
So who are the iconics for this one going to be then?

We actually just finalized the iconics for this one yesterday. They'll be:

Merisiel (rogue)
Seoni (sorcerer)
Seelah (paladin)
Feiya (witch)

Interesting .. all girls ...

Not sure why I find that interesting, but I do ...

This sounds very cool!

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
Kevin Mack wrote:
So who are the iconics for this one going to be then?

We actually just finalized the iconics for this one yesterday. They'll be:

Merisiel (rogue)
Seoni (sorcerer)
Seelah (paladin)
Feiya (witch)

I was under the impression that you were avoiding reusing Iconic's over two consecutive Ap and isn't Merisiel one of the iconics being used in serpents skull?

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Kevin Mack wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Kevin Mack wrote:
So who are the iconics for this one going to be then?

We actually just finalized the iconics for this one yesterday. They'll be:

Merisiel (rogue)
Seoni (sorcerer)
Seelah (paladin)
Feiya (witch)

I was under the impression that you were avoiding reusing Iconic's over two consecutive Ap and isn't Merisiel one of the iconics being used in serpents skull?

I'm more interested in Feiya actually being in an AP - she's an APG Iconic, after all, and I thought we were never really going to see them used all that much. Also, I guess she's going to be the main healer of the group. Seelah will be too busy tanking, and keeping Merisiel from stealing and/or stabbing things.

Edit: And does this mean that Jade Regent, or whatever AP Cycle 9 is will have an all-male cast? Maybe Alain, Harsk, Lem, and Seltiyel?

Sovereign Court

Kvantum wrote:


Edit: And does this mean that Jade Regent, or whatever AP Cycle 9 is will have an all-male cast? Maybe Alain, Harsk, Lem, and Seltiyel?

If they want to keep the slashficcers happy, it'd be Alain, Harsk, Seltiyel, and Valeros. The AP will be a non-step man-on-man orgy.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kevin Mack wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Kevin Mack wrote:
So who are the iconics for this one going to be then?

We actually just finalized the iconics for this one yesterday. They'll be:

Merisiel (rogue)
Seoni (sorcerer)
Seelah (paladin)
Feiya (witch)

I was under the impression that you were avoiding reusing Iconic's over two consecutive Ap and isn't Merisiel one of the iconics being used in serpents skull?

We were... up until yesterday. We were also not intending to use APG iconics either.

We're abandoning those restrictions as of yesterday.

All bets are off, now!

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2009, RPG Superstar Judgernaut

James Jacobs wrote:
We were... up until yesterday. We were also not intending to use APG iconics either. We're abandoning those restrictions as of yesterday. All bets are off, now!

Woot!

Bring on the witchy goodness!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kvantum wrote:
Edit: And does this mean that Jade Regent, or whatever AP Cycle 9 is will have an all-male cast? Maybe Alain, Harsk, Lem, and Seltiyel?

Nope. I've seen ENOUGH all-male adventuring parties over the past several years.

Whatever the next AP is will probably be back to a gender-balanced mix, but we don't have to make that decision for about six months.

Sczarni

James Jacobs wrote:
Kevin Mack wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Kevin Mack wrote:
So who are the iconics for this one going to be then?

We actually just finalized the iconics for this one yesterday. They'll be:

Merisiel (rogue)
Seoni (sorcerer)
Seelah (paladin)
Feiya (witch)

I was under the impression that you were avoiding reusing Iconic's over two consecutive Ap and isn't Merisiel one of the iconics being used in serpents skull?

We were... up until yesterday. We were also not intending to use APG iconics either.

We're abandoning those restrictions as of yesterday.

All bets are off, now!

Grah! Can't wait for Imrijka to get some spotlight time.

does Half-orc victory dance


James Jacobs wrote:


We were... up until yesterday. We were also not intending to use APG iconics either.

We're abandoning those restrictions as of yesterday.

All bets are off, now!

I hate to be a downer, but back when APG was first announced, I expressed concern about Paizo changing its focus to additional "crunchy" products. I thought Paizo risked splitting its focus in a way that might impact adventure and setting products. At the time, I was roundly poo-pooed on these boards.

Now:

* The Guide to the Inner Sea Region has been delayed in favor of two crunchy books; and (worse, imo)
* APG content is showing up in Pathfinder. Part of the beauty of a fresh, new system like Pathfinder is the lack of system bloat. Now, with APG iconics showing up in Pathfinder, can APG NPCs be far off? And if APG ownership is to be assumed for the use of Pathfinder adventure paths and modules, then it is core in everything but name.

I hope I'm wrong, but the inclusion of APG content (no matter how well liked) in adventure products does not bode well for avoiding system bloat.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
bugleyman wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


We were... up until yesterday. We were also not intending to use APG iconics either.

We're abandoning those restrictions as of yesterday.

All bets are off, now!

I hate to be a downer, but back when APG was first announced, I expressed concern about Paizo changing its focus to additional "crunchy" products. I thought Paizo risked splitting its focus in a way that might impact adventure and setting products. At the time, I was roundly poo-pooed on these boards.

Now:

* The Guide to the Inner Sea Region has been delayed in favor of two crunchy books; and (worse, imo)
* APG content is showing up in Pathfinder. Part of the beauty of a fresh, new system like Pathfinder is the lack of system bloat. Now, with APG iconics showing up in Pathfinder, can APG NPCs be far off? And if APG ownership is to be assumed for the use of Pathfinder adventure paths and modules, then it is core in everything but name.

I hope I'm wrong, but the inclusion of APG content (no matter how well liked) in adventure products does not bode well for avoiding system bloat.

Then you're not going to like Pathfinder #37. There's a Witch NPC, although she is detailed the way monsters from Tome of Horrors Revisted are, ie, a full stat block requiring no reference to the APG at all.

Dark Archive

Kind of agree with Bugleyman It's one thing to include an Npc witch but quite another to include one as a pregen. Also (and this may sound like a silly concern) having a choose whatever we feel like system could lead to certain Iconics being sidelined (In all honesty I feel this has already happened to an extent).

Paizo Employee Creative Director

bugleyman wrote:

I hate to be a downer, but back when APG was first announced, I expressed concern about Paizo changing its focus to additional "crunchy" products. I thought Paizo risked splitting its focus in a way that might impact adventure and setting products. At the time, I was roundly poo-pooed on these boards.

Now:

* The Guide to the Inner Sea Region has been delayed in favor of two crunchy books; and (worse, imo)
* APG content is showing up in Pathfinder. Part of the beauty of a fresh, new system like Pathfinder is the lack of system bloat. Now, with APG iconics showing up in Pathfinder, can APG NPCs be far off? And if APG ownership is to be assumed for the use of Pathfinder adventure paths and modules, then it is core in everything but name.

I hope I'm wrong, but the inclusion of APG content (no matter how well liked) in adventure products does not bode well for avoiding system bloat.

Part of putting the witch into the adventure as an iconic is an experiment... but we've already started putting APG content into our adventure paths; there's APG content among the NPCs of Serpent's Skull. I have faith in myself and my team that we'll be able to do this without "sacrificing" the flavor of the adventures, but until folks see what we're doing, none of us will know if we've succeeded.

One big thing to keep in mind is that ALL of our rulebooks are 100% open content. So even if we're slow getting those rules up online at paizo.com for free, there'll be fan sites out there that have the content up VERY quickly. So as long as one has access to the internet, the rules for all of our rulebooks are never more than a few clicks away.

Personally, I'm VERY concerned by system bloat. Here at Paizo, I'm relatively often in the "Let's do fewer books!" camp, both because of a fear of system bloat and because the pace at which we've been doing books so far is kind of grueling and exhausting. But there's also the "real world" side of things, which is that if we slow down our book lines, we make less money and we frustrate a lot of subscribers. Finding a happy medium point between these two extremes is something we're constantly striving for as a result.

In any event, I look forward to feedback about the APG content we're putting in Serpent's Skull (and eventually, the Bestiary 2 content we'll be using). And the GameMastery Guide content, for that matter. If the feedback is universally negative... we'll ramp back. But "doom and gloom" predictions about fears and worries before the actual product has had time to sink in... or months BEFORE a product comes out so that anyone even has a chance to see how it all works out... is perhaps not as constructive.

So, in short, I hear you regarding worries of "system bloat," and if we get to a point where things seem too bloated, I hope to hear from everyone. Likewise, though, I hope to hear from folks if the LIKE having all this additional material. If 97 people love APG and Bestiary 2 content in their AP, but only the 3 people who hate it tell us... it'll look like EVERYONE hates it to us!

Dark Archive

I like that the APG classes are appearing in the various adventures and aren't just being left on the wayside to be forgotten. It's good to see the new classes being supported with more appearances and material. I'm reasonably sure that Paizo has said that they'll be printing full statblocks for NPCs (and presumably the PC) that use APG content, meaning that you won't have to have the APG to use them in the adventure.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Kevin Mack wrote:
Kind of agree with Bugleyman It's one thing to include an Npc witch but quite another to include one as a pregen. Also (and this may sound like a silly concern) having a choose whatever we feel like system could lead to certain Iconics being sidelined.

Part of what I get paid for is to "know" what folks want to see and what they want us to do. If there's a fear that an iconic gets sidelined, it's my job to know that fear's out there and to take steps to fix it.

As for the difference between NPCs and pregens... that brings up a good question. I'd like to know if ANYone uses the pregenerated NPCs as characters for the APs. The primary reason we run their stats at all is because that was a HUGE and CONSTANT request during the Dungeon magazine days—folks always wanted to know what the stats were for the iconics we used for the magazine. They were annoyed and startled to find out that there WERE no stats for them, and that in most cases the Dungeon iconics didn't even have names. They were solely used to give the magazine a visual cohesiveness and to act as shortcuts for us asking our dozens of different artists to paint class-specific characters without having to re-explain what a wizard can and can't wear or do.

If folks primarily just want to see the iconics' stats to know what they are, then that's an ENTIRELY different use than if folks are using them as actual PCs. Or as NPCs, for that matter.

So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?


Kvantum wrote:
Then you're not going to like Pathfinder #37. There's a Witch NPC, although she is detailed the way monsters from Tome of Horrors Revisted are, ie, a full stat block requiring no reference to the APG at all.

Actually, I'm fine with that. As long as all the needed information beyond the core is included, then no problem. What I do think is a mistake, however, is content that requires the APG to fully use. As I have a hard time imagining that an (extremely brief) pre-gen write up will include all the needed info to actually play the character, especially at higher levels, I'm concerned. The last thing Pathfinder (or the entire hobby, for that matter) needs is higher barriers to entry.

Edit: It looks like James has addressed my concerns. I don't think I'm exactly full of "doom and gloom," so much as I am full of the desire to never see the return of the bad old days of having to cart around 12 hardback books. Since what little play time I have now is devoted to Pathfinder Society, perhaps I shouldn't worry unless Joshua starts adding to the Core Assumption.

In any case, thanks for listening.

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:


So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

Well I don't mind the stat blocks being there but since you asked I don't think I have ever used them


bugleyman wrote:
I hope I'm wrong, but the inclusion of APG content (no matter how well liked) in adventure products does not bode well for avoiding system bloat.

Personally, I think inclusion of the occasional non-core, whether APG, Gamemastery Guide, Bestiary 2 or new material from the AP itself, is a good thing. I don't want to see 100% core AP's. For the record, I am concerned about system bloat, but so far I think Paizo is doing a very good job of not releasing new crunch at a measured pace rather than "from the firehose" approach that was the hallmark of WOTC with 3.5.

Dark Archive

James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

I've grabbed them once or twice to use as random NPCs of their class when I needed a statblock off-the-fly, applying my own tweaks to account for my group's power level difference from the expected norm.

I seem to remember hearing a story where one person has a group of noble adventurers hire them as a group of mercenaries to handle a mission. That struck me as an amusing and creative solution to a problem.

Most of my group loves making characters, though, and the characters in the group tend, for the most part, to be much more powergamed than the iconics, so no one in my group has ever used them as pregens.

Knowing the stats of the iconics is kind of interesting, though I don't need those quite as much as those of various important figures who are more fixed in the setting (as opposed to the iconics, who have backgrounds but can be situated anywhere).

Overall, they aren't something I use a ton, and other material would probably be more useful to me, but I think their presence might be helpful to new groups or pick-up games that have a limited time frame, so I'm not advocating for their removal.


James Jacobs wrote:
bugleyman wrote:

I hate to be a downer, but back when APG was first announced, I expressed concern about Paizo changing its focus to additional "crunchy" products. I thought Paizo risked splitting its focus in a way that might impact adventure and setting products. At the time, I was roundly poo-pooed on these boards.

Now:

* The Guide to the Inner Sea Region has been delayed in favor of two crunchy books; and (worse, imo)
* APG content is showing up in Pathfinder. Part of the beauty of a fresh, new system like Pathfinder is the lack of system bloat. Now, with APG iconics showing up in Pathfinder, can APG NPCs be far off? And if APG ownership is to be assumed for the use of Pathfinder adventure paths and modules, then it is core in everything but name.

I hope I'm wrong, but the inclusion of APG content (no matter how well liked) in adventure products does not bode well for avoiding system bloat.

Part of putting the witch into the adventure as an iconic is an experiment... but we've already started putting APG content into our adventure paths; there's APG content among the NPCs of Serpent's Skull. I have faith in myself and my team that we'll be able to do this without "sacrificing" the flavor of the adventures, but until folks see what we're doing, none of us will know if we've succeeded.

One big thing to keep in mind is that ALL of our rulebooks are 100% open content. So even if we're slow getting those rules up online at paizo.com for free, there'll be fan sites out there that have the content up VERY quickly. So as long as one has access to the internet, the rules for all of our rulebooks are never more than a few clicks away.

Personally, I'm VERY concerned by system bloat. Here at Paizo, I'm relatively often in the "Let's do fewer books!" camp, both because of a fear of system bloat and because the pace at which we've been doing books so far is kind of grueling and exhausting. But there's also the "real world" side of things, which is that if we slow down our book...

I would caution against listening solely to customer feedback, simply because some people may not stop to consider the implications of what they're advocating, or even know for sure what they want. I'm reminded of a case I studied as an undergraduate, in which something like 99+% of people surveyed said they'd never have a need for a personal computer. Of course, the same could be said of me. ;)

In any case, thanks again for your response.


James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

Nothing more than ignoring (and sighing at the space they're taking up).

Quote:
The primary reason we run their stats at all is because that was a HUGE and CONSTANT request during the Dungeon magazine days—folks always wanted to know what the stats were for the iconics we used for the magazine.

Unbelievable (and inexplicable). And now we're stuck with them in every single AP book.


James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

They're kinda handy to use as NPCs, and interesting to read, but I can't say I've ever used them as pregens (over the course of two adventure paths, and probably two or three Paizo mods).


James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

In my group, absolutely nothing. I'd much rather see a page of just about anything instead of the Iconic Pre Gens. Dont' get me wrong, I generally like the Iconics, I just don't need to see their stats in my AP. Web enhancement or Paizo blog would be a much better place IMHO.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

I end up using the Iconics every now and again as fill-in PCs, or else as potential rivals to the PCs, but they aren't a vital piece of material. Honestly, a 64 or 128-page "Guide to the Iconics" with stat blocks at every few levels and backstories for them all would make the 2 pages per AP issue expendable.

Dark Archive

Kevin Mack wrote:
(In all honesty I feel this has already happened to an extent).

I should expand on this If you look at all the books with Iconics in them I seem to see certain ones be more prevalent than others especially in regards to the first four Iconics who being the first four have had a lot page time than the others. I guess what im getting at is that it would be nice to see more of the other ones.

The Exchange

They are handy as NPCs, very handy if you have someone walk up and want to jump in for a session. (Assuming you play in a public place such as your FLGS, like we do.)

Could also be nice if someone brings a friend to watch a more private game, you can just hand 'em a pregen and say, "Why don't you join us"?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Arnwyn wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

Nothing more than ignoring (and sighing at the space they're taking up).

Quote:
The primary reason we run their stats at all is because that was a HUGE and CONSTANT request during the Dungeon magazine days—folks always wanted to know what the stats were for the iconics we used for the magazine.
Unbelievable (and inexplicable). And now we're stuck with them in every single AP book.

It's explicable when you stop, think about it, and realize we're building the game not for you, but for all of us. Paizo and customer alike.

If it's that big of a deal, fine. Sorry we're taking the AP in a direction you don't approve of.


Lord Gadigan wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

...

I seem to remember hearing a story where one person has a group of noble adventurers hire them as a group of mercenaries to handle a mission. That struck me as an amusing and creative solution to a problem.

That was tbug's Curse of the Crimson Throne. :)

I've also used the stats on occasion to serve as a random NPC in the crowd, but I'm not sure that's too necessary anymore now that the NPC Guide is out.

Sovereign Court

James Jacobs wrote:


So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

I use them when I need my eyes to glaze over and me to stop reading the book, mostly. I'd rather see those two pages go to an additional monster, or if they MUST be iconic related, a two-page fiction vignette relating to the AP - the journal of Queen Merisiel would've been welcomed in the back of Kingmaker, for instance.

Dark Archive

Actually short bits of fiction with them in them sounds pretty good


James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

Everything from temporary replacement PCs to playtesting of upcoming sessions in my homebrew. Being able to grab middle-of-the-road stat blocks is amazingly handy, especially when the players attack an NPC I hadn't thought to stat up.

To weigh in on the witch iconic being used in an AP, I'm thrilled to see that the APG content isn't being excluded from other product lines. So often in 3.5, a new class/magic system/etc would be introduced in a hardcover and then never used anywhere else. No published adventures would feature it and no other books (except brief mention in the Magic Item Compendium) would reference it. Make me feel like most of the content was throwaway used only to sell a book. The fact that Paizo is keeping the subsidiary content alive and in people's minds makes me very happy.


Adam Daigle wrote:

The Mighty Mike Kortes!?

Hell yes!

Mighty Mike?!!?! YES! \m/

Edit: Also, I agree with what Karelzarath said. :D

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

James Jacobs wrote:
So... what do folks use those stats for, anyway?

James, I fear this is a sore spot for me. I don't think that using the iconics as pre-generated characters is a good move overall, and I think the particular decisions Paizo has made regarding them was ill-considered.

First off, I was surprised that their stats are so permanent. I really didn't expect to see the "9th Level Rogue" from one AP to have the same stats as the "9th Level Rogue" from a module, let alone as the "9th Level Rogue" in an unrelated AP.

We know that the "Merisiel" who adventured through the Legacy of Fire wasn't the same character as the one who encountered the Rise of the Runelords. There's no reason that she (nor any of the other LoF iconics) shouldn't have been carrying around the gear won throughout the adventure. (Were they selling it all for half-price, so they could buy generic stuff?) Likewise, I don't understand why her skills, feats, and even attributes, didn't reflect the environment and conditions of the AP.

So, while I understand why Seelah should look the same from one use to another, I don't understand why --for example-- the Seelah in "The Demon Within" doesn't have a stronger Charisma than the character in other settings.

Secondly, I am at a loss to explain the choice of which iconics to assign to a given product or AP. The choice of a Lawful Evil character like Seltyiel for Council of Thieves baffles me. He's the last character I'd think to give to a new player, and I can't imagine him going through the entire AP, siding with the party.

So, I think they're used poorly. Given that, I don't use them at all.


James Jacobs wrote:
It's explicable when you stop, think about it, and realize we're building the game not for you, but for all of us.

No... it's still inexplicable that so many fans like them so much that they made it in every book of every AP.

Quote:
Sorry we're taking the AP in a direction you don't approve of.

"Taking"? They've been in there since the beginning!

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