Announced! Cover image is a mockup.
Yes! I'm trying my hand at a little horror. I hope to get people past that post Halloween depression.
Have yourself a very merry haunting!
And at levels 5-9, too! I'll be curious to see the result :)
And at levels 5-9, too! I'll be curious to see the result :)
Me too!
Which is to say, Developers are unsung heroes in the process.
I certainly hope it rocks!
Quoted from the Midnight Mauler thread, this will be available 6 PM PST!
Get your fear on!
Can't wait to run this one today!
Enjoy Rickar! Make sure you give it a good read first! Let me know how it went.
Can't wait to run this one today!
And???.....And?????
Can't wait to run this one today!And???.....And?????
I know what you mean. :D
I have not been bumping this thread on purpose, because after a point its childish and immature, but I've been checking every few hours for days.. to see whether people have enjoyed it, or if there is something I could clarify. Though you never want to beg for feedback, because you usually get all the negative stuff. ;-)
Again, I am earnestly hoping folks have fun with it.
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Ooh! There's a Wayang on the cover!
That's pretty disgusting language!
@ Thea,
Thank you for your great review! I'm glad you had a good time!
If you have the time, I'd love to know what I could do to get that 5th star!
Again, I appreciate your time and kind words!
Chief Technical Officer
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Ooh! There's a Wayang on the cover!
At least there isn't a Wayans on the cover....
Ooh! There's a Wayang on the cover!At least there isn't a Wayans on the cover....
You know I want to add onto that joke, or chime in and say something funny builds on it.. and I'm just stopped cold.
Cold as the grave. Cold as the $7.50 cash I think I spent to see that movie!
*shudder* I actually taped it, so I could watch it more than once... What a waste.
I'll be running this one in two weeks; prepping it now, so I'll be sure to throw up a review once it's done.
I have, however, noticed three typos in it, and I'm afraid I'm going to be a jerk and point them out. I know that the editors are really busy, and I know that sometimes these things slip through, so I mean no disrespect to their fine efforts, but the OCD in me forces me to hope they'll find a few moments to fix them at some point in the future. :)
Page 3, column 1, paragraph 2, line 12: "defined the it"
Page 5, column 2, paragraph 1, line 6: "chimney's" (want "chimneys")
Page 5, column 2, paragraph 1, line 9: "officials)"
That being said, Jim, I love the premise, and I'm looking forward to
Thanks Feegle!
I appreciate your kind words.
As for the typos, spare the Editors, I take full and complete responsibility. Speak no ill of them and Mr. Moreland. I should have read this out loud, AND had someone else proof-read it. There were a fair number of boo boos (I know because I heard about them). As they say- "not Superstar".
Hence forth:
1.) I'm reading every turnover out loud twice before I hit send.
2.) I'm copying every turnover into a different document with a different font and size as part of that proof-read, so that the brain is forced to look at the text differently, and errors stand out better. That's a Brandon Hodge Pro-Tip for ya!
Hope you have fun!
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2.) I'm copying every turnover into a different document with a different font and size as part of that proof-read, so that the brain is forced to look at the text differently, and errors stand out better. That's a Brandon Hodge Pro-Tip for ya!
Ooh, I love that one. Going right there with my searches for passive voice and "that."
And, I'm really looking forward to running this one, but I just had some new players join my PFS group, so we're headed back to 1st level for a bit. Good think I can run them through some modules to get back to 5th :-)
Point of clarification:
In the Blind Man's Bluff haunt, a character is struck blind and is the subject of the Phantasmal Killer spell.
1) According to that spell, only the target can see the attacker, but that target is blinded--yet a description is given. Should the rest of the party be able to see the spectral image?
2) The subject is blinded--do they still get the Will save to recognize that the image is unreal?
Thanks!
Okay, so first thing's first: Groves, you're now up there on my list of "authors whose scenarios I will schedule to run sight unseen." That was frikkin' awesome.
Hints and Suggestions for GMs
Minasako works in the inn, but this isn't really mentioned (that I found) until later in the scenario, and the inn is named, but also not until later in the scenario. Make a note of the inn's name (if you want to keep that consistent) on these pages so you don't have to flip through stuff looking for it later.
Don't explain the haunt mechanic unless you have someone who has a reason to know it. (Knowledge: Religion or somesuch) The first haunt scared the bejeesus out of my characters, because they didn't know what was going on. "You see this, then you're fatigued." "No save?" "Nope." By the end of the module, those that made their perception check on a haunt and had the initiative to move before the haunt were running as fast as possible out of the Haunt's vicinity before it could trigger. The one on the balcony saw three players jump off the balcony down to the garden, sometimes taking falling damage just to avoid whatever the Haunt was going to do to them.
The Balcony Haunt is pretty crazy in consequence - save or die? At level 5? It's not a difficult save (DC 16), but it's still pretty harsh. The Haunt says it targets one of the people in the area - I would highly recommend randomizing the target, in view of the players, just to avoid hard feelings.
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Since I haven't read it and have only just played it, I can't give any nitpicks or suggestions as of yet. However, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of exploration that came into this scenario. My character ended up pocketing several factions' mission items (the ones who weren't around), because we were in such a cool place with so much neat stuff.
Point of clarification:
** spoiler omitted **
Thanks!
Hi there,
Sorry for the delay, I've been in the hospital (home now, doing well).
The 'creature' for the target is confronted is being sick and blinded, poisoned by the one you love, to whom you just made love.That awful feeling and knowledge is the horror that confronts the target. And that's a lot! Except the duration is instantaneous. So for an instantaneous duration the target it blinded, which if you take to its logical conclusion is harmless or irrelevant in game terms.
So you absolutely get a Will Save (as the target), to realize that these awful feelings and experiences are not your own, but something that is being projected on you. If you Fail the following Fort Save your neck is either psychosomatic-ally broken, or you suffer the raw physical shock of having fallen blindly from a height.
Yes, the rest of the party showed be able to see the images (in fact, the target can still hear the spectral voices!). But the duration of the effect is instantaneous! These little "movies", or snippets of ghostly interactions are practically 'free actions' of the haunt, which tell the story. They clue the rest of the party (as the target could die!) into what just happened. That's how I try to use the haunts as story-telling devices. So the other players see what happens, but there is little they can do about it, unless they get the drop on the haunt in initiative.
Does this make sense and/or help?
Okay, so first thing's first: Groves, you're now up there on my list of "authors whose scenarios I will schedule to run sight unseen." That was frikkin' awesome.
Hints and Suggestions for GMs
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **...
Feegle,
Thank you for your review!
Act 1
Minsako's appearance was originally mentioned twice in the manuscript, but one mention was taken out for brevity. Her strange pre-scenario appearance is meant to be freaky fore-shadowing, as her peculiar nature allows her to go to town with little cause to fear discovery. It's a little tool for the GM to mess with the players if they want. ;)
Act 2
General Gripes
Acheronzero Thank you for your review!
Point of clarification:
** spoiler omitted **
Thanks!
Hi there,
Sorry for the delay, I've been in the hospital (home now, doing well).
** spoiler omitted **
Thanks, that helps a lot. Glad you're doing okay. Now get back to work and write some more scenarios!
Jim,
Thanks for the comments. You've been really forthcoming about the process of writing scenarios all over these forums, and it's really interesting to have that kind of window into the process.
When you're finished with Murder's Mark, please write some more PFS scenarios. :) Please please please.
Unless they gave you an AP to write.
Jim,
Thanks for the comments. You've been really forthcoming about the process of writing scenarios all over these forums, and it's really interesting to have that kind of window into the process.
When you're finished with Murder's Mark, please write some more PFS scenarios. :) Please please please.
Unless they gave you an AP to write.
You're welcome! I'd love to do AP Work (especially in a theoretical Baba Yaga / Irrisen storyline) but that privilege has to be earned. Its a helluva a big responsibility, and I never would begrudge James, Wes, Rob, and Adam from being super selective in their choice of authors. A freelancer can always continue to grow and develop towards doing one of those- I sincerely believe they're doing an author a favor (as well as doing themselves a favor obviously) by not assigning one of those until that author is ready. Heck, there's always the next one. You can go forward but you can't go backwards. :D
I am finished with Murder's Mark though! And your wish is granted, I am doing another PFS scenatio right now.. but I can't discuss anything about it (i.e. which season or the title).
I am GRATEFUL to you Feegle! :D
Thanks to Magical_Beast and Mourne for their kind reviews! Glad you enjoyed it!
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Played it on a dark and wet day yesterday! It was amazing!
The final boss battle was horrific. It was the nastiest use of Black Tentacles I've ever seen. I thanked my lucky stars that I had maxed out Escape Artist to get me out of the danger area. My shirt reroll was the only factor that saved me from being Cursed (which probably would have lead to a TPK). The GM teased us constantly as we failed our saves and floundered uselessly against both temporary hit points and fast healing. Our switch-hitter ranger battled valiantly, using Vital Strike when he could, but was rendered incapable by the tentacles until he was strangled to death. The witch doctor received two Vampiric Touches via the disgusting familiar. He was knocked unconscious and was strangled in his sleep.
By the end of the battle, we had only two Pathfinders out of four left alive. We were wounded and worried that there were still some unspeakable horrors left in the basement [ominous music]. We walked down the steps, turned the key, and shed light into the dingy room. As soon as we saw the torture tools, we screamed, hightailed it out of the house and fled back to town, never to return again.
You have blood on your hands, Groves!
OMG.
I've been in a two day slump. You just fired the ol' writing engines right back to life!
BLESS YOU SIR!
Thank you again, glad you had a good time.
@ Wolfrick - Thank you for a five star review! Especially from one of our esteemed 5 star GMs. That means quite a lot to me. I appreciate it.
I encourage you (and everybody else) to check out The Golden Serpent coming out in July and in time for PaizoCon. The product description is nice and safe, and non-spoilery...
...as it should be...
...but it has lots of cool surprises! I promise some cool role-playing and good ol' monster bashing and a whole lot more. Its a scenario where I really tried to incorporate a lot of community feedback. I think everyone will enjoy it.
Thanks again!
I wanted to thank Amber Valdis for the review and feedback. It is much appreciated.
One regret I do have is not trying to use the visions in the haunts to tell a more linear story. At the time I wasn't assuming a specific path the PCs would take through the manor, so I was worried that it would be disjointed with an artificial progression.
But, as you point out, it couldn't have hurt. So I take your feedback seriously.
Thanks again for your time!
Xarga,
Thank you for the review!
Regarding loot.. It was less than perfect. Loot distribution has been an issue I've struggled with, and this was my second scenario. I have a much better handle on it now (though there is always room for continued improvement).
Glad you had fun!
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I just played through this scenario at a convention, and I will not play anything by this author again. We had a fairly diverse party (Levels 5, 6, 6, 7, and 8 respectively) and played the high tier.
Needless to say, we did not enjoy this scenario. The opening curse crippled our group severely and left us exhausted for the rest of the encounter. Several times throughout we had players who were one-shotted to negative HP, and my character was killed (actually dead, past my CON and had to be resurrected) by what should have been a relatively weak enemy - with a single attack. One of my party was hit with a spell that causes instant death (but thankfully got his save roll).
There's a difference between difficult and just malicious. The number of high-level, high-difficulty enemies and haunts seemed wildly disproportionate and just plain unfair. It felt to me as though the author was actively trying to kill the party by pitting them against caster levels much higher than them.
Long story short - I felt this scenario was wildly unbalanced in favor of the GM, our group did not enjoy it at all, and I will never play nor GM another PFS by this author.
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Well, you'll miss out on some of the best stories in PFS due to going into a scenario with an out of tier party, but that is your call.
I feel you would have had a better time with the 8th level character swapping for a 7th or lower and playing the low tier.
We didn't choose to play high tier - PFS rules dictated it. At least that's what our GM told us. If he was mistaken, then we all had a horrible time because of him, and not the scenario. I haven't looked at the low tier to see if it would have been less brutal.
I find it tacky to blame me for not enjoying a scenario in which I was hammered and then killed.
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We didn't choose to play high tier - PFS rules dictated it.
Again, if the 8th level player had played a 7th or lower, you could have played low.
I did not blame you for not enjoying the scenario. I blamed the party composition for making you play an inappropriate subtler.
I had the same problem happen when I ran The Disappeared for a bunch of 2nd-3rd level characters at 4-5. It was a horrible time, but every time I have run it afterwards has been with appropriate level parties and been a blast to play.
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We didn't choose to play high tier - PFS rules dictated it.Again, if the 8th level player had played a 7th or lower, you could have played low.
I did not blame you for not enjoying the scenario. I blamed the party composition for making you play an inappropriate subtler.
I had the same problem happen when I ran The Disappeared for a bunch of 2nd-3rd level characters at 4-5. It was a horrible time, but every time I have run it afterwards has been with appropriate level parties and been a blast to play.
Fair enough. It was definitely an inappropriate challenge level for where our characters were. It's a shame too - the haunts and creatures themselves were actually pretty cool, but I couldn't enjoy it because I was too busy trying not to die or rage quit the table. :/