Way of the Wicked—Book #4: Of Dragons and Princesses (PFRPG) PDF

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BECOME A MASTER OF DRAGONS!

The king of Talingarde must die! Your dread master commands you to carry out this errand of blood. Do you have what it takes to assassinate the king of the most noble, virtuous realm in all the world? Are you ready to seek out the most wicked and powerful of dragons and treat with him to destroy the king’s only heir—the fair princess Bellinda?

Welcome to the fourth chapter of the critically acclaimed, Ennie-nominated “Way of the Wicked” adventure path!

Inside you’ll find:

  • "Of Dragons and Princesses,” an adventure compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game designed for 13th-level villains by Gary McBride
  • Full color art and maps by Michael Clarke
  • A gazetteer of the noble city of Matharyn, capital of Talingarde
  • Rules for playing vampire and lich PCs
  • Everything you need to run a city sacking sandbox
  • And More!

Sack a city! Terrorize a nation! Kill a king! Ride a dragon into a battle! All of this you must do if you are to walk the Way of the Wicked.

Who wants to be a hero, when it’s so much more fun to be the bad guy?

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

FRM1004E


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4.00/5 (based on 7 ratings)

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Filler, Filler, Interesting Climax.

2/5

This book is filler. It's not *terrible* filler mechanically, but a good two thirds of it could be replaced by just about anything and be just as relevant to the plot.

Seriously, I don't have too much to say about it, positive or negative. There are two...

- Black dragons are notoriously anti-social, hating all intelligent life, even other black dragons. Why does saving his son allow the PCs an audience with a black wyrm?
- The king should be well aware of his daughter's power, since hit dice is a real, calculable thing in the world of Pathfinder. She's a sorcerer 19, three levels higher than he is; anything that threatens her isn't going to be meaningfully impacted by his presence.

Again, subtracted 1 star from my actual score due to the whole 'fraud' thing.


Fraud

1/5

I would love to give this product a higher rating but it has been written by a fraudster, Gary McBride, who tricked 315 people into giving him $40,000 through Kickstarter and refused to communicate with them for 4 years now. Despite multiple appeals from backers he has backed over 520 other kickstarters since then, logging in every week though seemingly unable to respond to his backers products. Shame on Paizo for selling the products of a con man and allowing him to continue profiting from rpg fans.

For details of the swindle and Gary McBride’s backing record see https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/730004812/throne-of-night-a-pathfinder -rpg-adventure-path/comments


Holy Guacamole

5/5

You're only half-way through and your group of terrors are already 13th level? Oh myyyy.

This chapter fully expects your villains to use the mighty magics and killing power at their disposal. Lacking access to 6th and 7th level cleric/wizard spells could severely hurt your ability to wreak havoc and unleash further mayhem.

One of the pleasant surprises during the later chapters of the Way of the Wicked is how long circle of death and similar spells remain viable offensive spells, which is a first in my experience with published 3e/3.5/Pathfinder campaigns.


Of Dragons and Princesses Review

5/5

Warning: Potential spoilers. Written from a GM's perspective. I ran this for 6 PCs.

This installment of Way of the Wicked was a pleasant surprise for me. After running through three great books, I shouldn't have been surprised when this one turned out to be a blast. However, on paper there were a few things that worried me about this book.

My first concern was the first act of the book. It is a sandbox style sacking of the city of Daveryn that is quite long and seemed like it would risk being stagnant. I still do believe that this is potential weak spot in the campaign. However, this weakness was easily navigated by cherry picking the sections that I thought would be interesting to my players and having Fire-Axe bring them up to the players. The rest of the events, I just held in reserve in case my players decided to explore. Personally, I ran the Duelist Academy event, because we had a Swashbuckler who loves challenging people to duels, the Baroness's encounter, because she is the cousin of one of the PCs and I merged the prison and the rebellion into one encounter, because I knew my PCs would love the opportunity to recruit prisoners and Ifran had useful information. I also ran the Duke's encounter via minion quest. All of these events seemed enjoyable for my players.

My second concern for this game was that the story seemed very reliant on the players making specific choices. I feared that players would decide not to bother with Chargammon or try to kill the princess. However, I did not face any issues with this. Thorn's plan offered enough intrigue for my players and Dessiter was a useful tool for persuading the players out of inadvisable plans, like trying to take Thorn out immediately.

In addition to the above areas, there were some other really great parts of this book. Eiramanthus in particular turned out to be a great boss battle. Spells like Mislead and Reverse Gravity made for a memorable and cinematic feel, while his melee prowess and anti-magic field had a reasonably optimized party of six fearing for their lives. The battle was so good that the happiest player at the table was the one who died, because she thought her death was epic.

The characters continue to be excellent. Chargammon was appropriately terrifying. Jeratheon is a fun addition. His dysfunctional relationship with his father opens up a lot of interesting RP opportunities that I think will continue to pay off after Chargammon's death. Also, even though Dessiter was introduced in the last book, I feel obliged to acknowledge him again, because he is such an excellent character. Every time he says something I can tell my players aren't sure whether to laugh, buy him a drink or punch him in the face.

Overall, this whole adventure path continues to be excellent and I have yet to find a good reason not to recommend it.


5/5

I've reviewed this book over on RPGGeek.com.


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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

gustavo iglesias wrote:

We are already in the middle of book 4.

"...then found polydorus tower and the letter from stormborn king as Jeratheon was important part of one of the PC background, they immediately went to rescue him...They killed the stormborn king easily (too easily, even if I upgraded him heavily and used a retinue of avoral cohorts. But knowledge is very powerful, and knowing beforehand that the eagle was lightning based is a huge advantage."

What were other group's experience with "freeing" Jeratheon?

As described, [page 37] "...Jeratheon is no great expert at lying (bluff +2). His deceptions are likely to be artless and obvious."

So, as expected, my group tried to deal with him, and as expected, they realized (sense motive) that this dragon was making empty promises and would betray them in a second.

After a failed Charm Monster attempt, the group finally threatened the dragon with a magical (disintegrate) death if he didn't take them to his father.

Using the (detached) chain & muzzle as a sort-of bit & bridle, they wish to ride the dragon (under much duress) to his father.

How will Chargammon view this act when they finally arrive on his door-step, seeing his son "disgraced" in such a way?

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Another quick question about the Island of Eiramanthus:

The island is described as a "crystalline garden".
The map (pg.46) circles and trails throughout the island. I assume these circles are "plazas"?

How tall/height is the crystal garden? Do the garden crystals block the view to other locations?
How tall/elevated is the mesa (location 5)?

So, for example, could an encounter with the Xorn (loc. 6) be seen by the Servitors (Oreads) who roam the island?
If the gardens don't block line-of-sight, and the island is only 500-ft across, wouldn't a battle alert every inhabitant of the island?

Grand Lodge

@Banesfinger -- Honestly, Chargammon will be more upset with this son than the PCs for everything's that's happened. Even makes what happens to him after the Island of Eiramanthus even more fitting.

I wouldn't think that the garden would be that tall. Maybe 5-6 feet at best with spaces in between. It's not like it'd be a whole hedge maze. I'd say it'd at least give cover, just not total concealment.

While the encounter might not be "seen", that doesn't mean it couldn't be heard too.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Thanks kevin_video!

The PCs have (predictably) teleported to Eiramanthus' Island and started causing havoc. They landed on the mesa (area 5), and started killing inhabitants of the island (the Caretakers and Servitors).

This is not a stealth attack: fireballs exploding, open battles, etc.

I'm guessing Eiramanthus (and by default, his concubines) would not stand for this, and therefor leave their respective locations and join the battle.

At that point, I'm guessing the PCs will quickly be out-matched and teleport to regroup.

What would Eiramanthus do then?
While he (and his concubines) can teleport as well, they have no access to scrying spells and therefor cannot "follow" the PCs.
Likewise he has no defenses against PCs just teleporting back at any time.
Would a dragon of his might just "hide" and wait it out in his stone tower?

Grand Lodge

If the PCs are there, chances are it's because they want something, and aren't just randomly destroying things. Eiramanthus is a collector, and has traveled multiple planes of existence. There's nothing saying that he wouldn't have access to a crystal ball of some kind that could act the same way that Vetri-Kali's eyes did within the Horn, but for his island.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

John Malueg wrote:
It's time for a rescue mission!

Our group also needed a rescue mission on the dragon's island:

Rescue gone wrong:

Like John Malueg's group, our group teleported to the island, and proceeded to (loudly) destroy everything and everyone in sight.

After wiping out the group of Caretakers on the messa (area #5), they proceeded to the pagoda (area #4). Here they wiped out half of the Servitors (the other 10 or so Servitors ran to protect the dragon's building: area #8).

This gave the consort in Red (Shakti hobhana) enough time to turn invisible and dimension door to investigate the intrusion. She gained surprise but because the PCs had buffed against fire, her flame strikes were only a nuisance. It took about 5-6 rounds but the PCs defeated her.

Unfortunately, all this destruction on the island (along with cries of help from Servitors/Caretakers) had alerted Eiramanthus, who arrived at the pagoda just in time to see the PCs defile/desecrate the body of Shakti!

His opening cruel joke ("4 blind mice, see how they run") was enough to send half the party (Ranger-14, Archer-14) into fits of laughter. This sent the party into a desperate scramble to escape, but the dragon's slowing breath prevented the usual: gather everyone up and teleport away. Only the non-laughing Cleric-14 and Sorc-14 escaped.

1 day later, after a failed scrying attempt to find their friends (remember, Eiramanthus's dome has mage's private sanctum cast on it: page 66 - which I ruled covered all of that building, including his vault where the two prisoners were being held), the two remaining PCs buffed, and with clever use of silence and invisibility searched his building. Unfortunately, the dragon's senses (blindsense) allowed the dragon to detect them, and his antimagic field did the rest. He slaughtered the cleric as the sorcerer managed to escape.

Eiramanthus (smart enought to know the PCs would keep coming back for their friends) had the two prisoner's heads delivered to the remaining sorcerer.

Now, the sorcerer is scrambling to find enough money to get his friends resurrected.


Ouch, I feel for that sorc player! The rescue mission for my group has gone a little better:

Spoiler:
Eiramathus, for his part, had not been idle. He had interrogated the prisoners, and had special plans for four of them. The magus would be delivered to Heaven, to face judgement for slaying Ara Mathra. The duergar monk would be sent to Elysium to hunted down as prey. The oracle would be sent to Hell as a failure. Izevel was being woo'd by the dragon. Everyone was happy to be freed before those sentences came to pass. In addition to his interrogations, the dragon modified his island by way of stone shape and permanent illusion. One such illusion was a of a humming crystal with the duergar monk encased in it. However, what was actually within the illusion was a trapped Izevel, so that when the illusion was pierced, her gaze attack would go off. It was quite fun to see the witch fall victim to it.

Eventually, having recovered all their party members, the PC's confronted Shakti, who was not alone, having a patrol consisting of: 2 fighters, a cleric, a sorc, and a scout, as well as another Caretaker, with her. It was 14 (6 PC's, 6 cohorts, 2 bone devils) against 7. However, Goruza was next to useless due to not having spells, the magus was significantly downpowered for the same reason, and the gnome oracle was without armor (and complaining). It was an interesting fight on the top floor of her tower. Several Flame Strikes went off, on both sides, as well as a Firestorm spell by the flame oracle. The wooden staircase caught fire, preventing a portion of the group from ascending up to the top floor for a while, plus it was a bit rickety afterwards. Also due to all the Flame Strikes, a section of floor gave way, spilling some of the combatants into the room below. In the end, Shakti was slain, but not before dispatching both bone devils.

Of course, all this combat alerted Eiramanthus that something was up, mostly because it was still daylight and there was a good deal of smoke billowing out of Shakti's tower. So, he prepared, and then teleported to meet the group as they left Shakti's tower, with a command given to Sakura to move up from the south to assist. Sakura moved at the slowest speed of her patrol, so the PC's had time to take on the dragon and his patrol (plus the guard captain and Caretaker). The PC's were able to take the patrol down somewhat swiftly, but the captain proved to be a considerable match for them, particularly for low AC characters. The dragon used his breath weapon often and stayed in the air for the most part, and managed to sneak in a Wall of Stone to separate most of the casters (still by Shakti's tower) from the melee fighters in the next clearing. In the end, although they defeated the guard captain, things were not looking good for the PC's. One character had fled in dragonfear, several others were on the ground laughing, and a few more were blinded, again. The witch used limited wish to remove the blindness from his party members, and the duergar, desperate to inflict damage on the dragon, used his dimension door ability to move himself several hundred feet into the air and drop like a rock. He hit terminal velocity and struck the dragon (It was late and the dragon was still pretty healthy, plus the player of the duergar was likely going to switch over to playing Shaggorath Night-Mane. I felt it was a fair trade.). It was a fitting end for the duergar, and just enough to take the dragon down.

No rest for the wicked, though. Footsteps approach from the south, and Sakura will be very angry with the wicked deeds wrought upon her lover.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

A question regarding Lord Heironymous Thatch (the court wizard in area 1-12 of the Adarium):

On page 73 it says "...if he wakes up and hears intruders, he teleports up to room..."

Likewise, for his 'tactics' it says, "...if reduced to 22 hit points, he uses greater teleport to escape..."

But on page 68, the text clearly explains that (almost) the entire Adarium is affected by a forbiddance spell. This means there can be no teleportation spells into or within the area.


Update:

Spoiler:
Sakura and her forces attacked from the south immediately, as the villains were recovering from slaying the dragon. The half-orc fighter held the pass her forces were marching up single-handedly (The regular player of the half-orc was not there, so his statistical anomaly dice-rolling wasn't present to make his character terrible). With most of the spellcasters unaware and stuck on the other side of the stone wall Eriamanthus created previously, Sakura hit the other characters with waves of exhaustion while the caretaker gargoyle went after the spellcasters. Eventually, however, the PC's were able to whittle her down and slay her. The it was off to find the dragon's hoard!

In a stroke of amazing luck, one of my PC's actually managed to figure out almost the entire riddle in only 15 minutes, then got stuck on the last letter, as did the entire party. After an hour, I had pity upon them because they were so close. They were even more excited for the dragon's library (it only nearly killed the witch before they realized it was a trap that reset itself). The witch currently has visions of canon golems dancing in his head (or Artephius Mark III). At this point, no one is sure what to do with The Nameless Tyrant. They are unwilling to bargain with it and completely terrified of it.

On a side note, meeting with Dessiter, my PC's were surprised that Thorn was afraid of them, plus they have been showing uncharacteristically good loyalty to Thorn, so they were kind of like "But why!?" in a hurt puppy sort of way. They are currently more distrustful of Dessiter than Thorn. I had to add in an extra bit about the painting of Bronwyn, which the PC's had taken with them from Balentyne as "recreational viewing material" (my PC's are like playing with live action Saint's Row IV characters. I'm just trying to make it sound less crude. *sigh*).

My PC's are now in Matharyn, trying to figure out how to get into the Adarium. They have the countess from Daveryn as their liason. At the moment I'm trying to think of what security protocols might be in place during this time: weapon search or peace-knotting of carried weapons? magical searches? Also, might there be any other dignitaries besides the Iraen? With the place so empty it might almost seem odd for the countess to just show up with her entourage (the PC's) to visit... who? Just curious what other people think about this.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

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John Malueg wrote:
With the place so empty it might almost seem odd for the countess to just show up with her entourage (the PC's) to visit... who?

From the description of the Adarium (so few have been inside, servants who practically never leave the place, etc), I would have normally guessed someone couldn't just arrive unannounced.

However, it states the Iraen delegation had been summoned to meet about the great evil that affects their lands, and the druidess "arrived without notice".

The Iraen have no central government or king, but in an "unprecedented" step, a powerful druidess answered the call (pg 79).
It is not beyond belief that "other powerful" Iraen could have also answered the call...

Likewise, it says a "delegation from Matharyn will meet with them". PCs could disguise themselves as this delegation.

I'm also guessing that the PCs, along with most citizens, know the Princess did not go off to war with the King. A delegation who has been 'invited' to meet the Princess may slip buy with forged documents/disguises.

Also, the princess is being taught magic by Lord Thatch. If the PCs learn about that (rumor #20, page 69), they could 'fake' bringing supplies for that training.

They could pose as powerful Priests, here about a "cure" for the "Tears of Death".

Just a few ideas...


Those are very good suggestions. As for Thatch and the Forbiddance spell

Spoiler:
I believe there is a seperate pass phrase that allows those within to teleport, they just need to speak it before they do so. The phrase is on page 68, last paragraph. Plus, it effects those who are not LG for alignment. For my part, I am keeping this information from my PC's for the most part, since of the people they gotten information about the Adarium from, none were spellcasters who would have any need for knowing that password. Now if they were to capture or trick Thatch somehow and get the info, that would work, although Thatch really doesn't need to use the password, only Brigit might.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

John Malueg wrote:

Those are very good suggestions. As for Thatch and the Forbiddance spell

** spoiler omitted **

Hi John Malueg,

I don't think the pass phrase will work:

According to the rules, the Forbiddance spell is worded:
Pathfinder SRD wrote:
At your option, the abjuration can include a password, in which case creatures of alignments different from yours can avoid the damage by speaking the password as they enter the area.

So if they have the password, they can avoid the damage, but would still not be able to teleport.

However, I realized the wizard Thatch has a Wish spell, so I would just allow him to use that to escape (simulating a teleport effect).


@All who know Book 4 of Way of the Wicked: How does Eiramanthus Isle work? I don´t understand the map!
The caves are surely supposed to be underground. But what with the Garden, the Dome and the Temple? A sideview would have really helped...

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Patrick Kropp wrote:

@All who know Book 4 of Way of the Wicked: How does Eiramanthus Isle work? I don´t understand the map!

The caves are surely supposed to be underground. But what with the Garden, the Dome and the Temple? A sideview would have really helped...

That map confused me as well.

Those are not "caves" but paths along the island. Each circle is a "plaza" or larger pathway. Except for the paths/plazas, all other areas of the island are filled with large crystals (ranging from 2 to 8-ft in height). Paths that go over water are along crystal bridges.

Various paths lead to the two buildings (pagoda and the dome) as well as the garden.

Think of the whole island as one giant rock (crystal) garden with paths on it.

Hope that helps.


That's what I did with mine as well. However, if you want real fun and have the time, make yourself a second map and think of all the fun a dragon with a sense of humor might have with permanent illusion spells. Bridges that exist but are hidden, bridges that exist but aren't real, hidden passages, etc.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

A question regarding Ara Zandra, Angel of Vengeance (the Adarium, location 2-1):

Ara is obviously out for vengeance for his brother. But why here (the Adarium)? Does the royal family (or guards, servants, etc) know he is here sitting upon the king's throne?
Would he be "missed" if he was (quietly) defeated, and thus returned to his own plane?

As my players "pre-scout" the Adarium (they have 1 month to do so before Chargammon's attack at the next new moon, pg. 67), they may quietly kill a few occupants. I have a pretty good idea how long it will be before most occupants will be missed (e.g. some, like the guards, will be missed within minutes or hours of their disappearance. But others, like the Pyres of Judgment make take days before they are discovered missing). However, I was very *uncertain* about Ara Zandra...


Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. He's kind of located in area that the PC's are likely to bypass. Luckily, I have some time to figure out, as my PC's have picked up on some side quest stuff, namely:

Spoiler:
The Asmodean temple in the sewers, raiding the mint, Devil's night and getting the Book of Iron and Hellfire. I have some plans regarding the mint, which will likely be a solo adventure for Anton Brueder, the only thing the PC's have that is rogue-like. Should be fun, I enjoy making that character miserable. For the Asmodean temple, I'm thinking it is recent construction, within the last eighty years, and I am trying to decide if the devil was bound there by the last Asmodean priest with orders it cannot fulfill or was bound there by a Mitran (or possibly another faith) priest. For simplicity's sake and moving my game along a little more quickly, I was thinking that the Book of Iron and Hellfire would already be there, brought there by Asmodean cultists who had stolen it from the old palace, running from inquisitors, only to be killed by the devil within (I'm thinking it was only 20 years later, the devil would still be pretty angry with mortals. I imagine that devils hold a grudge really, really well).

I'm planning on having this all occur on Devil's Night, and the PC's are planning on having their cohort wizard whistle up a Shira Div (she's got it's true name) and turning it loose in the city during the night. They are hoping it brings friends to the party.

So questions I'm thinking about:
1. What spells might be in the Book of Iron and Hellfire? (The magus is already drooling at what might be in there)
2. What might be binding the devil?
3. What the heck does a mint look like (I have some ideas and research to do on this)and how much could they actually make in a single night, one man heist (with, probably, a bag of holding type IV)?

Grand Lodge

@John -- I asked these same questions to Gary two years ago, and I kept the answers on my hard drive. I'll add in a bit as well.

Answers:
1) Use the spells from Book 6 for the spells inside the Book of Iron and Hellfire. As well, consider looking at the book of Fire and the book of Hellfire from the Genius Guide.
Note: It's Rogue Genius Guide now.

2) The priest who bound Gethran here was an Asmodean priest when the church of Asmodeus was not completely illegal in Talingarde.

The priest probably bound the devil to defend the temple against all intruders and unbelievers. Now Gethran Hate is stuck "defending" an uninhabited and abandoned temple that no one has visited in decades. Exciting.

Yes it should read "relics OF Asmodeus". I would give them a couple of nice, evil themed magic items as their reward.

If you fail to release the devil, you don't automatically die, he just tries to kill you. Horned Devils are CR 16.

How do you free him? The exact puzzle is left up to you. That's why its a briefly described sidequest. I would imagine it would involve finding out the exact wording of his binding and finding a loophole that would free him.

3) Check out "The Aundarian Job" from Dungeon Magazine 147.


Thanks for the suggestions, I will check into those.

Grand Lodge

John Malueg wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions, I will check into those.

One more thing:
I don't have it saved on the hard drive so it might be somewhere else, but I distinctly remember that the priest who was killed, was Soloman's own brother (don't recall if it's older or younger).
Shadow Lodge

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber

So any news on when a restock is due? Been on back order for some time now

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Regarding Brigit of the Brijidine:

(Applies to her in both book 4 and book 5).

She is made out to be a powerful azata (indeed, her CR17 might indicate that), but isn't she a "one trick pony"?

The PCs should be level-15 when they first encounter her. At that level, most PCs have some form of protection from fire:
- Resist energy (30) is a only 2nd level spell.
- Protection from energy (120) is only a 3rd level spell.

Having any of these long-running protections from fire, most groups would easily brush-off 90% of the damage she could cause. Even the CR5 elementals she could summon would be a very minor threat against parties at this level.

What is everyone else's experience with her?


@ Banesfinger:

I haven't yet had a chance to run that encounter, but I can give some ideas as to my plans:

Spoiler:
My PC's actually researched this time, so they are prepped with cold spells and resistances as you point out. Judging by an average damage capability, Brigit could strip off protection from energy in two to three hits with her lava blast. I'm planning on using wall of stone and stone shape to create a maze, which she can use to break up the party. Other options include having her use the lava in the room as cover/a hiding place between blasts while her summons harass. Not the greatest strategy, but a lucky shot might happen. Also, since my group lacks rogue ability, spike stones is going to be awesome. Those are my thoughts, but I will also admit to not being the greatest tactical genius either.

In addition, game update:

Spoiler:
After spending the previous session shopping (again, they never think about just robbing these places *sigh*) and crafting items, we decided to have the characters spend time reorganizing their organization. Once done, they investigated the Asmodean temple, met Hate, and learned that they could free him by completing the ritual from the Book of Iron and Hellfire on Devil's Night. During this same evening they would use their minions to attempt to assassinate the High Cardinal and rob the mint. Both of these things failed (only by 2, so not too bad, but still failure). Not sure how much more failure Irfan's ego can take. To complete the ritual, they had to perform a knowledge (religion) check to pull it off properly. They rolled mostly nat 20's and 19's, so it went off quite well, with a visual spectacle, it was not a subtle thing. In preparation for the aftermath of their ritual, their minions had gone beyond the borders of the spell beforehand and bought up as much food and beverage as they could, and came back in to Matharyn the next morning and reaped very good profits. All in all, much fun was had and they are finally ready for the Adarium.

Somewhat aside musing: Izevel slept with Hate. The PC's would like to see her become pregnant. I shudder to think of that abomination. Thoughts?

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

John Malueg wrote:

@ Banesfinger:

I haven't yet had a chance to run that encounter, but I can give some ideas as to my plans:

** spoiler omitted **

Those are solid ideas, but all of my players are usually buffed with Fly spells and use ample amounts of Dimension-Door to get around barriers.

I'll admit, while Brigit can't really cause much damage to the PCs, she has lots of ways to escape them. I guess we'll be seeing her in Book 5...

I have one more question regarding the final encounter with the King:
He brings along his 4 Knights of the King's Guard. But they are all cavaliers ON HORSEBACK! Really? In that small room? With the knowledge that they would have to go up the basement stairs and 3 more stories before reaching the princess? Come-on!?!
~ time for a quick conversion to paladins...


I plan on floor to ceiling walls. :)

Spoiler:
Plus I am hoping my PC's won't have figured out that this section of the Adarium is not protected by forbiddance. That's why I like to throw a lot at them at any one time, so they miss stuff like that.

I believe the Knights are not mounted (it's mentioned in either the tactics section of the stat block or the flavor text below them), and are equipped with axes. It's not their kind of fight, that's for sure. Still, several unmounted cavaliers could put together a decent defense, depending on the Order.

Grand Lodge

John Malueg wrote:

In addition, game update:

Spoiler:
Somewhat aside musing: Izevel slept with Hate. The PC's would like to see her become pregnant. I shudder to think of that abomination. Thoughts?

Sounds like something that could easily happen. And it's not like it'd be an abomination or anything super powerful.

What Could Come of it:
Gethran Hate is very powerful, and likely wouldn't be overly affected by her gaze, even if he did see her face.

As for combinations, that's easy. Either a medusa half-fiend such as Izevel is already, or you could go cornugon devil half-medusa, or tiefling half-medusa, and finally there's always the half-medusa half-fiend. The last two will need class levels though. Pretty standard, actually. Nothing of major consequence.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

Why can't I back-order the print/PDF bundle? I click on it, but my cart doesn't change.

Grand Lodge

Nate Z wrote:
Why can't I back-order the print/PDF bundle? I click on it, but my cart doesn't change.

It's not available yet. Only Book 7 can be done that way right now.


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So, in our last session we had a fine example of tag team chicanery.

Minor spoiler:
The vampire Favored Soul of Loviatar and drow Rogue/Red Mantis Assassin teamed up to trick a group of monsters making a shakedown attempt.

Neither are especially focused on social skills, though they both have fair values in Bluff (a 15 and 10, respectively).

So, a group of bugbear, ogres, and an ettin, all members of the army the PCs are allied with, decided to try to shake them down. The monsters were in way over their heads, as the PCs are 13th level. I expected them to just destroy the fools and move on. Little did I know...

The biggest (and dumbest) ogre, demands a toll of 50 gold apiece from the PCs and their assorted cohorts/minions/hangers-on. The vampire, pretending to be confused, successfully bluffed the ogre into thinking they (the PCs) didn't know what gold was. The ogre pulled out a handful (17 gold) of coins, and showed them. The drow (with his Sleight of Hand skill of 15, proceeds to try to steal the gold out of the ogre's hand while he's talking to the vampire.) He rolls a 2, but even with the +10 bonus for the spotting obvious theft, fails to spot the drow take the money. He is confused as to where his money went.

The drow then proceeds to attempt to pay the toll, with the ogre's own money, and bluff him into thinking they gave him more than what he demanded. One decent bluff roll by the drow, and abysmal sense motive check by the ogre convinces him that since 7 is obviously more than 5, 17 gold is more than 50.

The PCs go on their way, but I have a feeling the band might figure it out eventually and confront the PCs at a later date.

Grand Lodge

Geistlinger wrote:

So, in our last session we had a fine example of tag team chicanery.

** spoiler omitted **

That's pretty good.

And, Favored Soul? Converted class?


We're playing mostly 3.5 rules, with a few added Pathfinder things (traits, the Mighty Godling class, and a few spells, mainly).


New update on our villains' shenanigans.

Spoiler:
Our villains are in Eiramanthus's lair on the mission from Chargammon. In the brass dragon's lair, they encountered the Carnivorous Crystals. During the fight, the godling used his divine weapon, which does sonic damage to attack the oozes. He gets three attacks, which resulted in a hit, and two critical hits. The first hit followed by the critical downs one (doing enough damage to kill it and thus avoid the splitting), and crit result included transposition, which caused him and the now dead crystal to switch places on the battlefield.

This left him in position to reach the final crystal, which was also critted. This crit resulted in petrified, which after a failed Fortitude save, turned the crystal to stone. O_o


I may be imagining things and having false memories, but I could have sworn that within this book (or possibly book 3 or 5), there was some sort of item that would help count towards the construction of a lich's phylactery. But running a CTRL-F search through the books isn't yielding anything. Does anyone know what I'm talking about or have I completely lost my mind?

Spoiler:
I know there's the Nameless Tyrant that is supposed to provide the PC with information about how to become a lich, but I thought there was an item that helped knock down the 120k price.

Cheers.


There it. It is a magic item that the PC can make. In one of the books there is a listing of Magical Item, its there.


Book 5, the Onyx Chalice

The Onyx Chalice:
Aura strong necromancy; CL 12th
Slot none; Price 30,000 gp; Weight 1 lb.
DESCRIPTION
This chalice made of pure black onyx almost shines with unholy energy and necromantic power. When an Onyx chalice is used it takes only sixty days to create a lich’s phylactery instead of one hundred and twenty. The chalice must be present for the entire process. When it is finished, the chalice’s utility is not over.
At the very end of the phylactery creation process, the creator can choose whether to bind the chalice into the creation or not. If not, the chalice is of no further use. However, if bound, then the chalice becomes a powerful focus for necromantic magic. Any necromancy spell cast while the wielder holds it will be one caster level higher than normal.
However, the chalice is now part of the caster and the phylactery. The chalice counts as part of the caster’s body for the purposes of scrying and as part of the phylactery for locating it.
CONSTRUCTION
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, possess object ; Cost 15,000
gp


Artamos wrote:

Book 5, the Onyx Chalice

** spoiler omitted **

That's it! Thank you. I had the benefit wrong but that is definitely what I was looking for.


Has anyone produced anything for the Brine dragon, I suspect my players will want to deal with it in some way if it loots a dragons lair before they do

Grand Lodge

I did. I once Gary about it, and he said it was more up to us, but I bugged him until he finally gave in. Stay tuned.

Grand Lodge

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Go after Chargammon's treasure (Dragons Unleashed pg 43) that was stolen by the Brine dragon. Have a few trident archons also available for under the sea. She also has a couple of harpoon golems (101 Variant Monsters), coral golem (Bestiary 4), and ocean giants (Bestiary 4).

This is all back on page 2:

kevin_video wrote:
Fire Mountain Games wrote:
kevin_video wrote:

Gary,

Questions about the brine dragon.
1) Is it plain Ancient or Ancient Wyrm? Is it LN?
2) You said that we'd get into that later, but I don't see anything about it later on in the book. Do we make it up as we go along?
3) Is there only the brine dragon and the merfolk? How many merfolk? A whole city worth? Various levels?
4) Is there any issues with bringing the dragon to the side of the wicked?
5) How about the merfolk?
6) Does the brine dragon have his own horde as well?
7) Is there anything specific we should know about before doing this encounter?

Kevin,

Spoiler:

1. I'd probably make Benthysara a wyrm or a great wyrm to challenge the PCs. But ancient could work if you give him some minions. The dragon's alignment is up to you, but LN does work well because it is an unusual aligned enemy for this campaign.

2. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by later. Benthysara and her merfolk devotees are a sidequest left to the GM to develop and will not be developed any further.

3. There could be more kinds of undersea creatures than just those. Numbers depend on how you wish to frame the side-quest.

4. The dragon has no further role to play in the AP as written. Anything you do with Benthysara will be your own choice.

5. Same with the merfolk.

6. Very likely.

7. There is nothing. As I note in the book, any side-quest with Benthysara is purely optional and "at the GM's discretion." Do with as you will.

Hope that helps,
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Yup, I appreciated everything you've given me answers for so far. The reason I asked was because sometimes the creator has an idea in their head, and I like to flesh that out. Making up my own when the creator had a different plan never actually sits too well with me. Hence why I've been asking about all the side quests. At any rate, this is what I've got so far:

Undersea dragon:
The PCs will swim down to a large cave that will continue on for quite a ways. After a couple of smaller encounters (random generator for undersea) the PCs will finally come upon what can only be described as Atlantis. Elegantly tall and shimmering structures made of some kind of luminescent corral. In the center of the city is a large statue of a brine dragon. Behind it is a direct route to a set of stairs leading to a massive temple. Inside a religious ceremony with Benthysara and her court is taking place.

Her court consists of all merfolk (a couple of them with third party classes). A female sorcerer 4/rogue 3/fighter 2/duelist 1 (CR 9), a female fighter 8/waverider 3 (CR 10), a male druid 7/wavekeeper 4 (CR 10), and a female cleric 14 (CR 13) with the Water and Law domains. Benthysara herself is an ancient wyrm (CR 17).

If they need help, they can call upon the guard for an additional 250 soldiers (CR 15; 5 mobs) by blowing the horn.

A total of an EL 19 encounter.

If the battle looks like they're going to lose, Benthysara will bargain with the PCs. Especially if she finds out about which dragons they've defeated in the past.

Now that Gruesome Dragons is out, consider taking the False God template for +3 CR. It adds to the flavor.


That is useful, not sure what my players will want to do it is the sort of thing they may negotiate with . Also have to decide what the Shar people allies of theirs will have an an opinion

Dark Archive

Despite the mystery around FMG these days, we're still playing and having fun. The players took the lead by finishing book 3 really quickly and NOT reporting back to Thorn -yet- So I've moved events around a bit. They've already spoken to Naburus, where they were gently nudged towards killing a king, and we've cut away at least 6 months of play time (which to us is a good thing - we decided we don't want to play with devils for another 3 years)
The king will die next sunday, come hell or high water.

While reading the inhabitants of the palace, I was wondering about the Sleepless Knight, especially the Quickenss(ex) ability.

Quickness(ex) wrote:
A mithral golem is incredibly quick. It can take an extra move action during its turn each round. This means it can move up to double its speed and still make a full attack.

That seems off to me. Full attack is a Full round action, is it not?

Either you move, and in this case really quickly, and take OR you take at most a 5ft step and roll all your attacks.

Or is he really supposed to be that quick ^_^

Grand Lodge

It really is that quick. It can do a full round action, and still get a move in. I kind of look at it like the pounce monster ability. Charge, and full attack. The original 3.5 one was worse. It got an extra standard action as a swift action.

Dark Archive

kevin_video wrote:
It really is that quick.

*looks at timestamp of question*

*looks at timestamp of reply*

Much like yourself...! thanks.

Grand Lodge

increddibelly wrote:
kevin_video wrote:
It really is that quick.

*looks at timestamp of question*

*looks at timestamp of reply*

Much like yourself...! thanks.

It's all about the timing.

Grand Lodge

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I know I said I'd take a break, but sometimes you just have to write when the mood hits, and when it's fresh in your head.

Changes I made to WotW--Book 4, part 1.

Grand Lodge

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Just in a writing frenzy today.

Changes I made to WotW--Book 4, part 2.


kevin_video wrote:

I know I said I'd take a break, but sometimes you just have to write when the mood hits, and when it's fresh in your head.

Changes I made to WotW--Book 4, part 1.

Wait, there are pregens for WoTW? Where can I find them?

Grand Lodge

Axial wrote:
kevin_video wrote:

I know I said I'd take a break, but sometimes you just have to write when the mood hits, and when it's fresh in your head.

Changes I made to WotW--Book 4, part 1.

Wait, there are pregens for WoTW? Where can I find them?

Yeah, Gary made them a few years ago for convention purposes. They have head shot portraits too. He posted them back in the Book 1 thread.


kevin_video wrote:
Axial wrote:
kevin_video wrote:

I know I said I'd take a break, but sometimes you just have to write when the mood hits, and when it's fresh in your head.

Changes I made to WotW--Book 4, part 1.

Wait, there are pregens for WoTW? Where can I find them?
Yeah, Gary made them a few years ago for convention purposes. They have head shot portraits too. He posted them back in the Book 1 thread.

The portraits and names are awesome, but did he post the stats anywhere?

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Axial wrote:
kevin_video wrote:
Axial wrote:
kevin_video wrote:

I know I said I'd take a break, but sometimes you just have to write when the mood hits, and when it's fresh in your head.

Changes I made to WotW--Book 4, part 1.

Wait, there are pregens for WoTW? Where can I find them?
Yeah, Gary made them a few years ago for convention purposes. They have head shot portraits too. He posted them back in the Book 1 thread.
The portraits and names are awesome, but did he post the stats anywhere?

I totally copied and pasted the wrong link. It was lower. Sorry about that. Try this one.

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