If it's Invisible and the party doesn't have an ability to mitigate that they can't AoO, so don't worry overly much about the Acrobatics unless he's visible. (Which at this level is limited to see invisibility; even if someone in the party has Scent, such as an animal companion, they only know where he IS, not enough to AoO him.) But yes, hit-and-run and bobbing in-and-out of Inviz is par for the course for Wisp tactics.
Greetings, fellow travellers.
I need your help for staging the fight of my party against Stisshak (the will-o-wisp, encounter N) especially on how to utilise hit-and-run tactics in conjunction with its Natural Invisibility (Ex) ability.
Since it refers to the spell invisibility, I assume it becomes visible on attacking a PC, correct?
Y'know - I never really thought about it before. My wisps have always just been able to disappear, they just preferred being all glowy and scary. But I guess it makes sense that they can't shock you if they aren't glowing, so they light up when they "break invisibility" by attacking. Then they can re-extinguish, and take a 5' step in any direction (including straight up).
So that would probably be Stsshak's tactic - each round it would choose between:
1) Shock (becoming visible if previously invisible), become invisible, 5' step into a new square.
2) Become invisible, move. (no attack)
It should move each turn while invisible, either as a move action or as a 5' step.
On another note, my party was overleveled and overpowered for Hargulka, so I gave him a class-leveled wisp as an "Advisor"... The wisp had 2 or 3 summoner(synthesist) levels, and created a body for itself as a summon - I described it as a glowing rune appearing mid-air, and then arcing blue light flaring out to outline a humanoid shape. It really confused my players.
Greetings, fellow travellers.
I need your help for staging the fight of my party against Stisshak (the will-o-wisp, encounter N) especially on how to utilise hit-and-run tactics in conjunction with its Natural Invisibility (Ex) ability.
Since it refers to the spell invisibility, I assume it becomes visible on attacking a PC, correct?
Y'know - I never really thought about it before. My wisps have always just been able to disappear, they just preferred being all glowy and scary. But I guess it makes sense that they can't shock you if they aren't glowing, so they light up when they "break invisibility" by attacking. Then they can re-extinguish, and take a 5' step in any direction (including straight up).
So that would probably be Stsshak's tactic - each round it would choose between:
1) Shock (becoming visible if previously invisible), become invisible, 5' step into a new square.
2) Become invisible, move. (no attack)It should move each turn while invisible, either as a move action or as a 5' step.
On another note, my party was overleveled and overpowered for Hargulka, so I gave him a class-leveled wisp as an "Advisor"... The wisp had 2 or 3 summoner(synthesist) levels, and created a body for itself as a summon - I described it as a glowing rune appearing mid-air, and then arcing blue light flaring out to outline a humanoid shape. It really confused my players.
I don't think that the party should be able to fly by the time they see this encounter... so keeping the wisp off the ground is essentially the best tactic. Starts invisible, attacks, next turn, attacks, and then goes invisible. If the group manages to hit it (which is pretty hard to do) then they are still only able to use missile weapons. My group got lucky with a cascading critical hit in my game. Otherwise, the wisp would have run them off... they got REALLY lucky.
Thanks for all the input. It will definitely help me stage the encounter properly.
Ruyan.
I am so stealing the Synthesist Wisp idea.
My party unfortunately for me has a Spellscar Oracle (their Eldritch Bolt is an SU Force ability, so it hits Wisps and doesn't have to fiddle with their SR) who is crit-happy. The first Wisp I sicked on them got suggestion'd, the second got vwipped forward in time 2 rounds then butchered by readied actions when it reappeared, and the third got petrified and shattered when it fell. I love the Crit Deck, but it goes bonkers with wisps for some reason. I guess appropriate for Aberrant creatures being attacked by a fey-warped Oracle.
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Sorry if this was already asked, but I have a question about settling the sootscale caverns hex in area Y of book 31. The pc's made an alliance with chief sootscale while exploring so the kobolds are still living there. When the pc's claim the hex, should they annex the kobolds like a town? Or are kobolds too proud to submit themselves to the rule of "big folk?" Furthermore, would this create any additional unrest due to racial tensions if the sootscale kobolds try to assimilate into a primarily human population?
In my game, since they befriended the Kobolds, they will leave the entire hex to be their, only paying to make the mine into a workable mine. Having introduced Domino's to kobold, as well as massive quantities of cheap effective booze, the small lizards have been pacified and are more CN then CE now. They hold domino tournaments, trap challenges, drink themselves into a stupor and work the mine in exchange for more food, games, booze and being generally left alone.
Forgive me if these questions have been asked before or if they happen to be in the wrong location.
If a building generates magic items:
1. Can you make an economy check to have an item sell to clear the slot so something else can be generated later, or does a PC have to buy it? And if you can make the economy check, who gets the money?
2. Do only items above 4,000gp that the PCs recover while adventuring and try to sell at a shop count for the BP payout, or do expensive items randomly generated count as well?
Greetings, fellow traveller.
1. You make an Economy check to see whether the item finds a buyer; if successful, the slot is cleared and you can randomly roll for a new item the next turn. In this case the money goes to the kingdom's treasury (=/=PC wealth!).
Alternatively, one of the PCs buys the item and the money would be added to the treasury, too.
Prereq is that the item in question costs more than 4000gp.
2. As per the rules you either amass enough of value (weapons, armor, jewellry, coins) of up to 4000gp and deposit it to gain 1BP or, for more valuable items, you roll an Economy check.
See page 64 in KM #2. Hope that helps!
Ruyan.
Have they totally stopped making #1 and #2 print versions? the cheapest i can find #2 is almost $300.00 on Amazon
I'm busy prepping this adventure for my party and trying to make sense of the kingdom start-up. Any help, corrections, etc. would be appreciated.
The first section (before the exploration section) is a little disjointed, but this is what I get out of it:
1. The PCs are supposed to have a year (12 turns) of kingdom building before starting the adventure proper. (page 9, "Events at Home")
2. The two (not three as it says in the adventure) "minor" events take place during that initial year, replacing whichever event would have normally been rolled. (page 13, "Minor Events")
3. The three special events should occur after the initial year, each time that party returns home from exploring. (page 9, "Events at Home")
Correct? Is this how people played it?
My concern is that the 2nd "minor event" is a continuous one, that only ends when the trolls are defeated (probably near the end of the adventure). It calls for a Loyalty check, with failure meaning +2 Unrest. My own test runs of the rules showed that Unrest can quickly turn into a death spiral, as it makes rolls to remove the Unrest harder, and eventually makes replenishing the treasury impossible (which generates even more unrest when you run out of BP).
On top of the continuous threat of unrest from the trolls, Grigori can generate a lot of unrest as well. And then there is the chance of failed Stability checks each turn.
Did anyone run into issues with Unrest building up as the kingdom was getting started?
I actually just completely forgot about the trolls imposing a penalty >_>
I doubled the downtime, my players had 2 years of kingdom building before I started on the troll attacks.
Was this decision based on anything in particular?
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I just really wanted Kingmaker to take a lot of "in-game" time, and I wanted room to flesh out my own material.
At this point the players are in book 5, and the Kingdom has been running for around 10 years. Some PCs have actually added aging penalties to their characters.
We'll be hitting around year five as we start Book 4 in ours.
All of my PCs are long-lived races though and won't hit aging penalties for decades at the least, centuries in a couple cases. (Due to fey shenanigans, one won't ever - she's functionally immortal at least as far as aging is concerned.)
My own test runs of the rules showed that Unrest can quickly turn into a death spiral, as it makes rolls to remove the Unrest harder, and eventually makes replenishing the treasury impossible (which generates even more unrest when you run out of BP).
On top of the continuous threat of unrest from the trolls, Grigori can generate a lot of unrest as well. And then there is the chance of failed Stability checks each turn.
Did anyone run into issues with Unrest building up as the kingdom was getting started?
Yes Unrest can be a killer, which is why we tried our best to keep it at 0. If your players are smart or have any experience with kingdom building games (civ, etc...) they will too. If not, have npc advisors emphasis this.
So it sounds kinda like people did not run it as the adventure suggests, and instead introduced the troll event after the startup period. Or didn't make it a continuous event.
I think that I might use the troll event, without making it continuous, to replace any random event results that don't fit.
I had a question concerning the lycanthrope Kundal in this adventure. He wakes up from his rampages in the forest, covered in blood. However, it mentions that he has Saki's severed ear with the golden earring attached under his bed.
One of my players brought up a very interesting question - why does he have this ear in his room at all? If he valued the earring, why not separate it and take it? Even if done as an evil act it still doesn't seem very sensible.
Thanks for any solution to this situation, I might be just not thinking it through properly but it was bugging me.
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I had a question concerning the lycanthrope Kundal in this adventure. He wakes up from his rampages in the forest, covered in blood. However, it mentions that he has Saki's severed ear with the golden earring attached under his bed.
One of my players brought up a very interesting question - why does he have this ear in his room at all? If he valued the earring, why not separate it and take it? Even if done as an evil act it still doesn't seem very sensible.
Thanks for any solution to this situation, I might be just not thinking it through properly but it was bugging me.
It's a snack for later.
people keep some crazy shit under their bed, our dog (a beagle) stashes stuff under our bed all the time. either because, as Dudemeister says, its a snack for later or just something to sniff on when he's under there (like underwear or used kleenex)
and thats just our dog! i bet if you google "Things found under the Bed" it would get really dark really fast:)
my group just started RRR!
they opted for staggy's fort as their first city! Kesten has been elected as warden, Oleg as temporary treasurer, jhod is the Baroness( half elf sorceress)councilor, the asmodean priest has convinced the other two players to be the high priest! He has promised order and freedom of cult (but for demon worshipping and an Rovagug's)..I can't wait to see the development.. the ranger( my third player) is now the marshal...funniest of it all Svetlana's been asked to serve as spymaster!!! (i had to switch a couple of stats to give them at least a +1)
meanwhile they explored the surrounding hexes, defeating crackjaw and owl-of-the-north-wind.
they reached lvl 5 by the end of the game.
I opted for not giving any penalties for the lack of magister and grand legate. the kingdom is small and there is no higher education sistem, and the only diplomatic relation is with Rostland..so..
Since there is no army yet, we also decided that there was no need for one..the warden's role as head of the city guard is more than enough for now...
Curghann, scroll up a bit!
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2kfjz&page=11?Rivers-Run-Red#516
What I've gotten from asking around is no one that I could find ran it like the book says. I waited until the first year was over, I think, and then had it reoccur at random intervals instead of every month. Otherwise my players' kingdom would have crashed and burned.
The base stats for a generic owlbear are shown here.
That leaves us with only a 1-point difference in the reduced stats in comparison to the base stats of the owlbear as described in the Bestiary. That is the +1 stat boost derived from the increased HD.
And all of that does not include the benefits of the rage spell, which includes bonuses to Strength and Constitution. So yes, you are correct, Curghann.
Huh. I think I missed all that when I ran Rivers Run Red. *facepalm*
Cheers!
CB out
EDIT: Oh, and I forgot,
So the final AC of the enraged owlbear should be 21 (base 10 + 3 armour [from the masterwork studded leather] + 10 natural armour bonus + 2 Dex -2 size -2 rage).
For
Malgorzata Niska, the cleric of Gyronna: it says she casts her rage spell on two of her subjects, but the spell only affects one creature per three levels (she's 5th level) - am I missing something?
*Edit: it also says she activates her aura of madness, but she shouldn't get that until 8th level
*Edit#2: why is her dagger 1d4+2 damage? Her strength is listed as 12
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PCs from Lyee's game, get out.
Actually why are you in this thread it would have so many spoilers if I hadn't reworked basically everything.
So the Owlbear felt... horrifically minor to me. I had it bringing together plot lines involving the Stag Lord (who survived after helping the PCs take the bandit fort in book 1), The Lost Prince, Briar, and Nyrissa. My PCs are level 8, and quite strong for that level. As written, the Owlbear would not have been much of a challenge for a group that approaches invisible, half of which can fly, and can dump 200, maybe 300 damage in a turn without crits.
So I rewrote the stat block. It's not exactly tidy-publishable content, and the numbers aren't at all intended to add up (some aren't even there) but for people wanting the Owlbear to feel end-of-book/plotline-connecting, I hope this version is fun:
Actually giant giant Owlbear
XP 15,000
Unique Possessed Armoured Steroid Advanced Dire Giant Owlbear
N Colossal++ Magical Beast
Init +0; Senses Darkvision 90ft, low-light vision, scent; Perception +16
Defence
AC 26, touch 8, flat footed 24 - because of its link to Nyrissa, the Owlbear cannot see and is flat footed against attacks from Briar
HP 800 (many_d_many+many)
Fort +25, Ref +10, Will +10
Offence
Speed 40ft
Melee Stupidly Oversized Smash +30 (12d12+90)
Space 40ft; Reach 20ft
Tactics
During Combat: The Giant Owlbear just tries to smash anything it thinks can hurt it and it can reach. If it can't see something to charge at, it attempts to one-shot a tree to be intimidating (trees have 150hp) or swipe a cone of air randomly in hopes of hitting something.
Statistics
Str Lots; Dex Not Lots; Con Lots; Int 2; Wis 16; Cha 14
Base Atk Lots, but the PCs are doing something very wrong if it makes an iterative attack; CMB Lots; CMD lots
Feats: Step-Up, Improved Bull Rush, probably some other stuff
Skills: Perception +16, Acrobatics +9, Fly +0, Stealth -62
Gear: +1 Chainmail Barding of Donation
Special: Barding of Donation
This unique armour was given by some mysterious dryad (this is the GM reference thread, it's Nyrissa) to the Stag Lord to equip to the owlbear. When equipped, the armour connects the equipped creature with another character, usually the one that equipped the armour. Currently, the dryad is connected to the owlbear. The connection allows the linked character to be able to see through the creature's senses, and to cast spells with a range other than personal on the equipped creature, regardless of location – even across planes. When on different planes, only spells up to level 4 can be cast, and function at a maximum of CL7.
Dryad has an init of +10 and acts separately.
Dryad's prepared spells (all CL7, any DC is 19):
Air Walk, Freedom of Movement, True Form, Caustic Blood, Neutralize Poison, Earth Glide, Remove Disease, Protection from Energy, Greater Longstrider, Dispel Magic, Resinous Skin.
She has prepared each spell only once, hoping that characters guess otherwise and don't try the something her spells have overcome.
I do have six 7th level PCs (about halfway through the book), but that might be a bit much for them. My main concern is the attack, which deals a minimum of 102 damage (assuming the PCs are *very* lucky) - how do you expect your PCs to survive even one hit from your version?
I do have six 7th level PCs (about halfway through the book), but that might be a bit much for them. My main concern is the attack, which deals a minimum of 102 damage (assuming the PCs are *very* lucky) - how do you expect your PCs to survive even one hit from your version?
They fought it for one session very successfully, but ended up retreating to regroup. In the first session, they started by kiting it with ranged attacks and grease spells while the Cavalier was doing ride-by charges (cannot be AoO'd by target of the charge) from a flying mount, but then it got Air Walk. They continued kiting it for a while, did 400 damage, but then the Cavalier's mount got hit and he was knocked unconcious from the hundred-something foot fall. The Oracle-ranger saved him and the group sphere-of-invis'd away. The group came back at night and tried to Coup-de-grace it. They just avoided waking it up via shriekers and got the attack off successfully - but it nat 20'd the not-die save, the only way it'd live.
The session ended there. I got a lot of evil looks for having it survive the assassination. But with liberal application of control spells, mobility spells/items, summons, and illusions, I think the PCs will kill it during round 2.
It's a boss where they aren't expected to survive getting hit, the goal is not getting hit. I made it clear by having it one-shot a tree and announcing the damage it did to the tree (130ish). It's been a really interesting fight.
What is the motivation for Grigori to use a potion of undetectable alignment? In politics, the truth can be as useful as a lie if it's convenient enough, and I don't see how his actual alignment (CN) is at any odds with the image he has chosen to project of a concerned individual mistrustful of the local government.
It's about him maintaining a poker face, and not allowing the PCs to know anything or make any assumptions about him. It puts him in control of the situation.
"We are going to break ground on a logging village and have identified the best spot for it. We would very much like to join your kingdom once you have pacified the regions between."
But the main reason for Tatzylford's existence, I believe, is that it is a know place, common to all kingdoms, that Drelev's armies can attack in Blood for Blood.