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Now that #51 has been played at PaizoCon, does anyone have any feedback on how it went. I will be running this one and it's sequel at Origins.
I loved it. It sensed a little muddled in the middle, gathering info, but that might be more about the players rather than the mod.
I really like Kaer Maga.(I know I'm misspelling it) So it was fun to step around the city. It was nice to get a feel for the city and interact with the NPCs.
Over all it was alot oof fun.
Larry Wilhelm was our GM, the writer of chapters 3 and 4 of Devil We Know series of PFS. He was a great GM and once under way made the NPCs pop. If you get a convension slot with him, I highly recommend it.
I really am looking forward to season 2 mods with the "Shadow Lodge" theme both as a player and GM.
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I ran it three times at PaizoCon. The middle part could easily be muddled, but it's a big part of what I enjoyed about the scenario. There are some great NPCs in there, and I love the way that the faction missions require the PCs to bumble around Kaer Maga trying to do them before heading to the finale. My main advice is to be extra familiar with the NPCs and the faction missions, and let the rest take care of itself. I'd say not to rush anything unless the players seem at a loss, and be prepared to be a little flexible. It can be very fun. :)
If the Kaer Maga book comes out before then, though, that'll change things. My players really wanted to know more about some of the stuff in the city, and I just had to tread lightly.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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This post will reveal plot points in the spoilers.
I commend this adventure. It's darker than most PFS scenarios, with strong NPCs and a mystery plot that requires investigation.
If the party doesn't include anybody who can make a DC 15 knowledge (local) roll, they're at a significant disadvantage, as they'll need to hire an NPC to make those checks for them, again and again. Diplomacy rolls to gather information are also essential. If a player has two PFS OP characters of the appropriate level, and has a choice as to which one to play, the GM might guide her decision based on this.
There are a gret number of NPCs, and it's important for the players to keep them distinct. I recommend using something like the "Friends and Foes" deck to help with that. A card with its back turned towards the players might serve to represent Dakar.
The module, as written, is vague about some important information. I asked Josh and my fellow GMs some of the questions I had, and I found the following information useful.
2) Specific Points. Dakar knows a lot about what's going on. Besel Ardoc has soken at length with Dakar and takes his word that there is a Shadow Lodge of the Society setting itself up in Kaer Maga, but doesn't have as many details. Horis Colligarde knew that something was up with the Society, but wasn't sure what. He wrote to his friend Dreng at Ardoc's urging.
3) Colligarde sent his original letter to Dreng well over a month before the PCs arrive at Kaer Maga. Wymund Pratt killed Colligarde only a few days before the PCs find his corpse. Ardoc discovered the body himself, and his men have been holed up for maybe a day or two. In particular, Holis can be raised.
4) Dakar could magically transport the PCs to himself. But he's enough of an S.O.B. to pull the old blindfold-and-run-around trick, mostly for his own amusement. Also, a love for the classics.
5) Ardoc could have sent golems to wait, rather than hire thugs, but he wanted agents that could make subtle discernmentsgolems would be poor choices if someone were to enter the house invisibly or use magic to ransack the place.
Truth to tell, I'm sort of glad I didn't encounter this module as a player. I've been playing my PFS PC as being irked by the Decemvirate, and he might well have offered his services to the Shadow Lodge.
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i wonder why it's entitled "The Shadow Gambit". A gambit in chess is a maneuver that sacrifices material for position. Is the Shadow Lodge in a better position at the end of this adventure because they sacrificed a few pawns?
I really expected for that word to have more meanings than that!
Having not read a lot of scenarios. Perhaps it refers to this being one of the opening moves of the shadow lodge. A failed gambit, is still a gambit, isn't it?
Gambit also has a second definition that's not specifically related to chess:
a device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage
From a story standpoint, the Society is the gambit. They risked following the clues to Kaer Maga and now know more about the SL then they have ever known. Additionally, this was the first SL scenario--and thus it was the opening move (and a pre-curser) to an entire season of SL-themed play.
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The battle with Wymand Pratt can be very deadly. One group I ran, had one 3rd level, four 2nd levels, and one 1st (APL3). Sounds okay, but Wymond's save or suck spells nearly crushed them. I thought the save DC's were slightly inflated. Not illegal, just a little high for a low-level band of PC's. Even the monk with the best saves had to roll an 11 to succeed. With mooks to keep the PC's at bay, bardic performance, and a minimum of four incapacitation spells (Sleep/Hideous Laughter) at tier 1-2 and add in Grease, Glitterdust, Fear, & Invisibility for tier 3-4, plus his multiple one shots (scrolls/potions) and foreknowledge of the PC's approach, the encounter has the feel of a TPK.
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Larry Wilhelm was our GM...All I can say is Ms. Feathers...
I grabbed an opportunity to GM a table of 4 former Triad mambers at Origins. If any of you know Lynn Register, he can come off as pretty gruff (he's actually very cool if you know him)--but when I introduced Miss Feathers he spit up the coffee he was drinking all over his character sheet. It was one of my favorite moments from the convention.
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I grabbed an opportunity to GM a table of 4 former Triad mambers at Origins. If any of you know Lynn Register, he can come off as pretty gruff (he's actually very cool if you know him)--but when I introduced Miss Feathers he spit up the coffee he was drinking all over his character sheet. It was one of my favorite moments from the convention.Larry Wilhelm was our GM...All I can say is Ms. Feathers...
Spit take, very nice...
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The paladin in our group had the attractive trait/feat that was ruthlessly exploited by Ms. Feathers. It was hilarious. Adding in the fact that his faction mission had him 'stealing' a book from a dead man's home had many of us loudly questioning his morality.
Good times, good times.
Oh, and the Wizard and the Barbarian were the only onles that managed to save against the dreaded Glitterdust spell. Bewtween spells, poor defensive casting rolls, and a Great Axe wielded by a raging half-orc barbarian, Pratt didn't last too long.
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All I can say is Ms. Feathers...
Huh, I guess our group totally missed Ms. Feathers. Ah, well, our GM was running the scenario with his young daughters at the table so I guess he had to do a little editing.
The battle with Wymand Pratt can be very deadly. One group I ran, had one 3rd level, four 2nd levels, and one 1st (APL3). Sounds okay, but Wymond's save or suck spells nearly crushed them. I thought the save DC's were slightly inflated. Not illegal, just a little high for a low-level band of PC's. Even the monk with the best saves had to roll an 11 to succeed. With mooks to keep the PC's at bay, bardic performance, and a minimum of four incapacitation spells (Sleep/Hideous Laughter) at tier 1-2 and add in Grease, Glitterdust, Fear, & Invisibility for tier 3-4, plus his multiple one shots (scrolls/potions) and foreknowledge of the PC's approach, the encounter has the feel of a TPK.
Our group didn't have a problem with him at all. While it's usually not recommended that groups break up, we split up as soon as we broke through the back door of the theater. Pratt hit a couple with his Glitterdust spell, but with 2 characters being infused with speed from the Expeditious Retreat scrolls we found, plus an animal companion (cheetah I think) charging around the theater to the box seat he was in, he didn't stand much of a chance. He focused on the rest of us on the stage since he couldn't see the others running down the hall behind him. We took the brunt while they came up from behind, cut off his escape and took him down. Even after he went invisible the rogue and cat were able to land blows and bring him down.
After I finished #51 and #52, I thanked Sutter for making the setting awesome enough to write fun adventures in. It may very well be my favorite Golarion city.
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I'm slot zeroing our gameday GMs on Part 1 tonight. I was excited before but now I'm bubbling over. I regret that I won't have time to read through it completely (I have to be seen doing some sort of work today) before tonight. At PaizoCon & Origins all I had to work with was the brief mention in The Seven Swords of Sin. I tried to describe to the players the bizarre nature of the city, the troll augurs, the bloatmages, etc. Now I have some beautiful illustrations to show off. The cover is awesome! There's so much trouble to get into there. My hat is off to Mr. Sutter.
Hey, thanks folks! After designing the city in fits and starts over the last several years, I'm really excited that people are finally getting a chance to see the book. (And some of the art in there really is fantastic! I think my favorite pieces are still Blando's maps, but the naga and augur are close behind them...)
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Hey, thanks folks! After designing the city in fits and starts over the last several years, I'm really excited that people are finally getting a chance to see the book. (And some of the art in there really is fantastic! I think my favorite pieces are still Blando's maps, but the naga and augur are close behind them...)
I think I spent a good hour of the evening just describing the city to the players and passing around the illustrations I printed. There's just not enough time within a Society scenario slot to do the city justice. I always enjoy the reaction the troll augurs get from the players. Compared with the generic city description that is often given, I think some of the players didn't know how to take all the sights and sounds of Kaer Maga--which was appropriate.
Around the table there were some comparisons to Sigil, the city from Planescape. I have the names and addresses of those players if you'd like them, James ;)
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Are there going to be more senarios written in Kaer Maga? If so where is the source book available at?
The sourcebook is available now, and the PDF will be released later this month. It can be found under the Chronicles products. I highly recommend it.
As for further scenarios set in Kaer Maga, there's nothing preventing you from writing one and submitting it to Josh :)
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Are there going to be more senarios written in Kaer Maga? If so where is the source book available at?The sourcebook is available now, and the PDF will be released later this month. It can be found under the Chronicles products. I highly recommend it.
As for further scenarios set in Kaer Maga, there's nothing preventing you from writing one and submitting it to Josh :)
Thanks Doug -- have I mentioned you're my favorite yet lol
submitting a senario??!!! soooooo not that talented lol, I'll choose to bask in the warm glow of the other submitters and then use their words to go for the TPK :D
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I grabbed an opportunity to GM a table of 4 former Triad members at Origins. If any of you know Lynn Register, he can come off as pretty gruff (he's actually very cool if you know him)--but when I introduced Miss Feathers he spit up the coffee he was drinking all over his character sheet. It was one of my favorite moments from the convention.Larry Wilhelm was our GM...All I can say is Ms. Feathers...
Hey! I made it to the battlemat. Good thing Dave brought a lot of napkins for the coffee ;-).
Yeah that was something that obviously took me by surprise. Props to Larry and that, and I apologize for not remembering the so-in-so's name; but he decided to try to re-introduce Ms. Feathers to me later on in the module. The "role" play was uh..memorable. Much to my _Paladin's_ chagrin.
Thanks for a great game Larry, and thanks for the help Doug, I really didn't mean to come off gruff. Thanks to Brian for pointing out this post. That game helped me decide to come back to gaming after a two-year hiatus and the years of work I put into a different campaign based off of 3.5. Brian and Dave convinced me to give Pathfinder a try and my fellow Triad members were on the money.
Lynn
aka
Bryson Paladin of Abadar
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After GMing three slots on the day before at PaizoCon UK - this was the game I actually played with Theodum as a tier 3-4 group of 6. It was a fantastic experience and we blasted through the whole adventure in less then 3 1/2 hours - at least one hour ahead of every other table.
It doesn't mean we where overpowered in any way or didn't role-play. The group just worked together like a well oiled clockwork mechanism. I had played only once with one member on the table - and had the feeling we were a group mixed together. One pair that knew each other got seperated just ahead of the game as a cleric was needed at another table.
In the first encounter - space, events as they unfolded and tactics meant I was able to colour spray 3 of the goblins in my first combat round - with two of them down - and then to disrupt the readied burning hands of the Shaman in my second round to allow the fighter directly after me to charge him.
Other encounter followed in a similar vein. The group worked like orchestrated. At some stage I felt sorry for the GM. He never had a chance. He put up a brave fight with the bard in the last encounter - but the group didn't give him a single chance for a break.
He went down - being in an area of silence (our cleric specifically prepared that spell for the last encounter), being softened up by the fighter and the monk and being blasted for 20 damage by a scroching ray and being set aflame with a burned off alchemist fire at the same time. The monk had taken care to give me a perfect aim without him in the way while still outsice the silence radius. And a high roll ensured there was never a doubt that the ray would hit - even into melee.
Yes - we took advantage of the knowledge from the Andoran mission - that we would face a bard to have silence prepared. But that's what you do when you get information.
Looking at other tables I can attest that it was only our group that sliced through the adventure thanks to perfect collaboration and the bit off right dice rolls whenever needed.
A very enjoyable game
Thod
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After GMing three slots on the day before at PaizoCon UK - this was the game I actually played with Theodum as a tier 3-4 group of 6. It was a fantastic experience and we blasted through the whole adventure in less then 3 1/2 hours - at least one hour ahead of every other table.
Technically you'd only have been about 20 mins in front of our table if we hadn't have had a 45 min break for lunch :D
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Have a Bard in the party, I was, and had a blast. Glitterdust, hah, you can't stop the song that way! We suprised Pratt by interrogation of his sidekick beforehand, so seems fair to me.
Managed to resist humming "It's a mystery" fortunately.
Overall the module seems to offer multiple ways to get an edge on the bad guys as a reward for good play, which I regard as a sign of a quality product.
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Are there going to be more senarios written in Kaer Maga? If so where is the source book available at?The sourcebook is available now, and the PDF will be released later this month. It can be found under the Chronicles products. I highly recommend it.
As for further scenarios set in Kaer Maga, there's nothing preventing you from writing one and submitting it to Josh :)
It's not a scenario, but they certainly aren't ignoring Kaer Maga as seen in the upcoming module The Godsmouth Heresy.
After GMing three slots on the day before at PaizoCon UK - this was the game I actually played with Theodum as a tier 3-4 group of 6. It was a fantastic experience and we blasted through the whole adventure in less then 3 1/2 hours - at least one hour ahead of every other table.
It doesn't mean we where overpowered in any way or didn't role-play. The group just worked together like a well oiled clockwork mechanism. I had played only once with one member on the table - and had the feeling we were a group mixed together. One pair that knew each other got seperated just ahead of the game as a cleric was needed at another table.
In the first encounter - space, events as they unfolded and tactics meant I was able to colour spray 3 of the goblins in my first combat round - with two of them down - and then to disrupt the readied burning hands of the Shaman in my second round to allow the fighter directly after me to charge him.
Other encounter followed in a similar vein. The group worked like orchestrated. At some stage I felt sorry for the GM. He never had a chance. He put up a brave fight with the bard in the last encounter - but the group didn't give him a single chance for a break.
He went down - being in an area of silence (our cleric specifically prepared that spell for the last encounter), being softened up by the fighter and the monk and being blasted for 20 damage by a scroching ray and being set aflame with a burned off alchemist fire at the same time. The monk had taken care to give me a perfect aim without him in the way while still outsice the silence radius. And a high roll ensured there was never a doubt that the ray would hit - even into melee.
Yes - we took advantage of the knowledge from the Andoran mission - that we would face a bard to have silence prepared. But that's what you do when you get information.
Looking at other tables I can attest that it was only our group that sliced through the adventure thanks to perfect collaboration and the bit off right dice rolls whenever...
+1 I was one of the fighters in the group and we had a blast. We could have done with you in the second part as well Jens.The lack of Arcane back up was distinctly felt though we did get through it in the end.
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This is just a suggestion for those who are running Part 1. I find it more entertaining to expand upon the scenario and I invite you to share your ideas here as well. First, I think Chris Mortica had asked Josh if there was going to an opportunity for players to join the Shadow Lodge in the future. Josh’s reply was something on the order of if we gave players the choice, the Society would collapse from the number of defectors. PCs cannot join the Shadow Lodge, but there’s nothing stopping them from believing they or others could. I love the paranoia that comes with not knowing who is on which side. I use index cards for tracking initiative and for keeping notes on the PCs. At the beginning of the game I have players fill out their cards with the usual info (name, initiative modifier, faction) and sometimes pre-rolled saves or skill checks. When I ran Part 1 I also asked the players to rate their character’s loyalty to the Pathfinder Society on a scale of 1 – 5 and write it down on their card. 1 = questionable loyalty, 5 = they’d blindly kill whomever the Society set them against. This will be a secret between the player and the GM, but it gets the players thinking about their companions & what their answers might be. Most of the time players write a 3 or a 4, but there’s always a 1 or 2 floating at each table. Later in the game, after the PCs have arrived in Kaer Maga and have split up to pursue Faction missions I will ask to speak privately with any disloyal players and simply ask them what their dissatisfaction involves. Of course, the other players at the table will be curious what we’re talking about, and doubly so when no one says anything when they return. More on this later.
The Osirion Faction must find a Duskwarden named Gahiji and persuade him to return to Osirion to serve as a member of the Risen Guard. To spice things up, I place a mini representing Gahiji (whom the Osirion players may not have identified yet) on the map for Encounter One. I also place some pack animals and wagons on the map from the caravan the PCs are traveling with. When the goblins spring their ambush, Gahiji is trampled and left a bloody mess on the floor of the cavern. I place Gahiji in the initiative order and begin him unconscious and bleeding out. If no one gets to him before ten rounds elapse he dies. If someone heals (not just stabilizes) him I grant a +2 on the Osirion Faction’s attempt to recruit him back.
Because so many players can’t follow the Venture Captain’s briefing or don’t pay attention when NPCs are introduced, I’ve taken to writing the NPCs’ names on an index card along with some known facts about them. As the NPC is introduced I will place the card on the table so the players can refer back to it. Kyle Baird gave me an idea to use Paizo’s Face Cards along with the index cards. I make index cards for:
Horis Collgardie (friend of Drandle Dreng, Resident of Kaer Maga, Cloth Merchant)
Besel Ardoc (member of powerful Ardoc family, works out of a golem factory know as The Kiln, hired some goons to avenge Collgardie)
Dakar (mysterious leader of the Commerce League, closely guards his identity, asked Besel Ardoc to hire the goons as a favor)
The Shadow Lodge (splinter group within the Pathfinder Society, motives ???)
Wyman Pratt (member of the Pathfinder Society, supposed to be on a long-term expedition to Arcadia)
If I run the optional encounter (Vadoma’s Ambush) and the players take Vadoma alive and interrogate her, I will have her appeal to the disloyal player as if she knows him or her. She’s got a decent bluff check and it is conceivable that the disaffected PC is known to the Shadow Lodge and was perhaps considered for membership. Vadoma will speak to the PC as if she knows him and ask him/her to help her escape. Even if the disloyal player denies the relationship, it will still plant a seed of doubt in the minds of the other players and crank up the suspense for the final Act.
Last, we all know that bards are great liars and like to talk their way out of trouble. If you have players who aren’t role-playing and just want to roll the dice, run the encounter as written. I like to screw with the players’ heads. When the players enter the theatre and see Wyman Pratt, I don’t have him take any kind of offensive action. No pre-summoned monsters, no weapon drawn. He’s standing there and clapping his hands with a big welcoming smile on his face. “Well done my friends!” he’ll say. “I can imagine that you’re confused by all the subterfuge and rightly so. Please let me explain. On occasion the Pathfinder Society has to test its members to make sure that their edge hasn’t been dulled. We also like to evaluate members for future positions as Venture Captains. This is done through some very realistic tests of your skill and resourcefulness. I must congratulate you all, for you have overcome every obstacle we have set before you. My hat is off to you!”
Of course the players (especially Andorans) will not buy this, but if they are good role-players it will slow them down as they try to expose him. Ultimately his goal is to get them to return to Absalom for their reward. The fallen were just actors in the charade and will be raised, and hopefully wiser for the experience. Periodically Wyman will make eye contact with the disloyal player, and if the other players are belligerent he will ask that player’s PC for help in calming down his/her peers. Wyman’s last bluff will be to warn the PCs that if they don’t cooperate they risk being put on trial for mutiny by the Society. If that doesn’t cow the players (it shouldn’t) then Wyman’s patience snaps, he moves into cover and starts summoning.
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This is just a suggestion for those who are running Part 1. I find it more entertaining to expand upon the scenario and I invite you to share your ideas here as well. First, I think Chris Mortica had asked Josh if there was going to an opportunity for players to join the Shadow Lodge in the future. Josh’s reply was something on the order of if we gave players the choice, the Society would collapse from the number of defectors. PCs cannot join the Shadow Lodge, but there’s nothing stopping them from believing they or others could. I love the paranoia that comes with not knowing who is on which side. I use index cards for tracking initiative and for keeping notes on the PCs. At the beginning of the game I have players fill out their cards with the usual info (name, initiative modifier, faction) and sometimes pre-rolled saves or skill checks. When I ran Part 1 I also asked the players to rate their character’s loyalty to the Pathfinder Society on a scale of 1 – 5 and write it down on their card. 1 = questionable loyalty, 5 = they’d blindly kill whomever the Society set them against. This will be a secret between the player and the GM, but it gets the players thinking about their companions & what their answers might be. Most of the time players write a 3 or a 4, but there’s always a 1 or 2 floating at each table. Later in the game, after the PCs have arrived in Kaer Maga and have split up to pursue Faction missions I will ask to speak privately with any disloyal players and simply ask them what their dissatisfaction involves. Of course, the other players at the table will be curious what we’re talking about, and doubly so when no one says anything when they return. More on this later.
The Osirion Faction must find a Duskwarden named Gahiji and persuade him to return to Osirion to serve as a member of the Risen Guard. To spice things up, I place a mini representing Gahiji (whom the Osirion players may not have identified yet) on the map for Encounter One. I also place some pack animals and...
love your running of the last encounter, hope you dont mind that i try this myself
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ran this, with trying to get pcs to come in and sit down to talk. started everyone on init so to keep track of actions. was working pretty good as rouges spread out to stealth and others walked down middle isle. 2 fighters and magus got to within 40 feet so did the facinate and suggestion. facinate worked on all 3, but for two rounds tried sugests and failed. DC 18 and i get pc's roling 19's and 20's. 1 round of 4 attacks and 1 of 7 and bad guy loses. This is my 8th mod i think to run. several has had sorcerers that just dont seem to make it to round 3 or 4. is this common or im i just messing up the mods?
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ran this, with trying to get pcs to come in and sit down to talk. started everyone on init so to keep track of actions. was working pretty good as rouges spread out to stealth and others walked down middle isle. 2 fighters and magus got to within 40 feet so did the facinate and suggestion. facinate worked on all 3, but for two rounds tried sugests and failed. DC 18 and i get pc's roling 19's and 20's. 1 round of 4 attacks and 1 of 7 and bad guy loses. This is my 8th mod i think to run. several has had sorcerers that just dont seem to make it to round 3 or 4. is this common or im i just messing up the mods?
You are not messing up. Any time when there are 4-6 PCs and one humanoid bad guy he's not going to stay up long. Casters need blockers, which was what the summoned monsters were supposed to be. What they really are is speed bumps. The best you can hope to do with that bard is frustrate the players for a while. Stick and move, stick and move. Don't let yourself get surrounded. I think glitterdust is still a super spell, and hideous laughter is great against the fighters. But the "Lone Caster" is living on borrowed time. Don't feel bad when the players drop your BBEG in a few rounds. A.) The players are supposed to win, and B.) numbers are not on the GM's side. And in this case I will add C.) All bards must die! ;)
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ran this, with trying to get pcs to come in and sit down to talk. started everyone on init so to keep track of actions. was working pretty good as rouges spread out to stealth and others walked down middle isle. 2 fighters and magus got to within 40 feet so did the facinate and suggestion. facinate worked on all 3, but for two rounds tried sugests and failed. DC 18 and i get pc's roling 19's and 20's. 1 round of 4 attacks and 1 of 7 and bad guy loses. This is my 8th mod i think to run. several has had sorcerers that just dont seem to make it to round 3 or 4. is this common or im i just messing up the mods?You are not messing up. Any time when there are 4-6 PCs and one humanoid bad guy he's not going to stay up long. Casters need blockers, which was what the summoned monsters were supposed to be. What they really are is speed bumps. The best you can hope to do with that bard is frustrate the players for a while. Stick and move, stick and move. Don't let yourself get surrounded. I think glitterdust is still a super spell, and hideous laughter is great against the fighters. But the "Lone Caster" is living on borrowed time. Don't feel bad when the players drop your BBEG in a few rounds. A.) The players are supposed to win, and B.) numbers are not on the GM's side. And in this case I will add C.) All bards must die! ;)
yea, i got one wolf on role and had it waiting in side room for any sneaky thiefs it detected. hoped to block off sneak attacks from behind, it came out to attack thief as planed but not good speed bump. i admit dice worked against me. Thanks for advice
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Last, we all know that bards are great liars and like to talk their way out of trouble. If you have players who aren’t role-playing and just want to roll the dice, run the encounter as written. I like to screw with the players’ heads. When the players enter the theatre and see Wyman Pratt, I don’t have him take any kind of offensive action. No pre-summoned monsters, no weapon drawn. He’s standing there and clapping his hands with a big welcoming smile on his face. “Well done my friends!” he’ll say. “I can imagine that you’re confused by all the subterfuge and rightly so. Please let me explain. On occasion the Pathfinder Society has to test its members to make sure that their edge hasn’t been dulled. We also like to evaluate members for future positions as Venture Captains. This is done through some very realistic tests of your skill and resourcefulness. I must congratulate you all, for you have overcome every obstacle we have set before you. My hat is off to you!”
Doug, ran this mod last night with your ending. It worked really well...except for the dang Andoran Paladin using class abilities to make snap judgments. It was that and the Bard's surprisingly low Bluff score (at least compared to many of the Bards I know). The bard started bright, but faded quickly.
-Pain
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It worked really well...except for the dang Andoran Paladin using class abilities to make snap judgments...
-Pain
** spoiler omitted **
Quite pleased to know that I messed with your plan. :D Of course, having my mount almost wiped out by your response was mildly humbling. Too bad we ran out of time...playing through the battle with Wyman would have been entertaining.
--Eelario
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Yep, I know there's zero chance to fool the players if there's an Andoran PC present. It's fun to have the bard bluster and get indignant when the PCs don't just eat from his hand. He's got a lot of screw-with-the-PCs spells, but nothing that's really going to kill anyone. It's just an academic exercise to see how long he can last before he's turned into hamburger.
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Eh, Charm Person on the Big Dumb Fighter is always a good standby. If he wins that opposed charisma check, there's a good chance someone's taking a LOT of damage.
I thought charm person would not make you kill your (old) friends just because your (new) friend said so? It's not dominate. Especially with the PFS prohibition on killing other players, I usually make charmed victims use non-lethal combat or CMs. Still, it helps.
I actually found...
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Spoilers...
I just ran this at our Friday Night PFS game at the local game shop.
The party had a 1st cleric of Sarenrae, 1 Halfling Samurai on a Wolf, 1 fighter and 2 wizard.
I used DougDoug's idea of how loyal to the PFS the PC's were.
During the fight with Vadoma, the party used much of their resources. They went into the fight with the Bard a little under prepared.
Prior to the first round, I hit the summon spell. The next round I hit the fighter with Charm Person. I said to enjoy the show that will be starting soon. Don't worry friends disagree all the time.
While the PC's where still trying to get to me, I hit the Samurai with Charm Person. He saved. So the next round I hit him with Hideous Laughter. 4 rounds. The cleric attempted to parlay and I said I'd go for a short time - giving him ample time to discuss is (much more than the 6seconds of 1 round) but officially only one round. He was of course attempting to get the spell to wear off. During this he did a channel energy, healing the Samurai from some minor damage. On my next turn the Bard again hit the Samurai with Charm Person and succeeded. I even allowed a second save because he's a Ronin and was told to make sure the bard died, saying his faction and society was more important than the life of a traitor. fail.
Now that two of the PC's are out of the fight, it's real easy. I'm able to charm the cleric as well. Now it's just me and the 2nd level wizard. He gets up on the stage and attempts to kill me, with 1hp of damage. I'm not worried.
In the end, the wizard has run to the doors but is blinded from the glitterdust and the rest of the group are my friends.
I tell the PC's that the Bard will now leave to join the Shadow Lodge in another town - that they had better be prepared for the worst.
So the Andoran's failed their mission to kill Pratt, but what about the end mission for the Society? They picked up the papers and such.
I've never had the big bad evil guy win in the end.
Pratt just walked out and 4 hours later, the PC's were no longer his friend.
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Spoilers...
I just ran this at our Friday Night PFS game at the local game shop.
The party had a 1st cleric of Sarenrae, 1 Halfling Samurai on a Wolf, 1 fighter and 2 wizard.
I used DougDoug's idea of how loyal to the PFS the PC's were.
During the fight with Vadoma, the party used much of their resources. They went into the fight with the Bard a little under prepared.
Prior to the first round, I hit the summon spell. The next round I hit the fighter with Charm Person. I said to enjoy the show that will be starting soon. Don't worry friends disagree all the time.
While the PC's where still trying to get to me, I hit the Samurai with Charm Person. He saved. So the next round I hit him with Hideous Laughter. 4 rounds. The cleric attempted to parlay and I said I'd go for a short time - giving him ample time to discuss is (much more than the 6seconds of 1 round) but officially only one round. He was of course attempting to get the spell to wear off. During this he did a channel energy, healing the Samurai from some minor damage. On my next turn the Bard again hit the Samurai with Charm Person and succeeded. I even allowed a second save because he's a Ronin and was told to make sure the bard died, saying his faction and society was more important than the life of a traitor. fail.
Now that two of the PC's are out of the fight, it's real easy. I'm able to charm the cleric as well. Now it's just me and the 2nd level wizard. He gets up on the stage and attempts to kill me, with 1hp of damage. I'm not worried.
In the end, the wizard has run to the doors but is blinded from the glitterdust and the rest of the group are my friends.
I tell the PC's that the Bard will now leave to join the Shadow Lodge in another town - that they had better be prepared for the worst.So the Andoran's failed their mission to kill Pratt, but what about the end mission for the Society? They picked up the papers and such.
I've never had the big bad evil guy win in the end.
Pratt just walked out and 4 hours later, the PC's were...
for me, theres nothing like a good recuring villan. It certainly only beefs up the power of the shadow lodge and builds the anticipation of their eventuall downfall at Gencon if Absolom is successfull in their fight.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
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I'm prepping to run this tonight, and I noticed something about the one of the faction missions.
Oh, and this is irritating:
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
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Just write it on the handout. "Must be completed in secret"I'm prepping to run this tonight, and I noticed something about the one of the faction missions.
** spoiler omitted **
Oh, and this is irritating:** spoiler omitted **
Thanks, I will. But I shouldn't have to. I also noticed a lot of typos in the adventure, is there somebody that I can report them to, or does it even matter at this point (this is a year one scenario after all).