Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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I don't either, just a bit conservative without knowing if the precedent would allow another object spell to be taken outside of its intended use.
It does say it resembles Mending which requires all parts to be present. If the brain has been consumed, it's not really present.
A quick dissection could fix that.
Of course then there are other questions.
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From Mark Moreland earlier in this thread.
Just for future reference, raise dead won't work on someone without a brain, since it doesn't regrow missing body parts:While the spell closes mortal wounds and repairs lethal damage of most kinds, the body of the creature to be raised must be whole. Otherwise, missing parts are still missing when the creature is brought back to life.Getting your brain eaten is a bigger deal than 8 PP can help you recover from, is what I'm saying; I don't recommend it.
So only resurrect/ True RES will work. And it's a *itch trying to get money for it.
I enjoyed the rest of the mod though. Thank goodness our mage had 'Create Pit' for the fight against the statue.
BTW, I was a slightly wrong on what I thought it would take. Due to the *4* GM credits on the character, and the donation of 1600gp (800ea) from the only two players I could get ahold of. I was able to get a rez.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Arizona—Tucson
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I'm preparing to run this scenario at Gamicon this weekend and noticed something really weird about the Devourer of Reason's stat block. He has the Brain Eater feat, but at subtier 4-5 he does not qualify for it due to lack of intelligence!
I'm very much inclined now to not use the feat under any circumstance if running at that subtier. Due to the seriousness of having one's brain eaten, I feel any player would be justifiably upset, not over dying, but over the fact that as written the monster may not use the feat.
I'm sorry that I overlooked your comment when it was posted!
My initial purpose for giving that feat to the Devourer of Reason was to make it credible for him to imitate someone without using magic more powerful than disguise self (and a disguise kit to maintain his guise without burning through all his spells). I also thought the whole idea was quite creepy and villainous, which seemed to suit him.
I would probably just raise the Devourer's Intelligence score back to 17, but you're certainly right that getting one's brain eaten before resurrection becomes practical is quite a dire fate.
I hope all went well at Gamicon!
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Venture-Lieutenant, Arizona—Tucson
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Except for the tower map. 2 hours trying to draw it and then I thought of rotating the grid 22 degrees or so - then it mapped easy. It looks like it was drawn on a grid, then the grid was rotated.
Rotate the grid on that bad boy! The original draft of the tower had it at a much more severe angle, which was altered in editing. (Unfortunately, this proved very confusing.) In that version, the grid originally helped orient which way was "up".
The Finale: [spoiler]When the PCs place the amulet into its spot on the wall, a large part of the wall fades away, revealing the ruined stairwell beyond. Debris and fragments of stone clatter into the chamber with the PCs, making an ungodly racket.
The Devourer is in the chamber above the PCs, poking around. The door to this upper chamber sits open. Hearing someone coming, he peers through the upper doorway, clutching a scroll of web that he happened to be examining. Once someone enters the ruined stairwell, the Devourer casts web. Ideally, he wants to leave enough web between himself and the party to tangle them up, but not so much that he completely blocks vision. He then makes himself invisible and lays his ambush for the first sucker to climb up to him. If they mess around in the stairwell instead of coming up, he'll abandon the ambush and start blasting them from the cover of the doorway.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Arizona—Tucson
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I've ruled that the webs are as much a hinderance as help when climbing, but that characters who fall off the wall into webs take no falling damage.
Allow me to include some background material that I couldn't fit in the scenario's final version...
The haunt in the Orrery chamber manifested after the Devourer of Reason burst forth from its magical imprisonment, paralyzing, tormenting, and devouring the unfortunate scholar Anumet.
The Devourer had used the isolated observatory chamber for such horrific feasts before: In the distant past, it had sacrificed Ralzeros' assistants to its mysterous patrons, devouring their minds and bodies until Ralzeros learned of its treachery and bound it away for future punishment.
Already vaguely haunted by the psychic residue of these previous murders, this fresh killing caused the area's latent energies to manifest as a lethal haunt.
This haunt begins to manifest when someone closely examines Anumet's remains. Some haunts are only sensed by specific individuals: This one can be perceived by anyone in the chamber.
A successful Perception check may hear the whispered voice of the Devourer gloating over its grim feast ("A gift of flesh!") or may hear a disgusting, wet noise as of the monster tearing into its helpless victim's mind.
Those hearing these disturbing initial manifestations have a chance to go in the surprise round. The haunt fully manifests on initiative count "10", so those eligible to go before that may forestall its full manifestation. It can be effected by channeled positive energy or by healing magic directed into its focus (Anumet's corpse). PCs may also flee the area to avoid the effects (Watch out for the rickety walkway!)
When the haunt fully manifests (Initiative count 10 of the surprise round), glowing, ectoplasmic fluid oozes forth from Anumet's wounds. It sprays onto one of the onlookers (targeting as an acid arrow spell), who immediately manifests gashes as if ghoulish claws were tearing at him. The victim sees incoherent glimpses from Anumet's final agonies, feeling his flesh torn, his memories devoured. These manifestations are more intense (and dangerous) at Tier 4-5, even targeting more victims.
These manifestations can be shut down by channelled positive energy, or victims can just flee their area of effect. If the haunt's hit points are overcome through positive energy, all manifestations shut down immediately. Those effected by the haunt who flee while it is still active will continue to suffer as the effects run their course (as acid arrow).
All haunts are fear effects. Those immune to fear suffer no damage, although they can still sense the manifestation's presence.
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Have now prepped this for a day con with 3.5 hour slots.
I have a query on the hands set up due to an apparent rules violation
General thoughts:
The tactics look generally strong throughout and all the creatures have feats and abilities to get the damage output up in melee combat.
The Devourer as mentioned is at a build disadvantage with a wasted feat and unusable bloodline ability at higher tier. Though he at least has a way to get his melee damage output up when it comes to that
I am concerned about what may happen if I get a bunch of new first levels with the statue and the Devourer though.
Not mentioned above is that haunts can also be neutralised by cure spells, but as they require touch attacks you must hit AC10.
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Regional Venture-Coordinator, Mediterranean
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I wouldn't worry about the hands. Jut run them cinematically.
Legitimate concerns about the statues though. Remember that for some objects:
Vulnerability to Certain Attacks: Certain attacks are especially successful against some objects. In such cases, attacks deal double their normal damage and may ignore the object's hardness.
So perhaps be generous about certain attacks/energy types. Otherwise they are just too much for a 1st level party.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Arizona—Tucson
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I have a query about the hands' set up due to an apparent rules violation.
Although the ceiling rises 20 ft., I envisioned the area with arched rib vaults supporting the structure. The arched ceiling would thus be lower near the room's walls and its supporting pillars. Scuttling stealthily along the ribs of the vaulted ceiling, the hands could leap from one of the pillars or hide near the body they have set up as "bait".
I am concerned about what may happen if I get a bunch of new first levels with the statue and the Devourer though.
If a brand-new party faces the statue, encourage them to think "outside the box" by emphasizing its awkwardness and poor perception. If they understand that their foe is "big and dumb", they may try other ways of overcoming it besides duking it out toe-to-toe. Like the higher-tier graven guardian, I would not have the statue attack anyone who openly displays a holy symbol of Nethys (or the wearer's companions).
If the low-level PCs need some warning, careful reading of Daling's notes could provide hints of the statue's power ("My mightiest blow left little impression on the statue's stone. If only I had listened to Ejiekito's ill-tempered rants before we came to this accursed tower!").
If a low-level party successfully knocks it down the hole to the lower level, I'd have the statue just lie there, its instructions not written to address such an event. It would then lie dormant unless it was attacked again. Osirioni PCs could then gather chips of stone that had already broken off during the fight or when the statue fell.
Venture-Captain, Michigan—Mt. Pleasant
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They didn't actually go down, the STR and INT were switched I believe.
Also:
I'm preparing to run this scenario at Gamicon this weekend and noticed something really weird about the Devourer of Reason's stat block. He has the Brain Eater feat, but at subtier 4-5 he does not qualify for it due to lack of intelligence!
I'm very much inclined now to not use the feat under any circumstance if running at that subtier. Due to the seriousness of having one's brain eaten, I feel any player would be justifiably upset, not over dying, but over the fact that as written the monster may not use the feat.
I'm sorry that I overlooked your comment when it was posted!
My initial purpose for giving that feat to the Devourer of Reason was to make it credible for him to imitate someone without using magic more powerful than disguise self (and a disguise kit to maintain his guise without burning through all his spells). I also thought the whole idea was quite creepy and villainous, which seemed to suit him.
I would probably just raise the Devourer's Intelligence score back to 17, but you're certainly right that getting one's brain eaten before resurrection becomes practical is quite a dire fate.
I hope all went well at Gamicon!
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I just ran this earlier tonight, and had something interesting come up.
The Devourer clawed a Merisel (Elf) pre-gen at the table and I had the player roll a Fort save vs. paralysis, but then had to tell them to stop since the scenario states that Elves are immune to paralysis.
(Note - my players weren't complaining)
Is there a reason that Elves get a ride on this? Thanks!
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elves are only immune to limited forms of paralysis, specifically, that of ghouls.
Not ghasts, not lacedons. Ghouls.
Do you happen to have a book/reference for that? That sort of thing would be very important for GMs who run First Steps Part II, since I've heard that the fight with the Ghoul in that one has the potential to be pretty lethal...
Thanks!
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Venture-Lieutenant, Arizona—Tucson
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I don't have the rulebooks handy, but check out the PRD entry for ghouls. It indicates that elves are immune to ghoul paralysis, but not that of ghasts. Lacedons would generally be considered identical to ghouls.
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I don't have the rulebooks handy, but check out the PRD entry for ghouls. It indicates that elves are immune to ghoul paralysis, but not that of ghasts. Lacedons would generally be considered identical to ghouls.
Ah ha! That solves it, thank you!
Also, I must say James, that this was a fun scenario to run and all of the players at my table had a great time - even the one who almost got roasted alive by the Devourer. They went up into the vault single-file, but the "pointman" called a halt when he stepped in the web, giving the Devourer time to use Burning Hands to set the web aflame as well as the PC in it and the one behind him.
The party's alchemist almost decided to use a series of bombs to blow a hole through the path the Devourer took to the vault instead of wander around the tower, but I hinted that doing so could bring down the whole tower on top of them, but it was a funny discussion between the PCs.
Again, great scenario, and thank you for the info!
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Contributor
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I'm preparing to run this tomorrow night and this thread has been a real boon for my preparation. I, too, had the question about the hands and falling damage and appreciate the suggested fix (scuttling along support ribs). And rotating the map is going to make drawing it much easier.
I do wonder, though, if the change to spells the author of the scenario suggested here is something folks have been doing. I'm very hesitant to change anything in the scenario-as-written, but understand that the written tactics don't make a lot of sense without some sort of change.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16
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I do wonder, though, if the change to spells the author of the scenario suggested here is something folks have been doing. I'm very hesitant to change anything in the scenario-as-written, but understand that the written tactics don't make a lot of sense without some sort of change.
Despite my preferences in the matter, I'll have to recommend that you leave the villain's spells as they are: After seeing the havok wrought by a few GMs who thought "But THESE spells make more sense" and changed encounters around, I no longer want to be the guy who told people to make "a minor change" to a villain's spells.
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Contributor
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Well, my session of this last night was fairly epic. The highlight for both me and the players I think was the haunt, for which I had written out a descriptive "vision" in advance.
We played at low tier and the fighty-fight bits proved fairly vicious. They didn't have a lot of trouble with the merrow (the player running the gunslinger pregen critted it with a gunshot) or the baby reefclaws. Far more trouble was getting up the blasted rope, which I eventually had to narrate.
And then...the grind.
The party (first level Valeros and Lirianne, first level human oracle, first level "hobgoblin" alchemist—I know, I know, and what makes it worse was that this was the third time he'd played the character! but I talked him into a rebuild—second level aasimir paladin and second level elf rogue) could not get to nine points on a blow against the construct for anything. They eventually kind of Keystone Kopsed it all over the place, including up to the third level where they made quick work of the hands, and then danced around it some more. I ruled that it wouldn't climb down the rope after them or we would have been there all night.
The Devourer proved mostly harmless after that. I think Lirianne made two hits with her gun all night, but they were both crits (see merrow above, then this guy). He got backed up into a corner and I thought I was being generous in having him stop using the wand in favor of his natural weapons, but alas, elves might be immune to paralysis but are not, as near as I could tell, to ghoul fever.
This is the reason I'm writing this report, to determine that I did this right. The elf contracted ghoul fever and, well, after many dramatic rolls, succumbed. He only had a 10 CON, and those failed saves decreased it rapidly, and of course that impacted his ability to make the Fort saves. When his constitution score reached zero, I ruled that he had died.
Hilariously, the other players then wanted to roll initiative to fight a newly risen ghoul but I didn't put the player through that.
This was my sixth PFS GMing experience (and third in eight days, hope I get to actually play next week) and the first character death I've had. Kinda sucked, but everyone was pretty good-humored about it at least.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 16
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It is sad when a character dies before his tale is fully told, but it's generally best to play out such things as the dice dictate. The payoff comes later, when the players know that you're not going to pull punches on them.
It's too late now, but the scenario is set in Absalom: The party probably could have paid for a cure disease spell for their ally. Apparently, they didn't realize the severity of their friend's illness until it was (dramatic Tum-tum-TUM...) Too Late.
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Okay, back. This was a very interesting scenario, with a lot of twists and turns. We had an initial problem with the faction missions confusing the players, but some explanation on my part smoothed things over. Party was:
5th level Human Fighter
4th level Half-orc Rogue
3rd level Human Ninja/Fighter
3rd level Human Cleric
Everyone but the Cleric was ranged focused. A couple of the players had experience with previous Blakros scenarios, and so the mission brief and talk with Nigel were full of 'here we go again!' comments. :)
The exploration of the attic started off with the crew missing the collapsing walkway and having the cleric plummet through the plaster roof. After picking himself up and rejoining the party, they entered the room and discovered the warning signs of the haunt. The Rogue was the only one to identify it as such with his cross-class Know: Religion roll. The haunt proceeded to douse everyone with acid as most of them tried in vain to damage it with ranged attacks. As the rounds went on, I described the visions of the Devourer attack, which creeped the party out quite well. The Rogue warned the Cleric that only positive energy would work, but the first channel left it at 2 HP.
Then the Cleric decided to use his Growth domain to enlarge himself, pick the corpse off the orrery, carry it to the door, and drop it to the floor of the museum.
At this point, without any targets, I ruled the haunt went dormant and could be laid to rest. Numerous charges from the CLW wand brought the group back up, and they proceeded to examine the open cell. No one made the Linguistics check to read the markings, so they gathered scraps to take to someone who could. Plenty of jokes were made about this being 'just another day at the museum' and how that area of the museum would be 'closed for maintenance'.
Visiting Forea Logos was a relatively simple affair, speaking with the head librarian and paying the required fees for a copy of the book. The Ninja, being Szcarni, spent the entire time trying to accomplish his faction mission in rather humorous terms, barely failing the Sleight of Hand check and having to bluff his way out. While the scribes worked, the Rogue and Fighter went to the streets trying to track down the Devourer and gaining some eye witness accounts. They proceeded to read the transcription on their way to the Precipice Quarter, getting filled in on the background they couldn't get with Knowledge checks.
Getting to the tower was not an issue, although the Andoran members were sweating their faction mission, not helped at all by the Osirion player thinking they were after an aquatic troll and not an ogre. The fight started with most every PC spotting the merrow, and thus getting surprise round actions. The fight was very short, but tense as everyone was trying to make sure its 'regeneration' was dealt with. :)
The reefclaw encounter was skipped, making the tower feel empty and creepy after the discovery of the previous Pathfinder group. Warned of the animated statue, they proceeded carefully to the next level. Much discussion was had about what to do to get the sample for the Osirion faction, until the Fighter said 'screw it, I walk towards it' and initiated combat.
THIS was the big battle of the night, as they could not overcome the DR, and none of them could stand up to its full attack. The Ninja very nearly went down, but used his Boots of the Daredevil to gather the chips the parties attacks had knocked off and escape the statues reach. The Cleric fought a rearguard for him and went negatives for his trouble. The Rogue snatched his fallen companion and the whole party went full retreat down to the lower level. I ruled the statue did not follow, and they were able to administer a potion and revive the Cleric so he could further heal the group. (No UMD on anyone else.)
The Rogue proceeded to stealth back into the room and Sleight of Hand the second piece off the statue before being chased back out of the room and down to the lower level. They then moved on to the third floor, where the Rogue attempted to overcome the encounter via stealth from the start. One failed check and he found himself being strangled to death while the party tried to save him, through failed grapple checks and successful arrow shots. More wand charges were burned before proceeding to the final battle.
The Devourer got all of his actions at the start, webbing the opening and using his buffs. The party used alchemist fire to burn a path and move in. The Cleric took an acid arrow to the face, and the party proceeded to destroy the BBEG in a round, via magic arrows, the Ninja using his boots to get into flanking with the Rogue, and a pair of amazing critical hits. A much appreciated bright spot at the end.
Overall a very enjoyable time, with multiple routes for the players to learn the backstory of the scenario. Despite failing their Knowledge checks and being unable to read the monsters ravings, the reference book and access to the head librarian and her high level loremaster skill checks they learned most of what they missed. Having no reason to seek Maren cut down on the run time, and the gather information notes were a great help when they started asking around. This is an excellent scenario I'd be glad to run again.
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Necro for a rules thank-you.
3) My paladin found he has free reroll boon from Crypt chronicles. Since I haven't finished reporting session yet, I decided that he is still allowed to make that roll next time we play IRL. If he saves, he will recover from disease and live further.
I was about to ask "what about his normal healing day-to-day", but then I checked and saw this note in the Affliction section:
Hit point and ability score damage caused by an affliction cannot be healed naturally while the affliction persists.
Thanks for pointing that out!
Another necro!
Giving him frozen reach would help the Tier 1-2 version, who lacks the rod.
Is this a change we are allowed to make? As pointed out on the first page of this thread, the tier 1-2 tactics simply don't work because he doesn't have any evocation spells that allow a save. If I can't use frozen reach (which was explained on the first page as well), could I at least exchange his known shocking grasp for a burning hands and permit him to have a lesser elemental rod? His tactics don't really make sense otherwise.
EDIT: Also, can anyone explain to me why he waits for a PC's back to be turned before starting the fight if he prepares the field with a web spell? Wouldn't you want to try to weaken them while they have to move through it? Or am I misunderstanding his intent here? I'm not trying to be overly lethal here, but he has a 17 int and a 16 wis. Letting everyone just walk through while you twiddle your thumbs and let your min/level potion wear away seems silly.
Ok! Do you have any suggestions on how to run tactics that don't work? Or could you point me to any general guidelines that have been produced to help in these situations?
I know that we have more freedom in running the encounter when PC tactics invalidate the written NPC tactics as well as when you have performed those actions, but are we granted the same leeway when the tactics don't work to begin with?
Sorry if this seems perhaps overly pedantic, I just don't want to make any illegal/frowned upon decisions that might negatively impact my players.