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Unless that NPC specially readies an action to counterspell (thus not acting in the surprise round), they can't "counter" the daylight spell. The result should be that the second deeper darkness in 1b does nothing.That's how it SHOULD happen but usually it goes:
Suprise round: Critter casts deeper darkness from hiding
Round 1a: PC casts daylight (room returns to original lighting conditions)
Round 1b: NPC uses at-will Deeper Darkness as a counter spell to the expected daylight.Same amount of time has gone by and PC's are just as hosed on round 2.
I know since this is what killed my very first (and last) Cleric. (well it was the greataxe wielding rogue who did the killing immediately after but same thing).
Kyle has this one right Math. Now, if the ambient lighting condition is already darkness, it could be a problem for the PCs if they brought no mundane sources of light.
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Unless that NPC specially readies an action to counterspell (thus not acting in the surprise round), they can't "counter" the daylight spell. The result should be that the second deeper darkness in 1b does nothing.That's how it SHOULD happen but usually it goes:
Suprise round: Critter casts deeper darkness from hiding
Round 1a: PC casts daylight (room returns to original lighting conditions)
Round 1b: NPC uses at-will Deeper Darkness as a counter spell to the expected daylight.Same amount of time has gone by and PC's are just as hosed on round 2.
I know since this is what killed my very first (and last) Cleric. (well it was the greataxe wielding rogue who did the killing immediately after but same thing).
Counterspell was the wrong word, should have said dispel the Daylight as soon as it's cast. Harder but still effective on the first real round of combat. (and if the initiative is high enough you still have the chance of using it to Counterspell)
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Counterspell was the wrong word, should have said dispel the Daylight as soon as it's cast. Harder but still effective on the first real round of combat. (and if the initiative is high enough you still have the chance of using it to Counterspell)Unless that NPC specially readies an action to counterspell (thus not acting in the surprise round), they can't "counter" the daylight spell. The result should be that the second deeper darkness in 1b does nothing.That's how it SHOULD happen but usually it goes:
Suprise round: Critter casts deeper darkness from hiding
Round 1a: PC casts daylight (room returns to original lighting conditions)
Round 1b: NPC uses at-will Deeper Darkness as a counter spell to the expected daylight.Same amount of time has gone by and PC's are just as hosed on round 2.
I know since this is what killed my very first (and last) Cleric. (well it was the greataxe wielding rogue who did the killing immediately after but same thing).
True. They do still have to make the dispel check though. I'm lucky in that my area has a lot of oracles. If you make a "pretty please" face, you can sometimes even get them to learn Daylight (or in the case of the Color Spray master Heavens Oracle, they are forced to learn it). This pretty much makes you set for Daylight unless the monster can also Dispel at will.
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Moving past the issues with the Darkness/Deeper Darkness lets jump to the next encounter which appears to be suddenly more dangerous then I originally thought unless I'm misreading it.
Does the swarm + trap/hazard encounter down the hall from the Stalkers uses the collapse mechanic or just the regular trap rules? If it's a regular trap then the party just takes XD6 damage and moves on which seems kinda boring to me.
If it's the Collapse rules however then the risk just became insane.
Using the default examples given for Collapsed tunnels then this 40 foot area collapse (and whatever the slide range is) will bury everyone in the party (even if they make their reflex save they still get buried). From there they all start slowly dying (1D6 damage a round) until someone succeeds on a DC 25 strength check to free themselves. At that point that single character has to dig out the rest of the party (one at a time) before they all die.
Finding and digging to each buried party member is going to take longer then the (probable) 15 minutes each of them will have before dying.
Cave-ins and collapsing tunnels are extremely dangerous. Not only do dungeon explorers face the danger of being crushed by tons of falling rock, but even if they survive they might be buried beneath a pile of rubble or cut off from the only known exit. A cave-in buries anyone in the middle of the collapsing area, and then sliding debris damages anyone in the periphery of the collapse. A typical corridor subject to a cave-in might have a bury zone with a 15-foot radius and a 10-foot-wide slide zone extending beyond the bury zone.
A weakened ceiling might collapse when subjected to a major impact or concussion. A character can cause a cave-in by destroying half the pillars holding up the ceiling.
Characters in the bury zone of a cave-in take 8d6 points of damage, or half that amount if they make a DC 15 Reflex save. They are subsequently buried. Characters in the slide zone take 3d6 points of damage, or no damage at all if they make a DC 15 Reflex save. Characters in the slide zone who fail their saves are buried.
Characters take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per minute while buried. If such a character falls unconscious, he must make a DC 15 Constitution check each minute. If it fails, he takes 1d6 points of lethal damage each minute until freed or dead.
Characters who aren't buried can dig out their friends. In 1 minute, using only her hands, a character can clear rocks and debris equal to five times her heavy load limit. The amount of loose stone that fills a 5-foot-by-5-foot area weighs 1 ton (2,000 pounds). Armed with an appropriate tool, such as a pick, crowbar, or shovel, a digger can clear loose stone twice as quickly as by hand. A buried character can attempt to free himself with a DC 25 Strength check.
Or maybe I'm just reading it wrong.
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Moving past the issues with the Darkness/Deeper Darkness lets jump to the next encounter which appears to be suddenly more dangerous then I originally thought unless I'm misreading it.
** spoiler omitted **
The "trap" is quite obvious which should put the PCs on alert before triggering the swarm.
What I'd do is use the damage listed, and allow anyone who makes the reflex save to not be buried. Also, it doesn't say anything about those buried not being able to function, i.e. cast spells, get potions out, etc.
Don't be surprised if players at this tier don't just dim door past the collapsed area (which could be really fun if they fight the next encounter plus the swarm....)
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I enjoyed running this scenario and believe my players enjoyed it, too. However they had a very easy time of it. I'm not sure whether that was due to my GM'ing ability (I'm still very new to it), or if they were just very experienced and had powerful PC's. Would appreciate some insight based on the feedback I got/got given! It was a 4-man group, Tier 7-11: Fighter Archer (huge DPR), Archaeologist Bard, optimised Sorcerer (only level 8 though), and a very annoying save-or-suck Witch.
- The Dark Stalker/Meditator didn't last more than a few rounds. The surprise round went off, and even though the PC's had insane Perception scores, the Stealth still won out. Surprise round, Deeper Darkness and a Scorching Ray to a party member. Next round, Bard wins initiative, casts Daylight, revealing both of the gribblies once he moves around a bit. Archer PC's drops the meditator in one turn, after which the Witch cast Dominate Person on him and they make short work of the stalker.
- The swarm posed no threat at all, not at the high tier. Due to an error I made, they didn't get the sense that the ceiling would easily collapse and one AE spell later two of the PC's were hit by the trap. More of an inconvenience, really.
- The Gug's were good. I managed to drop the Bard who thought he could go toe-to-toe with two of them, and outright killed him. The rest of the group took them out quickly after that though, without losing anyone else. The Witch had a Raise Dead, so the Bard was up but feeling woozy.
- The dragon was pretty close to a TPK. Or would have been, had she not got Evil Eye'd, Icy Tomb'd, then Flesh to Stone'd. Round by round it went like this:
Round 1: Archer/Dominated Stalker flee. Sorcerer does not pass SR check to cast a spell. Bard is currently climbing on the wall, and is going to flee because the Archer was their main source of damage. The Witch casts Evil Eye, dragon fails. Dragon is now at -7 to saves. (I think that was incorrect as at most it should have been -5 but regardless it didn't matter.) Dragon attempts to Wall of Stone entrap the Bard, but he makes his save.
Round 2: Sorcerer fails another SR check. Witch casts Icy Tomb. Dragon fails, encounter over. Except the dragon was flying at this point so I had the Ice shatter when it fell. Dragon is staggered and gets one action; breathes on the Witch, who makes the save. Would not have dropped him even if he hadn't.
Round 3: Bard does piddly damage to dragon, Sorcerer fails another SR check, Witch casts Flesh to Stone, dragon fails. Encounter over.
I have had some really bad luck with my dragons.
Apart from that though, the players enjoyed themselves, and I enjoyed the look on their faces when they decided to challenge the dragon. "Pff, dragon? We're PATHFINDERS! <half the party flees>"
I enjoyed running this scenario and believe my players enjoyed it, too. However they had a very easy time of it. I'm not sure whether that was due to my GM'ing ability (I'm still very new to it), or if they were just very experienced and had powerful PC's. Would appreciate some insight based on the feedback I got/got given! It was a 4-man group, Tier 7-11: Fighter Archer (huge DPR), Archaeologist Bard, optimised Sorcerer (only level 8 though), and a very annoying save-or-suck Witch.
** spoiler omitted **...
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** spoiler omitted **I enjoyed running this scenario and believe my players enjoyed it, too. However they had a very easy time of it. I'm not sure whether that was due to my GM'ing ability (I'm still very new to it), or if they were just very experienced and had powerful PC's. Would appreciate some insight based on the feedback I got/got given! It was a 4-man group, Tier 7-11: Fighter Archer (huge DPR), Archaeologist Bard, optimised Sorcerer (only level 8 though), and a very annoying save-or-suck Witch.
** spoiler omitted **...
Hey you're not allowed to follow me on the interwebs! You exist in 'Real Life', not here! :P
But yeah... Had she done her usual 'pew pew' on ye 'ole dragon I think that would have qualified for tasty snack time.
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Would appreciate some insight based on the feedback I got/got given!
** spoiler omitted **...
The Dark Stalker/Meditator didn't last more than a few rounds. A lot of this is going to depend on your tactical abilities as a GM. So bard goes first getting rid of deeper darkness. Then the archer? What kind of light source did they have since once daylight went off "normal" lighting conditions should prevail. There's a pretty good chance the npcs should be back in the natural darkness or at the very least dim light. Also remember that dominate person is a 1 round casting time which means you start casting it on your first turn and it doesn't go off until the start of your next.
The swarm posed no threat at all, not at the high tier. Nor should it. The swarm isn't the threat, the 40-ft of collapsing ceiling is. It's mostly a resource drain setting them up for the next encounters.
The Gug's were good. I managed to drop the Bard who thought he could go toe-to-toe with two of them, and outright killed him. The rest of the group took them out quickly after that though, without losing anyone else. The Witch had a Raise Dead, so the Bard was up but feeling woozy. I thought you said they had a pretty easy time of the scenario? Does the Bard feel that way? :) The idea of this encounter is utilize the 20-ft reach (with lunge) and combat reflexes of the gug's in a tightly confined space. They can use awesome blow to keep the PCs at bay. The 10-11 sub-tier is pretty rough with these guys.
The dragon was pretty close to a TPK. Again, you said they had a very easy time? :) Evil Eye maxes at -4. That said, the saving throw for the dragon to be affected by that had to be low single digits! The probably dragon should have wall of stoned the hallway to block off the archer and stalker and not worried about the bard on the wall (not that it mattered in your game). Ice Tomb is a pretty amazing hex, but again the saving throw is only 10+1/2 witches level+int modifier. Perhaps that -7 you gave the evil eye really made a difference?
Apart from that though, the players enjoyed themselves, and I enjoyed the look on their faces when they decided to challenge the dragon. "Pff, dragon? We're PATHFINDERS! <half the party flees>" And THIS is what's important. Glad both you and they enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback, and don't forget to leave a review on the product page!
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** spoiler omitted **...Would appreciate some insight based on the feedback I got/got given!
** spoiler omitted **...
Faction Missions: I see your point about the faction missions. I suppose I'm just so used to prophetic faction missions courtesy of that handy level 20 divining demi-lich every faction leader has that when a sensible one comes along I'm immediately suspicious. Unfortunately there were no Chelaxians on the team. Would have loved to play my Wizard for that one!
Dark Stalker/Meditator: After the Bard cast daylight it was the stalker's turn, who poisoned the Bard. Then it was the Archer (half-elf), so dim light wasn't a big issue. They had more than sufficient lighting happening. Archer and Sorceror took out the Meditator before he had a chance to act after the surprise round. The Dominate Person came into play when that guy was unconscious.
Swarm: Yeah I figured as much. I thought the DC's for noticing the cave in were kind of low, to be honest. Had I not made a mistake they would have easily spotted it and just set it off from a distance.
Gug's: Their reach didn't really come into play. They only got one turn each before dying; they did drop the Bard though. It did give the party room for pause with comments of: "Hey, these guys are actually dangerous. That would have outright murdered any of us!" I suppose because there was only the Bard in melee range (and he was through the collapse first), I didn't get to utilize them as much as I should have. I had them squeeze out of two of the listed alcoves in flanking position then did an Awesome Blow from one and a full attack from the other. I did contemplate having them drop from the ceiling, though. Where 'should' they have emerged from?
Dragon Going to double check on the Evil Eye (as far as I'm aware it can get to -5 by utilizing Halfling Jinx), but the players are usually pretty legit when it comes to things like that. To be honest I just rolled pretty poorly. The dragon still had decent saves, but that still doesn't help when rolling <10. The situation at the time meant that the Bard was the only valid target; the rest of the group was either flying in the air or running in fear.
I'm probably overthinking things, as usual. Thanks for the comments though. I'm trying to get to the stage where I can challenge my players so they're fearing a TPK but are able to get through it, rather than outright murdering them or them breezing through. Tough to do!
I'll drop a review soon and looking forward to Part 2. :)
If it's the same party I'll be sure to remind the Bard that he still has 2 permanent negative levels. >)
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** spoiler omitted **...
Where "they" come from is very much left up to the GM. I'll talk more about how I run it after I run a couple of groups through this weekend.
If you roll poorly, and the players roll well, they should succeed. If not, then the scenario's not balanced very well. I'll have to lend you some of my killer dice. ;-)
Again, thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated!
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A quick note on an adjustment we are going to make to the Chronicle sheet this week.
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Against Darkness try bringing a priest with the sun domain - starting at level 8 he has access to Nimbus of Light (Su)
Nimbus of Light (Su): At 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot nimbus of light for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. This acts as a daylight spell. In addition, undead within this radius take an amount of damage equal to your cleric level each round that they remain inside the nimbus. Spells and spell-like abilities with the darkness descriptor are automatically dispelled if brought inside this nimbus. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
Being a Supernatural ability it cannot be dispelled (cool)
Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability's effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells.
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Sooo, let's suppose that we've played this already. How would we go about getting access to this adjusted sheet?A quick note on an adjustment we are going to make to the Chronicle sheet this week.
** spoiler omitted **
Ask your GM or local VC/VL for a new copy. If those options aren't available, email me a pic/scan of it and I can email you a new one after it's updated. :)
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*spoiler*
In response to your ten point declaration of awesomeness:
1) Story made sense. Thank Mark for that. He's the one who developed the story for both parts of this scenario. I just tried to make it "make it it work" within PFS
2) Story accessible to characters, rather than being only in the background summary. Again, Mark had a lot to do with this (read:90%) I would look to season 4 to continue this trend.
3) Varied and interesting encounters, both social and combat. I strongly believe that a scenario should equally reward and challenge skilled players as well as those focused on combat.
4) Differing terrain. Which is difficult to do given the premise of it being a "path." Glad you felt this way, this was one of the things I was worried about.
5) Both cramped and wide open encounters. Again, another thing I was worried about. Mark did me a solid favor using some of the budget for extra maps and allowing me to describe a map rather than shoe-horn it into a flip-mat/map pack.
6) Mechanically correct sat blocks and encounters. Pfft. What do you expect from a murderous GM? ;-) Thanks though. Sometimes it's difficult to design an NPC who could both provide a challenge AND make sense for the situation. The ratfolk, for example, are somewhat skilled at both ranged and melee, giving the GM options. Although if your party ends up having to fight them, you've got other problems. :D
7) Balanced to provide a real challenge, so players had to use their resources to win. This is always difficult to design. So far it's sounding like a decent balance. I can't wait for more reports with bigger mixes of tables.
8) An iconic enemy that isn't disappointingly worthless. I had to do some serious selling on this one. The first response I got was more of a WTF would there be one of those down there? (because they're awesome?)
9) A solo boss that overcomes the action economy by being awesome. Separating the party, giving a terrain advantage are a couple of ways to improve action economy for a solo fight. They're still not necessarily as challenging as an equivalent CR with a few monsters.
10) Didn't instantaneously hose a person who wanted to use a large-sized AC or mount. Well, if you think about it, that pagoda in the middle needs supplies...
Once again, thanks for the feedback! I'll use it to make future scenarios even more deadly..er I mean fun!
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I see this run incorrectly all the time unfortunately.
Round 1a: NPC uses at-will Deeper Darkness (room becomes unnaturally dark)
Round 1b: PC casts daylight (room returns to original lighting conditions)
Round 2: NPC uses at-will Deeper Darkness (nothing happens except the area of effect for DD could now have two points of origin)In this example the result is the normal lighting conditions. Daylight is still going. DD is still going from two locations. Where DD and Daylight overlap, it's normal lighting conditions. The only way a second casting of DD makes the room unnaturally dark again is if they ready to cast/use DD as a counterspell or use dispel magic to target the already on-going daylight.
That isn't how the spells are worded Kyle.
daylight dispells all darkness (note no italics, so it is refering to spells that have a darkness effect) spells of equal or lower level.
Only higher level daylight (read heightened) could not only dispel deeper darkness but also change the light condition to 1 higher than normal.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I see this run incorrectly all the time unfortunately.
Round 1a: NPC uses at-will Deeper Darkness (room becomes unnaturally dark)
Round 1b: PC casts daylight (room returns to original lighting conditions)
Round 2: NPC uses at-will Deeper Darkness (nothing happens except the area of effect for DD could now have two points of origin)In this example the result is the normal lighting conditions. Daylight is still going. DD is still going from two locations. Where DD and Daylight overlap, it's normal lighting conditions. The only way a second casting of DD makes the room unnaturally dark again is if they ready to cast/use DD as a counterspell or use dispel magic to target the already on-going daylight.
That isn't how the spells are worded Kyle.
daylight dispells all darkness (note no italics, so it is refering to spells that have a darkness effect) spells of equal or lower level.
Only higher level daylight (read heightened) could not only dispel deeper darkness but also change the light condition to 1 higher than normal.
He wasn't talking about dispelling. He was talking about this line from daylight:
Daylight brought into an area of magical darkness (or vice versa) is temporarily negated, so that the otherwise prevailing light conditions exist in the overlapping areas of effect.
Once a daylight is active, no amount of deeper darkness-ing will reduce the light level within its radius unless the daylight gets dispelled. If the daylight isn't dispelled, then its AoE will never drop below the "otherwise prevailing" light level no matter how many times deeper darkness is cast.
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Sure, so the dark stalker who has deeper darkness uses it to dispel daylight and then casts it again to get its normal effects. That way he saves his dispel magic to get rid of buffs or whatever.
Or he readies deeper darkness to counter daylight
Actually what works best in this case is the Slayer using his wand to dispel and the Stalker stabbing things. The Slayer is there to keep the DD around (that the Stalker puts up). If the DD is sticking, the Slayer then reverts to touch/ranged touch attacks. Mmmm, delicious sneak attacks...
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Yep, those both work. (Well, as long as he makes his dispel check.)
Why would he need to make a dispel check? I couldn’t find anywhere in the magic section of the PRD that indicated all spells that “dispel” another spell require a caster level check.
darkness, daylight, and deeper darkness do not indicate they work like the dispel magic spell for their dispel affect. So you have to assume the dispel just works.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I appear to have misremembered. Now to embark on a quest to find where I got that from, and prevent others from making the same mistake. (Either that, or discover that it's contained in an unrelated part of the book that you'd never think to look. Not that that's ever happened before...)
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Actually what works best in this case is the Slayer using his wand to dispel and the Stalker stabbing things. The Slayer is there to keep the DD around (that the Stalker puts up). If the DD is sticking, the Slayer then reverts to touch/ranged touch attacks. Mmmm, delicious sneak attacks...Sure, so the dark stalker who has deeper darkness uses it to dispel daylight and then casts it again to get its normal effects. That way he saves his dispel magic to get rid of buffs or whatever.
Or he readies deeper darkness to counter daylight
What really works best is if he readies an action to cast Scorching Ray on anyone who tries to cast a spell or SU ability he doesn't like.
You try to cast daylight or anything like it you take 6D6 sneak attack to the back of the neck and then make a concentration check to try and get that spell off (DC should only be in the low 30's).I think the Stalker would approve of that more. Keeps things moving along and speeds up sending those defiling top-siders to their well deserved dirt naps.
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What really works best is if he readies an action to cast Scorching Ray on anyone who tries to cast a spell or SU ability he doesn't like.
You try to cast daylight or anything like it you take 6D6 sneak attack to the back of the neck and then make a concentration check to try and get that spell off (DC should only be in the low 30's).I think the Stalker would approve of that more. Keeps things moving along and speeds up sending those defiling top-siders to their well deserved dirt naps.
I remember when I introduced high-level caster vs. caster combat to Thea. It was deliciously entertaining. ;-)
Greater Invis Vampire spent his turn reading a fireball every time she would cast a spell. Poor Thea almost broke out in tears being unable to cast a spell AND taking damage.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Questions:
My PC died in Part 1. He had raised an NPC we found, who agreed to bring him back to Absalom, presumably via their secret Aspis Consortium methods. I'm imagining that those circumstances are unusual. Normally, if someone dies and needs to be brought back to Absalom, how does that work, regarding the portals? Does a PC just need to throw a dead comrade's corpse back through her personal portal? Or does he need to take her body back through his own portal? In that case, the party would need to decide which PC would return to Absalom and not get the special boon, yes?
So, in addition to dying, my PC received enough experience to rise in level. This put him in a position to receive credit from a module that I'd run months ago and immediately rise a second level. Now, dying and being raised by prestige had already cost him the boon. But would receiving credit for that module have cost him the boon, even if he hadn't died? (Put another way, do we count "most recent" Chronicle sheets in order the adventures are played / GMed, or in order that they're applied to a PC?)
Should natural healing should take place between Parts 1 and 2? If I play Part II with the same party, my PC needs to take a week off to receive a second restoration spell. Does a week pass for the rest of the party? If so, are they still only a couple of hours behind the Aspis Consortium team?
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I'm imagining that those circumstances are unusual.
It's happened in 50% of the games I've run. ;-)
Normally, if someone dies and needs to be brought back to Absalom, how does that work, regarding the portals? Does a PC just need to throw a dead comrade's corpse back through her personal portal? Or does he need to take her body back through his own portal? In that case, the party would need to decide which PC would return to Absalom and not get the special boon, yes?
I think throwing their body throw the portal would suffice. It'll spit you back out next to Aram Zey (presumably), and I think he can figure out the rest. There shouldn't be any penalty for any other party members.
But would receiving credit for that module have cost him the boon, even if he hadn't died? (Put another way, do we count "most recent" Chronicle sheets in order the adventures are played / GMed, or in order that they're applied to a PC?)
I think the strict reading of the rules would agree that it would screw up your boon since the GM chronicle should apply immediately. However, this should be a corner case (modules only) since this is tier 7-11. I would like to see M&M make a note of this for multi-parters going forward. IMO you should be allowed to delay the module chronicle until finishing the series.
Should natural healing should take place between Parts 1 and 2?
No.
If I play Part II with the same party, my PC needs to take a week off to receive a second restoration spell. Does a week pass for the rest of the party? If so, are they still only a couple of hours behind the Aspis Consortium team?
Yes. Although the scenario doesn't specifically state how far in front of you the Aspis group is. I think that's something I missed and should have been included. I'd have to defer to Mark if this makes any difference for Part 2.
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Thought I'd share the experiences of me running this scenario over the weekend. The first table was filled with a pair of Venture Captains, a Venture Lieutenant with the total table having about 16 or so stars between 'em. Maybe more importantly it was a Wiz, Pally x2, Summoner and a Pirate. APL was around 8. Table 2 had another 4 star GM at it and were all very experienced players. Cleric x4 (really!) and a Paladin/Hell Knight. The APL was 9.4 and they chose to play down (with the Pally being the lowest at 7 and two clerics at 11).
Prologue
Table 1 had been preparing OOC for days and came prepared purchasing thousands of GP worth of consumables.. wonder why. ;-)
Table 2 had a Chelaxian who preached the kindness of Zarta's message and asked to help everyone at the table. That drew a few blank stares. "The Hell Knight is asking to help us? What's the catch?"
Encounters 1 & 2:
Both tables had decent face skills. Table 2 had an Andoran who did a good job explaining to the party that they needed to talk first, shoot later instead of the usual shoot first, speak with dead later.
I pressed both tables for the reason they were coming to Round Mountain. I asked why they didn't have a ratfolk escort like the other humans who came through earlier. I asked if they were with the other humans (both said no, that the others were essentially bad guys). I pressed how I would know they weren't the bad guys instead. Ultimately let them roll diplomacy to see if I would be inclined to take them to see the captain. FWIW, I ran it a little different by putting one of the ratfolk outside the tower w/ an open portcullis.
The tower captain asked similar questions, pressing for more details of what the PCs hoped to accomplish which both parties were very forthcoming about. Table two actually fell short on their diplomacy to have the captain give them the writ, but after a crafty Qadiran cleric established the basics of a future trade deal, the captain reconsidered his position and passed a writ to the party.
Encounter 3:
Table 1 had purchased 4(?) scrolls of daylight. They used every single one of them as the Dark Slayer kept turning off the lights. Remarkably the PCs readied/delayed in such ways as to never take a full attack from the Dark Stalker. There were a couple of scorching rays to the face and a few single attacks absorbed, but no one was severally injured (except the Pirate who took Dex damage. HA!)
Table 2 had not 1, not 2, but THREE SUN CLERICS! So, yeah. I got a sneak attacking scorching ray off and a single attack from the Dark Stalker who did a whopping 2 damage to the party with his 3d6 death throes. Stupid Sun Domain.. ;-)
Encounter 4:
The Table 1 Pirate easily identified the trap, set himself up to take a 20 disabling it, but was swarmed about half-way down the hall. The party used create pit to drop the swarm down 40-ft and then hit it with area effect stuff. Nicely done. I should also note that the wizard made the Know (Eng) check to recognize the dangers of AoE spells.
Table 2 had no such knowledge although they spotted the trap. One of the clerics was a travel domain plus barbarian plus boots for a speed of 60. He used his movement to run up to the blockage and cast stone shape. Boy I never saw this coming (getting close enough to stone shape w/o the swarm having an option to come out). With the hole already open, the swarm comes out. The HK double moves past the Cleric through the hole as the rest of the party says "we got this." One fireballing cleric of Sarenrae later, and the ceiling collapses, trapping the first cleric and HK on the wrong side of the rubble. Guess what happens next:
Encounter 5:
Table 1 walks through and greeted with a claw to the face. A well placed create pit and some other trickery keeps Mr. Gug from full attacking except once, and the party makes it out mostly unscathed.
Table 2. LOL. The HK goes back to help the cleric out from the pile o' rubble and takes a claw to the rear. A few nasty attacks later, the travel domain cleric teleports out and then dimension doors himself and the HK back to the rest of the party. Time to rethink the plan. Even though the scenario calls out that magical means can no longer open the path, the party has 4 total scrolls of stone shape so i let them take turns casting it, only to have the last guy to do it take a full attack to the face (always the face!). He got dropped but with 4 clerics that doesn't usually last long. The party fights through the tight confines of their stoneshaped opening and eventually wins a slug fest.
After the battle, the HK notices the feet under the rubble and through a knowledge (local) check realizes it's a former pathfinder. He spends a scroll of speak with dead to find out more info and actually decides to spend some serious cash with a scroll of raise dead, raising poor Lialda. This was shocking, unexpected, and provided for some good RP. It's too bad Encounter 6 happened like it did for the HK. :(
Encounter 6:
*rumble*rumble*rumble* "What's that?"
I play up round 1 as more of a soft earthquake sort of feeling and throw the players into initiative to see how they react. On each player's initiative index card, I had asked them to write down their most expensive items. I used this after roleplaying the Dragon's confusion over the humans travelling w/o escort and her shock that they did not know who she was.
Table 1. The dragon pops up and before I can speak the Summoner (played by a CatBunnyGnome) starts putting Lantern Archons on the table and rolling dice. I look at her and ask her to make a Know (Arcana) check. Thea my dear, a dragon of this size would have a strong aura of fear if it were hostile, but could suppress it if it was looking to converse... ;-) A short conversation later (and asking for Todd's silver smite bracelet) lead to Todd the Paladin's flying charge toward the face of the dragon. Of course Todd's action triggers the dragon's readied action (to unsuppress her aura and breathe a line of fire should any PC show aggression). Some bites, claws, gores scared lantern archons, and sword swings later the dragon was lying in a bloody pool. The terror of Round Mountain defeated.
Table 2. Similar start except most of the PCs moved for the stars when the ground started shaking. Similar roleplaying asking for a nice shiny piece of armor for safe passage. This resulted in the Hell Knight saying something like, "yada yada wrath.." Of course that triggers the same readied action which scares away two of the clerics and triggers a breath weapon which hits the HK hard. The HK responds with 120 damage of super paladin smite. Unfortunately for him, this puts her at 41 hp, 1 hp away from her saying "screw you guys, I'm going home." She returns the favor the next round landing a bite, claw and tail slap sending the HK back to hell (sorry Chris Mortika!). One of the clerics attempts a breath of life, but is within reach of the bite and takes it in the face (why is it always the face?!) and loses the spell. Finally the rest of the party gets remove feared, and they slug it out, bringing the barbarian/cleric w/in one attack of death (damn you dice!).
Hope everyone had fun this weekend and hopefully these stories help future GMs run the scenario!
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That's kinda counter-intuitive. If you don't get to keep loot from Part I, why would you also not be healed starting Part II?Should natural healing should take place between Parts 1 and 2?No.
Why would loot be tied to healing? You don't get day job rolls, you don't get new faction missions. Natural healing should be the least of the worries since at level 7-11 you really should have a wand.
p.s. You "keep" the equipment by purchasing it off the chronicle.
Director of Brand Strategy
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There's nothing preventing a party from staying at the final encounter area at the end of the scenario and camping there to recover hit points, heal ability damage, or prepare different spells. Doing so does not negate the Dogged Adventurer boon. But like always, anything you do as part of the wrap-up from the adventure should be noted on the Chronicle sheet, the same as if you had gone back to town.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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There's nothing preventing a party from staying at the final encounter area at the end of the scenario and camping there to recover hit points, heal ability damage, or prepare different spells. Doing so does not negate the Dogged Adventurer boon. But like always, anything you do as part of the wrap-up from the adventure should be noted on the Chronicle sheet, the same as if you had gone back to town.
Snap. My GM didn't mark any such thing, but told us we were assumed to rest as normal (just couldn't do day jobs or buy anything).
