4-22 Halls of Dwarven Lore


GM Discussion

51 to 80 of 80 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
Horizon Hunters 4/5 5/5 *** Venture-Lieutenant, Indiana—Indianapolis

Majuba wrote:
I've found that most people print the scenario before running it, so it does indeed make a big difference how many pages there are, particularly how many pages of high-intensive ink use there are (as maps tend to be).

I print the scenario before I run it. But for the maps, when I am making them, I don't need to print those out - I just reproduce them from looking at them on the screen. Printing the maps isn't a necessity, and the fact that it might have saved 3-4 pages, to me, isn't sufficient enough to justify maps where, in recreating them, you have to double-the size of everything (plus the many round rooms, etc.)

Mark

Dark Archive 4/5

There is a lot of online play that require use of the maps. Using the "wrong" scale and including artifacts like traps on the map rather than "above" the map, makes them less useful.

The actual size it is printed in the scenario is not related to the grid size printed on them.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ***

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

So a really funny artifact of the 10 ft. scale -
When you upload a map into roll20, the way to get the grid to align to your map is to draw a rectangle to cover a 3x3 on your map. Roll20 then adjust your map to work with their grid. This is harder to do accurately on a map with 10ft squares. There's ways around this (including drawing extra grid lines using your favorite image editor or I think there's another way to adjust in roll20 that I don't know of), but it's kinda annoying.

That being said, I can't imagine that they're trying to use 10ft. maps all the time. I can only think of 3 from season 4 that use the 10ft. squares, so as long as they stay that rare, I'll be fine. The traps and secret doors being marked on the map are more of a problem...

The Exchange 4/5 5/5

Except for people (like me) who print the maps out at full scale beforehand, the 10' (or 15', or 20') scales don't have any negative effects other than occasionally going "whoops, that was 10'" and redrawing. The big advantage is getting the whole layout on one page. (I often print the map as a separate page, even when running from a tablet, to have as a reference rather than flipping all around.)

Now when you do print ahead of time it's really annoying to have to go back in and draw the extra divider lines.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston

ZomB wrote:
TOZ wrote:
I'm thinking a set of 1 inch square blocks to set on the map will help immensely. Then you can move the open space as the character progresses through.
A good way of running it is using a bunch of D6s placed on a flip mat, one per square, as suggested in the Block Room Operation file in the GM Shared Prep area

I'm afraid I can't find this file - could you please link me to it on the new address for the shared drive?

Goblinworks Game Designer

Mark Stratton wrote:

Is there a reason the designer chose to use a 1 square = 10 feet scale? It seems unnecessary, really.

Mark

I actually drew the original maps to a 5ft scale, but they got 10ft'ed after my turnover. I suspect it was to get 'em on a page like that. All of it on a page at 5ft is a bit of a squeeze.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
Netopalis wrote:
I'm afraid I can't find this file - could you please link me to it on the new address for the shared drive?

Whoops, it moved on me!

Try here.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston

TriOmegaZero wrote:
Netopalis wrote:
I'm afraid I can't find this file - could you please link me to it on the new address for the shared drive?

Whoops, it moved on me!

Try here.

That's the main folder of the shared drive. The folder for Halls does not include the document of which you speak.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

A lot of documents were lost recently. That was probably one of them. :(

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston

TriOmegaZero wrote:
A lot of documents were lost recently. That was probably one of them. :(

Well, that's a real shame. I'm still not entirely sure that I understand this puzzle. Let me put down my understanding...

This puzzle involves two characters. The first character operates the dials while the second walks through the maze. Communication is an issue for the party, as they will not be entirely sure which walls have actually come down. Spells like Message will not work due to the lack of a valid path.

Step 1: The operator chooses a direction to open.

Step 2: The operator makes an intelligence check. If failed, the gears jam, adding one point of "damage" to the machine.

Step 3: If the wall is a blocked wall, the gears jam.

Step 4: If the check is made and the wall is not a blocked wall, a block opens up in the direction that the operating player chose. The PC must move onto the new block within 3 seconds.

Step 5: If the gears take 3 points of "damage", the machine locks up. The pit trap activates, which somehow forces the PC out of the machine? I am unclear on this point.

How much of this is right and how much is wrong?

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

On step 5, if the pit trap activates, the column for that square smashes down on the PC as the pit opens below, dumping him forcefully into a trench below the maze. He can then walk back and climb up to the starting point.

Everything else seems correct.

Dark Archive 3/5

Tork Shaw wrote:

Thanks for this guys. It sounds like there are also some stories of trial as well as ease :)

I must admit to being quite new to PFS having only played in 2 scenarios myself. I've read a lot more (I have a bit of a library going on) but I think group make-up is probably pretty critical. I imagine that a group of 5 optimised players would hardly struggle with anything at all, but that a more hap-hazard or non-optimised group could find a wild card in almost every scenario.

I actually made an error in my first turnover, listing Wedderwark's Charisma 2 points higher. When it was brought down to where it should be I was thinking 'oh no, now her spells will never land', but I was guess its very possible there are a few Wisdom 8's out there - hopefully all in the group I am running this for at PaizoConUK *maniacal hand wringing*.

Fromper : Did you find that even Wedderwark and the Jinkins were an issue? I guess she is my biggest worry.

For my playthru of this the confusion effect was the only thing that kept this from being a 2 round fight. Playing a witch with Misfortune + See in Darkness & Permanent Flight + summon Monster III (1D4+1 dogs with scent). This kept the jinkins from ever succeeding on an attack while the dogs made sure everyone knew exactly where the sorcerer was at all times. The party just squashed them all like a bug (though I did have to slumber the sorcerer to keep them from escaping with 1 HP left).

Overall I enjoyed it but didn't really feel much risk throughout it.
I would have loved to play it in the original turnover though. That sounds wicked brutal and that's the challenge level I enjoy.

Liberty's Edge 1/5

Quick question/observation on the flooded level.

Once the elevator is moved, 23,000 cubic feet of water drains in 5 minutes, which is a flow rate of about 70 cubic ft/second!

That's about 4,000 lbs of force pushing things out of the room (on average) while it empties. (Just think about real-life floods-a 10 ft high river sweeps cars and houses away regularly, flowing MUCh slower than that. Or, in Two Towers when they bust open the damn above Isengarde).

All the party has to do is survive the intial crush of water, raise the elevator (by hand somehow, with 6,000 lbs of water in there with them), wait 5 minutes, and the room will be cleaned for them. No keys, no monsters...nothing. On the bright side, that amount of water, as it picks up speed (thanks, gravity!) should blow open the doors to the other levels anyway, so the keys will be a bit of a moot point.

I think I'll make a few adjustments...but I think I'll keep the part where the door opened unexpectedly means everyone floating in the flooded room will exit abrutply in a big pile, along with the treasure, right into the elevator while the water pins everyone down for a few rounds.

Should make for interesting combat.

Liberty's Edge 2/5

Some basic questions:

A3. What is the game mechanic difference between a mechanical and magical pit trap? What is the CL and duration?

A4. States that "the elevator will not descend to the floor unless its key is placed." I assume that means the elevator can not go past those floors on the way to F. True? The key to floor C is on Wedderwark in area B and the key to floor E is in flooded room D. However, the area B description does not mention the key to area C. This also means that the session will stall and end in failure if Wedderwark gets below 30hps, casts vanish, and successfully flees. What am I missing?

D. What is a lacedon? I assume they are the result of lazurite-tainted water that has "infused the bodies of the dwarves" and that they have the same stats as ghouls. But if that is true, then why in F2 are Beetle, Marcetta, and Shu-Lin referred to as ghouls? I feel like there is a reference to lacedons I am missing.

Thanks!

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

The elevator will not descend to the floor. That doesn't mean it won't descend past the floor.

Lacedons are aquatic ghouls, as listed in the bestiary entry. The only difference is gaining a swim speed. Since the Pathfinder team was not submerged in tainted water as the dwarves were, they did not become aquatic and are regular ghouls.

Liberty's Edge 2/5

TriOmegaZero wrote:
The elevator will not descend to the floor. That doesn't mean it won't descend past the floor.

Then why does it say "Without recovering these keys, descending to the bottom floor (area F) is very difficult"? If anything, having them gone would speed up the process of getting to floor F if the elevator could bypass floor C and floor E without the keys. And with the helping hand pointing down to area F, I would expect players to do just that.

TriOmegaZero wrote:
Lacedons are aquatic ghouls, as listed in the bestiary entry. The only difference is gaining a swim speed. Since the Pathfinder team was not submerged in tainted water as the dwarves were, they did not become aquatic and are regular ghouls.

Thank you!

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Hmm, I was mistaken. If the PCs cannot retrieve the keys and have no way to move between the levels then they would fail the mission after all.

Liberty's Edge 2/5

TriOmegaZero wrote:
Hmm, I was mistaken. If the PCs cannot retrieve the keys and have no way to move between the levels then they would fail the mission after all.

I found the answer to my trap question on page 417 of the Core (I feel silly for not thinking took there first).

Thanks.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Of course, glad to be of some help!

1/5 **

Mark Stratton wrote:

I am sure you are correct, but to me, that's not a good enough reason. :) I mean, it's a .pdf - it's not like a couple pages more would make a difference. The combat grid is done in 5' squares, so to make maps which have a tactical use require a different scale, and then having to convert them to the appropriate scale is just insane, to me.

I like the maps, and I really like the scenario, but this was just completely unnecessary and, frankly, more than a little absurd (in my opinion.)

Especially since it results in a ton of lines drawn through the middle of squares...

3/5 RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

TriOmegaZero wrote:
Hmm, I was mistaken. If the PCs cannot retrieve the keys and have no way to move between the levels then they would fail the mission after all.

Couldn't a PC with an adamantine weapon or stone shape cut a hole in the bottom of the elevator, break out the ropes, and descend the old-fashioned way?

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Depends on if the GM says it's an elevator cart or a stone pillar. ;)

Horizon Hunters 4/5 5/5 *** Venture-Lieutenant, Indiana—Indianapolis

John McConnell wrote:

Some basic questions:

A4. States that "the elevator will not descend to the floor unless its key is placed." I assume that means the elevator can not go past those floors on the way to F. True? The key to floor C is on Wedderwark in area B and the key to floor E is in flooded room D. However, the area B description does not mention the key to area C. This also means that the session will stall and end in failure if Wedderwark gets below 30hps, casts vanish, and successfully flees. What am I missing?

Thanks!

If they overcome Wedderwark by killing her, they get the key. I see no reason why they couldn't acquire the key if they overcome her by forcing her to flee. Perhaps in her haste to flee, the key drops. After all, if she tries to use the elevator, the PCs will know. I don't think this is a major issue, really. Perhaps she drops the key and realizes she isn't going anywhere without it, so she stays hidden on the elevator (well, invisible) until she has a real chance to flee.

It isn't the most elegant solution, but it is certainly viable. They can overcome Wedderwark by means other than killing her. They shouldn't be penalized because they find some other way to effectively deal with her.

2/5

I'd like some clarification about the traps on the first level. The text of the room makes it seem like some arrow trap triggers are tied to empty traps while others are loaded, but there are five traps (one empty, four loaded) and only two triggers in the first room. Unless someone can explain things better, I'm going to have to assume that each arrow trap trigger sets off all the arrow traps in the room, making the empty arrow trap statblock worthless.

2/5

OK, I just noticed two arrow trap triggers I missed, which means there's a trigger for every working arrow trap. It still doesn't explain what to do with the empty trap.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

The firing mechanism clicks loudly when they trigger it and nothing else.

Of course, the party won't know that beforehand. So they might roll Disable Device on it and fail only to find out that there was no threat from that trap.

2/5

But where? The map has no trigger for the empty trap in either room. I'm probably going to make the first trap an empty one, but there's no indication that this is correct.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Take your pick, they all use the same symbol. I recommend it be the second, so if they trip the first one they get paranoid about finding more, and then worry over the second one for a bit. Then they find out there were no more arrows. :)

2/5

Heh, I like that better. Thanks.

3/5

I ran this last night for a party of 4 using 5-6 tier.

My favorite bits were when the group tied themselves together, mountaineering style to get past the pit trap, and they nearly all got pulled in. That was funny, but better was the fight with the pathfinders. Within 2 rounds, one PC was confused, another was at -5 hp (thanks to confused PC) and another (summoner) had just had their Eidolon dismissed. They weren't looking too happy at that point.

51 to 80 of 80 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Organized Play / GM Discussion / 4-22 Halls of Dwarven Lore All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in GM Discussion