|
I'll be GMing this on Monday and looking forward to it despite my love/hate relationship with Ron Lundeen's scenarios(love their intricacy, abhor some of their enemy tactics).
Anyhow, should be cool, since the group includes 3 characters who have played through Delirium's Tangle(one of them hates Torch like the plague) and at least 2 who started their Society careers with the previous capture of the Spider(Shadow's Last Stand part deux). I expect them to be howling in fury once Torch turns his coat.
Just one question for the road: How would you go about using the clockword sentinels' schedule? I like how you can time their movement with the PC's actions(since skill checks such as Disable Device take a certain amount of time), but where precisely would you start their circuit once the PC's reach the dungeon part of the scenario?
I'm asking because I want to play up the weirdness of the Azlanti ruin and make the clanking and stomping of the constructs something ominous and foreboding, giving PC's just enough time to get past the corridors and rooms(should they not start dallying or loafing) before the sentinels arrive.
Maybe just have the constructs begin their circuit from the furthest point of the PCs entryway and hope for the best?
And since I'm here, one more for the road: Would it be okay to just forego the massive Sense Motive check DC and Torch's first two actions(killing/silencing the Spider and teleporting away) in favor of a dramatic final scene and instead approach it purely as a narrative moment? None of the PCs in my group will be able to make the DC 41 check and would have no countermeasures to teleportation anyway.
|
... Just one question for the road: How would you go about using the clockword sentinels' schedule? I like how you can time their movement with the PC's actions(since skill checks such as Disable Device take a certain amount of time), but where precisely would you start their circuit once the PC's reach the dungeon part of the scenario? ...
As I recall the write up says they start in the room meeting room with the table. They are not in any hurry, but a golem can't be lazy so I figured 2 standard moves per round.
1 to get to the disguise room door.1 to open and enter the room.
1 to look around for intruders and exit (relocking the door).
1 to get to the stairs and look for intruders.
1 to get to the storage room door.
1 to open and enter the room.
1 to look around for intruders and exit (relocking the door).
1 to get back to the meeting room.
Maybe not perfect, but close enough for government work and easy to keep track of where they are.
... And since I'm here, one more for the road: Would it be okay to just forego the massive Sense Motive check DC and Torch's first two actions(killing/silencing the Spider and teleporting away) in favor of a dramatic final scene and instead approach it purely as a narrative moment? None of the PCs in my group will be able to make the DC 41 check and would have no countermeasures to teleportation anyway.
I can't see how it would hurt anything, but it is PFS. So you are really supposed to do it how it is written.
|
from the scenario - bottom of page 8 top of page 9
** spoiler omitted **
The timeing looks like it is laid out pretty clear..."performing each
step in 1 minute", with 4 steps. 4 minutes to complete each circuit.edit: this would give a stealthy party plenty of time to move around the circuit ahead/behind them and even search the entire floor - never triggering a fight.
Yup. That is exactly what happened when we played. Totally avoided all combat in the scenario except with the Spider herself. The barbarian was \(good naturedly) complaining about it :-). Especially when he got confused in round 1 of the combat and color sprayed by my character in round 2 :-)).
|
|
from the scenario - bottom of page 8 top of page 9
** spoiler omitted **
The timeing looks like it is laid out pretty clear..."performing each
step in 1 minute", with 4 steps. 4 minutes to complete each circuit.edit: this would give a stealthy party plenty of time to move around the circuit ahead/behind them and even search the entire floor - never triggering a fight.
Right thanks. Somehow completely missed that.
I guess I'll use a timer and see how long my players will dally, just because.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I cannot claim credit for thinking of this...but the PFS table next to my game demo was BRILLIANT in this scenario.
The sorcerer in the party asked how much the rug weighed, got an answer off the top of the GM's head, and had his previously cast Unseen Servant partially roll the rug up and carry it.
While they futzed around with the mirrors and codes for the Lantern Lodge mission, the party's Dwarven rogue used Gloves of Reconnaissance to look through the doorway, spotting Ouidda before she got her Improved Invis up. He told the Sorcerer.
The Sorcerer told everyone else, cast See Invisible (having played Shadow's Last Stand I and II, knowing she liked to attack from invisibility), and asked everyone to be ready going through the doorway.
He maneuvered the Unseen Servant with the rug in front of the door, had the party Bard cast Open/Close to open the door without being visible from direct line of sight. There's the Sorcerer standing in front of the door with his held action.
She tried the Dominate Person - he was the only target in sight. He made the Will Save (He's the bloodline that uses WIS as a casting stat...).
His held action goes off. It's Pilfering Grasp to throw the Rug of Feeblemind to cover the far wall of the room Ouidda was in...
"So, what exactly does that rug do?"
(GM rolls a d6) "Pretty much ended the fight. Her INT, WIS and CHA just dropped by 9 each."
In addition to their hatred of the end of the scenario, they were also disappointed that they couldn't keep the Spider's rug...it's not on the chronicle.
|
|
Yup. That is exactly what happened when we played. Totally avoided all combat in the scenario except with the Spider herself. The barbarian was \(good naturedly) complaining about it :-). Especially when he got confused in round 1 of the combat and color sprayed by my character in round 2 :-)).
I resemble that! :D
|
|
I think when our group found the trap with Detect Magic, our GM told us the trap was on the floor under the rug, not the rug itself.Sounds like your judge is a jerk.or perhaps he just didn't read the scenario as well as he should, and was running it from what he remembered HIS judge doing. Maybe he was rushed, and didn't get as much prep time as he needed, or he was tired when he prepped it the first time, or he "knew" how it was set up and just never double checked it.
I'd rather think the judge is a Kewl Guy, and he just made a mistake (which is much more likely IMHO). 99% of judges in PFS are good guys, trying hard to make it a great game.
Or maybe because we had a rogue in the group, he wanted to give her a chance to use her skills disabling it, since traps are relatively rare in PFS.
Or just maybe, the judge in question is the same guy who posted that, sarcastically referring to himself as a jerk.
|
|
Well, that went well, even though I forgot to prepare for grapple when GM'ing the combat with the Spider. Had to quickly brush up which of her spells would work well when grappled(also, performances, etc).
As for the rug, the group's trap spotter found it almost immediately and disarmed it without further ado so no problems sprung up. The earlier trap however, had me eyeing some known metagamers pretty evilly once I had the two PCs with detect magic up rolling Will saves and then saying "There appears to be no sources of magic in this room beyond the ambient Thassilonian ones found in every ruin of their make". Fortunately my players were nice and got the hint immediately.
Cue me explaining how the spell web works. :P
|
|
I think when our group found the trap with Detect Magic, our GM told us the trap was on the floor under the rug, not the rug itself.Sounds like your judge is a jerk.or perhaps he just didn't read the scenario as well as he should, and was running it from what he remembered HIS judge doing. Maybe he was rushed, and didn't get as much prep time as he needed, or he was tired when he prepped it the first time, or he "knew" how it was set up and just never double checked it.
I'd rather think the judge is a Kewl Guy, and he just made a mistake (which is much more likely IMHO). 99% of judges in PFS are good guys, trying hard to make it a great game.
Or maybe because we had a rogue in the group, he wanted to give her a chance to use her skills disabling it, since traps are relatively rare in PFS.
Or just maybe, the judge in question is the same guy who posted that, sarcastically referring to himself as a jerk.
Well I still think he's a jerk.
|
Just played this with a barbarian, rogue, witch, inquisitor, fighter, and samurai. APL of 6.
The golem fight was tougher than expected due to disarm but we prevailed. The final fight with a greater invisibility level 11 bard with confusion and dominate person? Just too much. In round 1 I had rolled high enough perception to locate her and then the inquisitor played some kind of trick involving flour to make her visible. It didnt matter. By that point everyone in the party was confused and locked on another member of the party. We took each other out due to confusion lock. It was a slaughter. She took over 30 damage at the end, but it was too little, too late.
We had to pay for rescue party and raise dead. Two characters took permanent death. It was an all around ugly experience. It had noting to do with the judge. He ran the scenario masterfully. It was just a dumb encounter IMO.
|
|
I'm aware. I wont get to experience the final fight now (at least until I run it).
After having read it now, my interpretation of the tactics is to first get a dominate off then use confusion and other tactics to avoid melee combat. To me that does not mean cast confusion as a readied action as soon as the door opens (like my GM did).
|
|
Torch bodyguards
-----------------------
I just found at Tier 6-7 they should have improved uncanny dodge instead of normal uncanny dodge.
This is because they are barbarian 2/rogue 4, and rogues get uncanny dodge at level 4 and barbarians at level 2. This class feature says If a rogue already has uncanny dodge from a different class, she automatically gains improved uncanny dodge.
Not transcendental, but it can make a difference under certain circumstances (specially if there is a rogue in the party).