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Out of curiosity, is the 8 hours of work to cleanse the temple to Torag in area B intended to represent 8 person-hours (i.e., a four-person party can accomplish it in two hours) or 32 person-hours (i.e., a four-person party can accomplish it in eight hours)?8 person hours.
Perfect. That's how I ruled it, but it's nice to know I'm keeping it in line with the intent.
I'm still using Millorn, but I gave him a quasit familiar and made him one of Hosilla's subordinates. Its theoretically his job to sound the alert if something nasty comes up from the Darklands. Actually, its just an excuse for her to park her craziest subordinate out on an extended mission where she doesn't have to put up with his bad habits in the barracks.
That's a pretty cool idea!
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I just made it take 8 hours. My cleric character is on a path to be a mystic theurge, and wants magic to be everything, and the player made the backstory be that he had his casting taken away from him - restoring him to level 1 - because he was so wrapped up in magic he lost track of people. so I had the temple resist magical cleaning, since it fit his backstory.
The party is just grateful to have a place to rest. they rolled...difficult and frequent encounters on the random encounter chart.
I did 4 hours, but my party used it as a chance to rest so I could have used the full 8.
Mine were less smart, they actually had 3 party members outside "guarding" the passageway while the NPCs and other 2 were in the temple itself, and they rolled 3 giant flies which can get pretty hairy with only 3 level 1 PCs
I did 8 hours, and the party barricated inside the inner room while all manner of random encounter spawned outside... As soon as the temple was sanctified again, a blast of holy light surrounded the PCs and the noise of the critters vanished, as they fled the area.
The PCs were increasingly frightened as they heard 2 bat swarms, 4 giant maggots and 5 dire rats waiting outside to feast on them...
It was then clear that the place was a safe one to rest and the players were very happy to acknowledge what I said them before the start "good deeds earn *very* good rewards".
That's an awesome idea!! I'm going to use it with my players.
The NPCs at the beginning do more for the party if they are made "helpful."
I just see myself ignoring this rule in the Diplomacy skill description:
Try Again: You cannot use Diplomacy to influence a given creature's attitude more than once in a 24-hour period.
Also, I'm not sure how to roleplay the NPCs well when I can't understand their motivation for NOT helping the party. For example, why would Anevia NOT help disarm a trap if the party has no one else who can do it?
What are other people's thoughts on how to handle these NPCs?
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Was thinking of changing some of the crusaders driven mad to being possessed instead and I was wondering if anyone has went this route. Having this thrown in the mix I think adds to despair the players would find when they reach the surface (some crusaders were already evil, some driven mad and even some broken so bad they were possessed).
Story wise this would give me a few cards to play if the group is plowing throw everything to easily (the possessed crusaders might have some additional abilities/HP I could use if needed). Sometimes it is hard to gage how strong a party is the first few games and always like a way to tweak it on the fly but keep to the storyline.
We start this AP 2 weeks from now, and I have 2 arcane casters who both intend to take the Archmage path. So naturally they should both take the Riftwarden campaign trait, right?
Well, not in this case: one is an elven wizard and the other is a demon-blooded tiefling sorcerer with the abyssal/brutal bloodline (yes, I know... but we worked out a fun motivation for why she is part of the war against demons). The idea of having the same parents makes little sense, especially as the two players love the idea of their characters hating each other's guts
Now, since we don't have Book 3 yet... I'm wondering if there'd be a story problem if I decoupled the traits from their mechanical benefits? Specifically, can I make it so that the elven wizard (who has the background story of the Child of the Crusade trait) has the mechanical benefit of the Riftwarden campaign trait. Does the quest in Book 3 for characters with the Child of the Crusade background only make story sense if the character has taken the Marshal mythic path?
There shouldn't be a problem. I'd brought up that problem earlier and was told that while the paths are recommended, you can still have a different background story for it.
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In part G, the PCs can get in by showing the guards the broach they found in part A2. My question is why they would do that? What suggests there is any connection between this place and that broach? Is there something like the bat on mushroom symbol from the broach symbol here that the PCs can spot with a perception check to suggest some connection?
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There's no corpse to loot. The campsite is abandoned. If they had found it on a dead mongrelman, it would make sense that they would want to return it to that person's relative but there is no corpse. It's just abandoned there with nothing to suggest it has anything to do with the mongrelmen at all. The mongrelmen aren't the only people down here either. There are also crazy dwarves and who knows what else.
I suppose the best way to deal with that is to have a clearly-identifiable mongrelman (mutated-looking) skeleton or decaying corpse with the brooch. Also, perhaps there could be an insignia on the clothes indicating he is part of the head family of the tribe/colony. Then when the PCs encounter the leader in Part G later, a Perception check (or a subtle description from the GM that hints at this) can show them the same symbol on the chief.
(Oh, and thanks Tangent101 for your answer.)
In my game, when they arrived at the campsite and I described the pile of bones, the party's vivisectionist wanted to examine them. He determined that they were from some sort of monstrous humanoid, but not one they'd seen before.
That wasn't quite enough, though. When they arrived at Neathholm, I had there be similar carvings around the island. A simple Perception check noted the similarity, and they promptly showed it to Chief Sull.
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I'm already past that part so it's too late to add a body there. Maybe I will just have a convenient mongrelman ask if they have seen any signs of other mongrelmen in the area they came from. I am a bit leery about killing the son off to since his fate is left vague and he may appear later on alive or be shown to have died elsewhere for some specific plot related reason.
I'm pretty sure the pile of bones at the campsite (not added, that is in the description of the location) is the remains of Chief Sull's son.
The easiest thing to do is have the symbol of a bat on a mushroom on the amulet be the Chief's family crest. It would then feature prominently around Neathholm, and especially on and in the Chief's house. It would be almost impossible (say, DC 5) to not notice it.
I'm pretty sure the pile of bones at the campsite (not added, that is in the description of the location) is the remains of Chief Sull's son.
The easiest thing to do is have the symbol of a bat on a mushroom on the amulet be the Chief's family crest. It would then feature prominently around Neathholm, and especially on and in the Chief's house. It would be almost impossible (say, DC 5) to not notice it.
The pile of bones is NOT the Chief's son.
The original inhabitant of this cave (a son of the chieftain of the mongrelman settlement of Neathholm) has moved on,
The broach isn't a major issue but the +1 weapon is nice to have, though not many people want a morningstar. My characters tend to carry one as a back up when slashing doesn't work. My party tried to sell the broach in Neathholm to raise money to buy items. The person they tried to sell it to recognized it (I figured anyone in the village would) and directed them to the Chief.
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Millorn - I talked about him in another post. He rolled a 20 on a supprise shot at one of the lizardmen kings. doing 2 damage.. Lizard grounds war trident, as does other. Ifrit steps up and offered jelly and jam to the unknown archer. Who made a 20 on bluff check also.
I made His room was 4x the size it was in the book. Decided he was down here for fungal research. Still CE but knew he was outclassed and wanted some strawberry preserves. Who doesnt after all? Horgus (played by a PC) offered to buy the lot of mushrooms when he was done researching the shrooms. He did give the heroes some psydelic shooms after promising that they were the nonpsychoatvive shrooms. They havnt eating them yet but were planning on for breakfast before they head into the grey garrison. So that will be interesting to add the psycodelic trip to the part 4.
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Obviously beard tonics.
Creative Director
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Exactly what vile magical traditions was Millorn researching anyway? His spell list is quite normal.
He was researching demonology, basically. His spell list is "normal" because he didn't get that far before he had to flee, and because when you're a homeless dwarf living in a monster infested underground... you want the old reliable spells handy!
Honestly, 3 feet is actually deep enough to force swimming, particularly if you have small sized PC's.
a quick image search for a gar brings up several images of gars about 18 inches from dorsal to belly, and about 4 to 8 feet long. So really 3 feet is probably fine, but 4+ is probably better. My players never got off the rope (and failed their perception check), so it wasn't an issue.
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So, I'm trying to open up the NPCs backstories for my players. We made it through one session and they are camped out at Millron's cavern, after driving him off. Anevia and Aravashnial have been made Helpful, while Horgus was driven off Hostile due to a successful Intimidation check to help clean the temple (oh, those silly players ;P).
I'm still playing Anevia a bit closed mouth. Even though she is helpful and friendly, I don't feel she would be revealing everything to these strangers after only a few hours. She keeps things vague by saying things like "I am worried about my wife." or "I need to get home."; leaving out details like her wife's name or that she is a player with the Eagle Watch at this point.
The sticky part comes with Aravashnial's relationship with Avenia. His descript reads:
Aravashnial recognizes Anevia by sight only
Aravashnial and Anevia are pretty friendly with each other, since he doesn't know who she is (being blind and she's hasn't said who her wife is). Now that they are at a point to casually talk, I plan to open up more of the character's stories which is going to potentially send the two into unfriendly ground with each other.
Okay, this has been a long ramble and, as I write it, it seems I'm answering my own questions. I suspect even if the one of the two become "curt and terse", that could lead to more avenues for players to explore.
So, I'm trying to open up the NPCs backstories for my players. We made it through one session and they are camped out at Millron's cavern, after driving him off. Anevia and Aravashnial have been made Helpful, while Horgus was driven off Hostile due to a successful Intimidation check to help clean the temple (oh, those silly players ;P).
I'm still playing Anevia a bit closed mouth. Even though she is helpful and friendly, I don't feel she would be revealing everything to these strangers after only a few hours. She keeps things vague by saying things like "I am worried about my wife." or "I need to get home."; leaving out details like her wife's name or that she is a player with the Eagle Watch at this point.
The sticky part comes with Aravashnial's relationship with Avenia. His descript reads:
Aravashnial recognizes Anevia by sight onlyAravashnial and Anevia are pretty friendly with each other, since he doesn't know who she is (being blind and she's hasn't said who her wife is). Now that they are at a point to casually talk, I plan to open up more of the character's stories which is going to potentially send the two into unfriendly ground with each other.
Okay, this has been a long ramble and, as I write it, it seems I'm answering my own questions. I suspect even if the one of the two become "curt and terse", that could lead to more avenues for players to explore.
I think he's supposed to recognize her instantly, but if you want them not to know each other it shouldn't be a problem.
In my game, the NPCs introduced themselves with first and surnames.
I interpreted that sentence as "Aravashnial recognizes Anevia by sight, only as the wife of Irabeth a woman..." meaning he knows who she is, but that's about it.
A question about the Bilious Bottle. Do you have to save every round you are in the area or is it a one time thing?
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A question about this AP. I've run RotRl:AE and when the PCs go up a level but they're in the middle of an encounter area, I give them a "positive level: +1 to attack, +1 to all skill checks and saves and 5 hps". Then when they rest for 8 hours they receive they're actual levels, class features, feats and such. With mythic, they can get full benefits after 1 hour rest sometimes. How are people handling lvling up here? And are there any problems associated with the fact that the entire AP is not out yet?
A question about this AP. I've run RotRl:AE and when the PCs go up a level but they're in the middle of an encounter area, I give them a "positive level: +1 to attack, +1 to all skill checks and saves and 5 hps". Then when they rest for 8 hours they receive they're actual levels, class features, feats and such. With mythic, they can get full benefits after 1 hour rest sometimes. How are people handling lvling up here? And are there any problems associated with the fact that the entire AP is not out yet?
Positive Levels are a neat idea - don't forget +1 to caster level. In my game, I will inform players that they will level up the next time they rest (which doesn't have to be an 8-hour rest, though they do not recover used daily abilities until that time). Gaining tiers will happen on the fly, however.
What would be a good way to quickly simulate gaining a mythic tier, a la the above positive levels?
I just set specific points to level and gain mythic tiers. Ignoring xp makes it pretty easy for levels. You might have to get a little creative with m-tiers, if the trials are not close to rest points. Or you could just give them to the players in sudden flashes of divine intervention, like the 1st tier.
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My players decided to save Millorn, instead of killing him off. They have been dragging him around a bit and there has been some interesting RP coming from the relationships. Some of the players are starting to talk about helping Millorn, which I think is a pretty cool idea.
But, that means I have to flesh out Millorn a little more then what's in the AP. I've decided to treat him as inflicted with insanity (psychosis with a touch of paranoia). He has an obsession with the statue found in his belongings (which I made his bonded item). After these changes, I'm a little short of ideas on how to describe the reason for his banishment and insanity.
What I'm think is changing his Universalist school to Banishment. Explaining to the party (if they get this far with his recovery/redemption) that his research into banishing demons brought him too close to the real thing and the local authorities branded him a heretic. Over the years he continued his research into sending demons back to their plane in hiding believing it was for the greater good, but not realizing his sanity was being ripped from him due to the chaotic nature of his subjects.
What do you guys think? I've never played and don't know much about the wizard class. Does this sound like a reasonable a way wizard would get himself into trouble?
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It actually calls out that Millorn's arcane bond is to his dagger, though it doesn't make too much of a difference to change that.
However, it does say he was forced to flee due to his research into vile magical traditions. If you go with the Banishment, give him a Quasit familiar that's what originally drove him insane instead of the arcane bonded item. He accidentally summoned one and he's been trying to research how to banish it without consigning his soul to the Abyss. Having a Quasit familiar is likely enough to get a wizard driven out as a demon sympathizer without stopping to ask questions.
Oh mighty T-Rex, or anyone else that might have better eyesight than me.
Vagorg has Demonic Obedience (Xoveron). However, in Xoveron's writeup, I don't have what Vagorg gets as a boon, nor is it in his statblock.
it is in Book of the Damned 2: Lords of Chaos.
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Creative Director
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Oh mighty T-Rex, or anyone else that might have better eyesight than me.
Vagorg has Demonic Obedience (Xoveron). However, in Xoveron's writeup, I don't have what Vagorg gets as a boon, nor is it in his statblock.
Since Vagorg is so low level, he actually doesn't qualify for any of Xoveron's boons (he needs 7 more levels before he gets his first boon).
The only benefit he gains from Demonic Obedience is, as a result, his +4 bonus on saves against sickness, nausea, fatigue, or exhaustion. Which is indeed in his stat block.
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So my players got into the lair of the mongrelmen tonight and made it to Hosilla's room and took her out. Right now they have the four mongrelmen downstairs tied up as well as H. Wendaug is upstairs stable but unconscious. They are pretty beat up and are planning on blockading themselves in the meeting hall area and resting the night. Any recommendations for how the other half of the dungeon might deal with that situation?
Go out and get reinforcements. Have a couple patrols show up and have them fortify.
If the cultists in H10 heard the commotion, they should be trying to sneak up on the group. They would definitely be looking to make an ambush. Gather up the remaining reinforcements (untie the ones that are conscious or heal Wendaug), prevent the PCs from getting any rest and as soon as they open the door, rush them!
Teach them a lesson....don't leave survivors unattended!
There is. I believe it is point...H? Don't have the pdf handy, but I do know the dotted line shows their trek underground and where it ends in the south-east section of the map is where they emerge.
There is. I believe it is point...H? Don't have the pdf handy, but I do know the dotted line shows their trek underground and where it ends in the south-east section of the map is where they emerge.
Correct. They emerge at H16 on the map.