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After a playtime of one year and one month, with sessions of three hours once per week, our group today finished Jade Regent. Ameiko claimed the Jade Throne and due to the diligence and might of her group of friends, ushered in an age of prosperity the likes of which Minkai has not seen before. All hail Amatatsu Ameiko, first ruler of her name, empress of Minkai!
I have now played three adventure paths from Paizo to conclusion, Curse of the Crimson Throne, Carrion Crown and now Jade Regent. Of those three, Jade Regent assuredly was the one which managed to best convey a real connection to the non player characters accompanying the party. It should be noted, however, that establishing that connection is very much left to the GM, because after the introduction in module one there is near zero support for the NPC’s in the rest of the AP.
The cast of NPC’s themselves has some problems, many of which are probably attributable to my own perception of those characters. While Ameiko’s outgoing personality was easy to play and Shalelu being a stoic lent itself to some good character moments, Koya seemed mostly fixed for the role of “wise grandma” and I never got a good handle on Sandru. I would have preferred more extended hints as to how to develop the NPC’s, the lack of which left Koya and Sandru pretty much floundering, while Ameiko and Shalelu hogged all the spotlight.
In terms of the adventure set-up, all six modules of the AP have memorable plots and dramatic moments. Personally, I found the shift from a western adventure with asian influence to an almost purely asian adventure very enjoyable and preferred the second half of the adventure path to the first half. I hope that Paizo one day soon will release a complete Tian-Xian (or even Minkai) themed AP.
The difficulty of the AP is not easy for me to adjudicate, since I had a six player and 20-point buy situation with the group which just finished their last session. I am running a four player, 15 point buy group with other players, so one day I hopefully will be able to come back to this thread and give a proper impression of how this AP plays when using the proper parameters, but as far as this current group goes, they ripped through everything in their path, even at the end with additional enemies, opponents with maxed out hitpoints, double advanced templates and every other trick I could conjure up by myself and with help from this board. The final confrontation today went very one sided to the player characters, with three of the main antagonists not even getting their turn before being killed.
The newly introduced sub-systems (caravan and relationship rules) both were definitely the worst part of the whole adventure path.
The caravan combat rules simply did not work as written and many a GM on this board has struggled with how to come up with a working way to get those encounters done.
The relationship rules took the worst parts of newer BioWare games (getting brownie points by giving presents) and left out the interesting parts of the BioWare approach (interesting storylines for the NPC’s).
I highly recommend to future GM’s of the AP to avoid these subsystems. The caravan rules are still half usable to track provisions and how many wagons the group needs to get to Minkai, though.
As for the individual modules:
The Brinewall Legacy was a pitch-perfect start to the adventure path. Introducing the real stakes of the story gradually, it managed to turn a local Varisian adventure into the beginning of an epic journey. Castle Brinewall did not feel too long as a dungeon and for players of past adventure paths, seeing some of the inhabitants of Sandpoint once again (before leaving forever) might be a fond trip down memory lane.
Night of Frozen Shadows surprised me with how suspenseful it was for the players. At first read I had found the chase after Suishen a bit too railroady, but in actual play the plot gave the players enough freedom to plan out their own approach to the presented challenges and also managed to put enough pressure on them with the escalating events sothat both groups of players (the second group is currently in the middle of module three) felt obviously threatened by the worsening attacks.
The Hungry Storm turned out to be my least favorite module of this AP. Compared to the other modules, it had fewer roleplaying opportunities and the drawn out journey over the north pole of Golarion felt interminable. I am pretty sure that this was actually the point, given how this module was all about traveling thousands of miles in a caravan, but in actual play it boiled down to an “one encounter per day” standard, which are always the easiest ones to win for a party. Having to replace the broken caravan combat rules with actual combat encounters did not help in this regard. I will say, though, that this module contained the most complex encounter I have ever seen in an AP, with difficult environmental rules and lots of moving parts, in the first encounter with Katiyana in the Storm Tower’s peak.
Forest of Spirits was carved up by me into the first half of the module, which was kept as written and the second half, which replaced Munasukaru’s Penance completely with the Ruby Phoenix Tournament adventure. Everything in Ordu Aganhei was comedy gold and of all the elements of the adventure path, its roleplaying opportunities were the pinnacle of the whole AP and a definite guide on how to provide such opportunities with a relatively small page count. Prince Batsaikhar easily wins the price for most memorable ally-antagonist since Laori Vaus. The travel to the meeting with the Kami through the actual forest of spirits was okay… it suffered once again from “one encounter per day” disease and the spirit possessions soon became a sort of routine, too.
The megadungeon in the second half simply was not to my taste. Too long and too many samey-samey enemies (hobgoblins and oni-hobgoblins) and not enough roleplaying opportunities turned me big-time against it. The Ruby Phoenix Tournament turned out to be an excellent replacement and the only thing I felt lost in the transition was a part of the perspective on how evil Oni really are.
Tide of Honor was an great introduction to Minkai and, in its entirety, is my favorite module of the AP. It managed to show the current situation of the nation, allowed the player characters to make contact with the local culture, gave them interesting allies and had one of the more memorable villains with Yugureda Shosaito, who really perfectly looks and feels like the part of “evil asian wizard”. The only negative thing I and also my players noted was that the three different plots (ally with the Ninja clans, free the geisha O-Sayumi, kill the Daimyo Sikutsu Sennaka) all connected too well to another, making the railroad tracks seem a bit too obvious.
The Empty Throne was a worthy ending to the adventure path. At this point, my group was well beyond the point of blasting through every encounter the AP could put before them and my adjustments did not do the trick more often than not. I can’t say yet how it will hold up when a four player party at a 15 point buy will confront those encounters, but I find the idea that such a party will need the NPC’s to succeed in the encounters wildly pessimistic from the author.
The pacing of the module is, contrary to the rest of the AP, at breakneck speed, with the party needing to get things done in a hurry to keep the rebellion on track and the future of Minkai secure for Ameikos rule. My group managed to pass that test with flying colors, solving all the bad situations in the city in two days and then getting Ameiko the blessing of the past Emperors and then her throne in three more days.
The final fight could have been set up a tad better, with a lot of available buffs on the side of the Jade Regent kept uncast (like Greater Heroism and True Seeing on key allies of Renshii Meida), but with a less OP party set-up than the one I had to deal with, it should make for a decent fight.
So, in closing, is this AP good?
Yes, yes it is. Unless you dislike asian fantasy or long travel adventures, you can be sure that you will find a lot to like, or even love in Jade Regent. I definitely will miss Ameiko and Shalelu very, very much and hope to see them again someday in an official new Paizo product, even though I know that the stagnant timeline of Golarion will mean that this probably will never happen. But at least in one reality, that plucky tavern keeper and her friends managed to get it done and now an empire is back on track to become a great nation under a great empress!
Thanks to all the people involved at Paizo, I had a great time with this one. Now, on to the next grand adventure, fighting demon lords in the Worldwound!
Congrats, magnuskn! It's always an achievement to finish an AP! :)
I wish I were able to GM Jade Regent myself. Sadly, two of my players have either GM'd or played it, so it's not an option. Ah well, Shattered Star is also really good.
Yeah, it's a great feeling to give a closing narration and see how players feel satisfied with the story they played through. :) I'm very excited to start a new campaign, too, although I am already worried about the power level the Wrath of the Righteous campaign surely will later ascend to. It'll be difficult to rebalance it for a six player group, that's for sure.
Yes, six players is difficult. Given the action economy, it seems to require increasing the number of opponents. But with six players already, the game is already slowed down quite a bit and adding more opponents only makes it worse. Tough situation…
I was looking forward to playing Wrath of the Righteous earlier next years, after we end our Shattered Star campaign, but my players seem more interested in playing the bad guys (Way of the Wicked), than playing the good guys! Wrath of the Righteous certainly looks fun, though!
I'd say the best way to handle six characters is to insist on no animal companions or Cohorts. That way the only real reinforcements will be summons and the occasional NPC.
Fortunately, while one of my Runelords players is a summoning Cleric, the dog swarms she summons (multiple riding dogs) tend to be... less effective against many foes. She has a "hounds and rabbits" theme for her character so she'll likely continue with canine-style summons for a bit. (We joke that at the end of the day she uses up the rest of her summons so she can play with the puppies.)
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Congrats, magnuskn! It's always an achievement to finish an AP! :)
I wish I were able to GM Jade Regent myself. Sadly, two of my players have either GM'd or played it, so it's not an option. Ah well, Shattered Star is also really good.
If there is one thing that I learned, it is that no two GMs run the same AP the same way.
Of course, it also depends on how much work you are wanting to/willing to put into the campaign as well.
Of course it also can be an issue if they don't want to play it. :)
You're welcome. :) I hope the review helps some new people decide to run this AP. Personally, I would say that this AP is as strong as Curse of the Crimson Throne. Given how few posts there are on this forum regarding it (after two years of it being out), the asian theme seems to have prevented many groups from running it. It is a pity, because they are missing out on one of the best AP's published.
Same here. :) If we can get an Egypt-themed AP (and Osirion assuredly is about the closest analogue we got to one of our own histories classic empires we have in the setting), which, IMO, is also quite a niche setting, then a Tian Xia AP should also be in the cards.
Aaaactually, it is the AP I've been least looking forward to since Skull & Shackles. :p I'm not a big fan of Egyptian mythology by and large, so the general theme leaves me cold. I'll still buy it and look if it written so well that I can get behind it for future play, though.
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Ah, I have always loved Egyptian mythology, along with Greek mythology, ever since I was small, so for me there is a lot of nostalgia involved. Sometimes I look at APs that I am not sold on, and see what I can salvage for a home campaign... but I don't even know if I will be running Mummy's Mask.
I am looking to see what kind of twist that they might do for this one though... Jim Groves says that the overarching story of the AP is really good. So, I look forward to it even more.
I hope you are able to get into that one... or at least can find something in it to make it a worthwhile investment.
Congratulations on finishing! I agree with most of your review, although I really liked some of the set pieces in Hungry Storm. Good luck with your new campaign, I've just finished CotCT and there's nothing like prepping a new AP (Serpent's Skull in my case - let's see if I can salvage that one).
You could try the slow advancement track or a 10pt buy for 6 players. My table has been revolving since the beginning so everything is slow. I also had xmas break which slowed it down, congrats on finishing.
Nah, much of the selling point of this campaign was a.) mythic power levels, b.) level 20. It'd be counterproductive to try to take out those two elements and I'll just have to adjust to the general high-level insanity from my side. Also, I believe that 10 point buy builds only serve to discourage the more MAD classes from being taken and encourage more min-maxing, instead of lowering the actual power level of the campaign.
@Krathanos: The funny thing is that the traveling part of this very travel-heavy campaign was the thing least to my liking, because it encouraged those "once per week" encounter types. The Hungry Storm also suffered from its disconnect to the main storyline. Katiyana had nothing to do with the overall Oni threat and only was an obstacle on getting the caravan to Minkai.
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I'm playing through three right now, and I've been enjoying it. Though, with the RPing aspect, it's been focused on RPing with each other rather than the NPCs, which not every group can do honestly.
@Krathanos: The funny thing is that the traveling part of this very travel-heavy campaign was the thing least to my liking, because it encouraged those "once per week" encounter types. The Hungry Storm also suffered from its disconnect to the main storyline. Katiyana had nothing to do with the overall Oni threat and only was an obstacle on getting the caravan to Minkai.
I'm just starting Hungry Storm and hoping to mitigate the disadvantages while maximizing the potential in the journey part. I decided that people's favorite journey narratives were shows like Star Trek and Firefly, so I'm taking inspiration from those by adding lots of character-based interaction, mixed in with the random events. For example, it's clear that Ulf knows a lot of the guides considering that he knows the dead guide in area A, so I wrote up that the Wanderers encounter will have the added element that it's another group on the Path of Aganhei, with a guide who was an ex-girlfriend of Ulf who demands a two-on-two duel with Ulf and the PC at the highest relationship level with him (I replaced the relationship system with a set of 10 levels with an ongoing relevation of backstory and character development, a la the Persona series). Obviously it would be silly to do this every time, but I've added in several such "character connect" elements, as well as retooling the probabilities to allow the possibility of multiple encounters in the same day, followed by stretches of nothing that can be handwaved (higher flat chance for another encounter, rather than low but cumulative if you don't get one).
For Katiyana, it is going to help immensely that one of the PCs is Tornaq's daughter. Bwahahaha
I replaced the relationship system with a set of 10 levels with an ongoing relevation of backstory and character development, a la the Persona series
Now that sounds like a lot of fun! It's too late for my campaigns, but you might want to share how you did it and the backstory elements you included, so that other GM's might take advantage of it. It sounds much nearer to the "BioWare feel" than what Paizo gave us.
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I replaced the relationship system with a set of 10 levels with an ongoing relevation of backstory and character development, a la the Persona seriesNow that sounds like a lot of fun! It's too late for my campaigns, but you might want to share how you did it and the backstory elements you included, so that other GM's might take advantage of it. It sounds much nearer to the "BioWare feel" than what Paizo gave us.
Yeah, it gives a Bioware/Persona feel, discovering more aspects of the NPCs at each level (though the big ones are 1, 4, 7, and 10). It's attached to a new system for raising relationships. My key design goals with the system were to: a) Reward multiple skills and not just the character with the most Diplomacy and b) Have challenging DCs but never have a case where you are "stuck" and can't advance no matter what you roll (this is handled by gaining stacking bonuses each time you fail to rank up). Some of my PCs are saying that they wish there was somehow a way to do this with fellow PCs, as they now feel like the NPCs in the AP are even more real to them and more intimate to their characters than their fellow PCs are (a good problem to have).
One example is that Marko Vhiski, a PC in my game and cousin to Sandru, just got up to Rank 4 with Sandru. In order to do this, he first used Sense Motive to figure out that Yin-Po's death was reminding Sandru of something (Yin-Po that cleric of Shelyn in Kalsgard, who was killed by poison during the attack on Ravenscraeg, so yeah, his brother Alder was also a cleric of Shelyn who was poisoned by that snake). Then he made the Fortitude save to share brandy with Sandru until Sandru loosened up enough to talk about it (without Marko getting too drunk first). At that point, he learned more about Sandru, Ameiko, and Alder's last adventure, which none of the other PCs know (Ameiko will only reveal this at Rank 7, as many of her earlier ranks involve dealing with the shock of being the next Empress).
The amount of effort it would take to get the most useful parts of it into a usable and presentable state from my current scribbled notes (I have 54 NPCs, one for each Harrow Card, although many of the Evil cards are enemies, which are shorter than allies (though evil NPCs likely to join the PCs like Zaiobe and Skygni get full treatment) ) are such that if I was to do that, I would want to help it reach the maximum number of players by releasing it as a 3pp Jade Regent plug-in product of some sort, but that has challenges of its own. If you think the idea is awesome, please favorite this post (or reply if you like!) to convince me to go for it.
I would highly recommend that you do that. The lack of official relationship material for the main NPC's has been one of the banes of this otherwise great AP. I fear it is unlikely that I personally would buy this 3pp product, since I already have finished one campaign and the other one is at its mid-point (so presumably way too late to include this system), but I am sure that there would be many other interested people.
So, Rogue Eidolon, any decision you have come to in regards to your relationship upgrades? :)
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Well, three favorites and two responses in just a few hours hidden in a lowish-traffic thread on a different topic is pretty good, I think. I've read through other threads too and seen that this is a common and popular request. This might just be a "killer app" for Jade Regent, so to speak, something as must-have for JR as (or more-so than) the plug-ins to expand the kingdom and war rules in Kingmaker. I will talk to some of my contacts and see what shakes out!
Also, I might consider adding my new more-interesting caravan combat system (played mostly with Harrow cards, and it's tied into the relationship system, so you need to be using the new relationship system in order to use the new caravan combat system) to the mix. Removing cards of the other side's alignment can cause a rout, different cards have different powers related to their Harrow meaning, and cards represent their given NPC as well, allowing each NPC you befriend and bring on the caravan to do something to make a difference.
Also sounds interesting on the part of the caravan system, but I recommend that you don't make that caravan system necessary for the relationship system to work. :p
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Well, three favorites and two responses in just a few hours hidden in a lowish-traffic thread on a different topic is pretty good, I think. I've read through other threads too and seen that this is a common and popular request. This might just be a "killer app" for Jade Regent, so to speak, something as must-have for JR as (or more-so than) the plug-ins to expand the kingdom and war rules in Kingmaker. I will talk to some of my contacts and see what shakes out!
Also, I might consider adding my new more-interesting caravan combat system (played mostly with Harrow cards, and it's tied into the relationship system, so you need to be using the new relationship system in order to use the new caravan combat system) to the mix. Removing cards of the other side's alignment can cause a rout, different cards have different powers related to their Harrow meaning, and cards represent their given NPC as well, allowing each NPC you befriend and bring on the caravan to do something to make a difference.
ME WANT !!!
Sounds like a LOT of fun. Also you would not want all that brain juice to go to waste, right ;-)
Also sounds interesting on the part of the caravan system, but I recommend that you don't make that caravan system necessary for the relationship system to work. :p
It's absolutely optional. Caravan system needs relationship system to work but not vice versa. Also, terribly sorry for hijacking you--it's a great post-game analysis. OK, time to start my JR session!
Also sounds interesting on the part of the caravan system, but I recommend that you don't make that caravan system necessary for the relationship system to work. :pIt's absolutely optional. Caravan system needs relationship system to work but not vice versa. Also, terribly sorry for hijacking you--it's a great post-game analysis. OK, time to start my JR session!
I helped with the hijacking, so it's okay. I just hope you get to publicise those additional relationship rules, since they would be a great help to new GM's for the AP.
I would not mind additional people weighing in on the actual review, though. I guess the writers of the modules don't think they have much to add, since this review was 90% positive, contrary to my Carrion Crown review. :p
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I'm just about to start Night of Frozen Shadows after a brief interlude/relationship building adventure post Brinewall. It seems the best place for GM customization is between books.
It's a shame that The Hungry Storm seemed so disconnected. I might tie Katiyana to the Five Storms with a mission to prevent the PCs from crossing over the Crown of the World. By making her a direct antagonist, and an anthropomorphic face for the hardship of crossing the Crown of the World it might help the story there. I also need to do something with Snowcaster elves, as I have two half-elf PCs in my party and it's really the last opportunity to tie in their backstories to the campaign.
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To my threadjacking friends, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your encouragement as well as to tell you that you have good reason to be very excited about this! (there is a green light, and beyond that, I will now keep my lips sealed)
Great! :) I hope there's some advertisement when the product comes out.
At the very least, I plan on alerting all of you about it who favorited or posted here, probably by PM. When my psychopomp-planetouched race pdf came out, for instance, I PMed everyone who had been specifically saying they wanted to see such a race (which I had collected whenever I saw those kinds of threads from the moment I started the assignment).
Thanks, I appreciate it. :)
Thanks for your impressions on the AP, I find it always interesting to read how other groups do things.
After a playtime of one year and one month, with sessions of three hours once per week, our group today finished Jade Regent.
For example this rather surprises me. It makes me feel like I'm super slow.
I started my Jade Regent game last December, so we're actually creeping up on the 1 year mark now. But our sessions are usually 6-8 hours long, and we're just getting started with Book 5.I don't know if the fact we play online over Skype and Roll20 or if I just take forever for combats, or if my players and I simply do more RP in between (but you said you had plenty of that too).
I have to agree on what you said about the NPCs. Ameiko gets the most spotlight, and then there's nothing for a long time. Koya and Spivey usually only get pulled out for Knowledge checks nobody in the party has, to help with Spellcraft to identify loot or to heal everyone up again.
Sandru is even less prominent. I tried to give him a more central role in the caravan focused Book 3, but that didn't really work too well either.
Relationship subsystem is a neat idea, but I agree it kinda feels... strange. I'm more or less handwaving that now and simply go along with how they RP their interactions with the NPCs instead of tracking numbers. Not to mention that if you play it by the book, you have to be a Master Diplomat AND a Master Sense-Motiver to even have a slight chance on seducing any of them before Ameiko becomes Empress.
The writers did (so far) a much better job at dealing with important recurring NPC's in Wrath of the Righteous. I feel therefore that the complaints which were made when Jade Regent released (which are about in the same vein as what I posted here... not that surprising, since I was one of the people complaining even back then ^^) were heeded. Always a good feeling when feedback is taken into account.
As for campaign duration, this group which finished the campaign is pretty big (6 players), so, given the short playtime per session we have, they are rather efficient at getting things done. Roleplaying opportunities are taken up, but they rarely spend a lot of time following their own impulses, but rather go with the flow of the story. This speeds things up considerably, so that the campaign overall passes more quickly. I still was rather surprised at how fast this campaign was finished, though, the first two AP's still took us one year and a half.
I have another group with only four players and four to seven hour long sessions and paradoxically we are a lot slower, managing so far about the same amount of content per session as the other group, less players and more playtime non-withstanding. It also comes down to this group getting stuck a lot discussing wether they collectively should take some action or not and expanded RP.
I'm getting ready to run a Kingmaker game, but this was the first of any AP's I every picked up and one of the key reasons I transferred from 3.5 to Pathfinder. Sadly, my group never got to play it before we broke up (one just stopped showing up, one moved away, and the other now works nights as a taxi driver, leaving me and the forever-GM seeking new adventurers). I'll be doing Kingmaker PBP, and once it is over, I'll definitely be running this (with heavy modifications to the caravan rules).
I'm getting ready to run a Kingmaker game, but this was the first of any AP's I every picked up and one of the key reasons I transferred from 3.5 to Pathfinder. Sadly, my group never got to play it before we broke up (one just stopped showing up, one moved away, and the other now works nights as a taxi driver, leaving me and the forever-GM seeking new adventurers). I'll be doing Kingmaker PBP, and once it is over, I'll definitely be running this (with heavy modifications to the caravan rules).
I wish you the best of luck in finding new players. This AP is pretty fantastic, so that's something to look forward to. :)
I've instituted the Three Knock Rule in my campaign. Anytime we start going off on a tangent and one of us notices, someone raps their knuckles (or another hard object) on the table three times to alert us, and we return to the game. Surprisingly enough, it works (most of the time). That helps to speed up the game, rather than reminiscing on old games and the like.
OK guys, coming back here to ask for some advice from everyone who helped convince me that the Relationship Rules revamp with full progressions for each NPC is a must-have for Jade Regent.
Remember when I said it would be a huge number of hours to write it all? Well, I've been putting them in, starting with the main four NPCs from the back of Part 1. I'm doing really well with that so far, and we're getting closer to this project becoming something amazing.
But I realized something. It's not just time-consuming, it's flat-out long in terms of book length. Like all 54 relationships I've worked out might be as long as a Jane Austen novel once they are fully fleshed out and typed. There's no way I can fit all that in one pdf (plus I wouldn't want a hypothetical person who mostly wants to see my rules tweaks with a few examples and isn't as excited about getting everything for all of JR to have to get a pdf with all 54 relationships even if there was). What do people think about a series that splits it out. Starting rules + the main 4 NPCs seems a very good length to start out, and then maybe another volume for the relationships found in each book of the AP (this particularly helps make sure a GM only gets the ones they need if they, for instance, cut out one of the books for Ruby Phoenix or any other reason, like in magnuskn's neat example from his campaign). The flipside there is that some of the books have way more relationships than others, so they would be of varying lengths (3 has particularly few, for instance). There are other ways to split, such as by alignments, which would be more balanced but more haphazard for GMs who pick and choose which pieces of the AP to use.
So what do you guys think? It will be interest from the fan base in a continued series (as well as probably good sales from the first one I'd imagine) that can bring the full set to the table. There's a lot of them that I happen to think are awesome that probably won't see the light of day otherwise (such as redemption potential for Zaiobe and a Skygni-replacement winter wolf with some other issues, and a few brand new NPCs that add to the intrigue and interplay).
I'm so excited about this, and I hope you guys are too! Your feedback made this a reality and is helping to shape it.
~RE
Well, one book with the rules and the four main NPC's is a must. As for the rest, I'd try to keep those books at the same length, so if there are ones which will be shorter, maybe combine those ones to get to the same length as the others? I'm sure there would be a lot of complications there, too, though. :-/
Outside of the big four, there are x characters whom have been presented as possible long-time companions: Kelda, Ulf, Miyaro and O-Sayumi. Those ones should probably be in the same book.
I'm a bit out of ideas at the moment (since it's 03:30 a.m. over here, I came back from watching Thor: The Dark World an hour ago... fantastic movie, btw.), but if I get better ideas, I'll be back to post them in the next days. :)
Anyway, I am excited to see what you've come up with!
Well, one book with the rules and the four main NPC's is a must. As for the rest, I'd try to keep those books at the same length, so if there are ones which will be shorter, maybe combine those ones to get to the same length as the others? I'm sure there would be a lot of complications there, too, though. :-/
Outside of the big four, there are x characters whom have been presented as possible long-time companions: Kelda, Ulf, Miyaro and O-Sayumi. Those ones should probably be in the same book.
I'm a bit out of ideas at the moment (since it's 03:30 a.m. over here, I came back from watching Thor: The Dark World an hour ago... fantastic movie, btw.), but if I get better ideas, I'll be back to post them in the next days. :)
Anyway, I am excited to see what you've come up with!
Thanks! Categorizing by grouping was definitely a thought as well. Those four you mentioned, are definitely 4 of the 54 NPCs on the menu (I know what the whole menu is at this point because I have them all in unreadable notes mode. However, many (if not all) of the NPCs become suitable long-term companions of at least as much richness as those four with the new alternate rules. The rules generally also include what it takes to get the NPC to join the caravan and stay in it. My PCs have about 15 named NPCs in the caravan right now, for instance (they just started part 3 for reference).
My main concern is making sure people are excited enough that they would want to see all of these, even if it's a series that all adds up to a short novel worth of material! If the answer is yes, that's good enough for me, and if you guys come up with a sweet way to split it, that's an awesome bonus.
I'm going to be running JR in a couple of months, and would love to see your relationship rules. I've been researching and getting a ton of information on the forums.
I think that spreading the information across multiple volumes is a great idea. I'd much rather see some of the information now than have to wait until it's all done. Even just getting the rules and info for the main four would be a huge help, and should give most GMs a good starting point to flesh out their own rules for any NPCs that aren't available.
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I'm with them, separating them into volumes would be good. I think that the initial volume should be the biggest, and then the others can be like supplements to that first one, but keeping them pretty close in size/page count.
Same here. And maybe some advice in the latter books about adding specific kind of NPCs, based on the work you did for the 54. Or about turning the Relationship on its head (from friendly to hostile) which could generate great ideas for GMs.
In short things that would make even the smaller books useful for all GMs, even beyond this AP.
Eagerly waiting for it now :-)
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Oh, I totally forgot about that, sorry! I only got them at level 14 and I hope that I didn't slip in any calculation errors while doing the copy of their characters (or that I didn't simply copy their own calculation errors). Please assume that any errors in their statblocks stem from either the one or the other. ^^
Here we go:
Dario Nevara
Male aasimar oracle 1/ priest 13 of Saranrae
CG Medium outsider (native)
Init +4; Senses Perception +31, darkvision 60ft
DEFENSE
AC 37, touch 17, flat-footed 33 (+11 armor, +4 charisma, +2 natural, +7 shield, +2 deflection, +1 insight)
hp 108 (1d8+13d6+42)
Fort +17, Ref +14, Will +21
Defensive abilities Resist fire 10
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee luckblade +5/+0 (1d6+1/19–20) or
Ranged +1 light crossbow +8/+3 (1d8+1/19-20)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 7/day (DC 20, 9d8)
Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +18)
10/day—rebuke death; 10/day—fire bolt; 13 rounds/day—remote viewing; lore keeper
Oracle Spells Known (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
1st (6/day)— cure light wounds, shield of faith
0 (at will)— virtue, spark, guidance, detect poison, resistance
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 14th; concentration +21)
7th— destruction (DC 24), bestow grace of the champion, elemental bodyD, regenerateD
6th— blade barrier (DC 23), greater dispel magic, wind walk, healD (2)
5th— communal air walk, communal spell immunity, flame strike (DC 22) (2), breath of lifeD (2)
4th— blessing of fervor (2), freedom of movement (2), wall of fireD (2), communal protection from energy
3rd— prayer, dispel magic (2), fireballD (DC 20) (2), invisibility purge, communal resist energy, shatter (DC20)
2nd— eagle’s splendor (2), weapon of awe, hold person (DC 19), cure moderate woundsD (2), communal protection from evil, owl’s wisdom (2)
1st— moment of greatness, shield of faith (2) forbid action (DC 18), obscuring mist, compel hostility (DC 18), command (DC18), cure light woundsD, comprehend languagesD
0 (at will)—light, create water, purify food and drink, mending, detect magic, read magic
D Domain spell; Domains Fire, Healing, Knowledge
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 25, Cha 18
Base Atk +7; CMB +6; CMD 24
Feats Noble Scion (War), Selective Channeling, Craft Magics Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Craft Rods, Staffs and Rings, Divine Interference, Great Fortitude, Quick Channel
Traits Rescued (Koya), Magical Knack
Skills Diplomacy +23, Heal +22, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +12, Knowledge (engineering) +12, Knowledge (geography) +12, Knowledge (history) +12, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (nature) +23, Knowledge (nobility) +12, Knowledge (the planes) +12, Knowledge (religion) +18, Knowledge (spirits) +2, Linguistics +8, Perception +31, Ride -2, Sense Motive +22, Spellcraft +19
Languages Common, Celestial, Tien, Ignan, Aquan, Terran
SQ oracle curse: tongues (celestial), aura of good, healer’s blessing, sidestep secret, summon silver holy symbol, deathless spirit
Combat Gear scrolls of cure moderate wounds (2), scroll of dispel magic, scroll of remove disease, potion of lesser restoration (2), wand of inflict light wounds (12 charges); fugitive grenade, stone salve, dust of disappearance (3) Other Gear celestial armor +5, celestial shield +5, muleback cloak of resistance +5, luckblade, +1light crossbow, quickrunners shirt, ring of counterspells, phylactery of inspired positively channeled wisdom +6, belt of mighty constitution +4, amulet of natural armor +2, flask of endless sake, lesser metamagic rod of silent spell, ioun stone dusty rose, vambraces of defense, ring of protection +2, holy symbol of Saranrae, Underwear (7), Socks (7), Pants (2), Shirts (4), Sweater (2), Jacket, Boots, Belt, Winter Outfit (2), Winter Blanket (2), Backpack, Bag (10), Tent (2), Blanket (2), Rope (30ft), Flint and Stone, Lantern, Lantern Oil (50 pints), Pan, Ewer, Mess Kit, Waterskin, Wineskin, 20 bolts, 103 pp, 6 gp
Falk
Male human fighter 14
N Medium humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +1
DEFENSE
AC 27, touch 16, flat-footed 22 (+10 armor, +5 Dex, +1 deflection, +1 natural)
hp 142 (14d10+42)
Fort +15, Ref +14, Will +9; +4 vs. fear
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 longsword +24/+19/+14 (1d8+10/19-20)
Ranged +5 adaptive bane oni composite longbow +32/+27/+22 (1d8+14/19-20/x3)
STATISTICS
Str 18, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +14; CMB +18; CMD 34
Feats Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (Composite Longbow), Deadly Aim, Weapon Specialisation (Composite Longbow), Point Blank Master, Manyshot, Master Craftsman, Improved Critical, Toughness, Greater Weapon Focus (Composite Longbow), Improved Precise Shot, Combat Reflexes, Snap Shot
Traits Rescued (Shalelu), Killer
Skills Acrobatics +15, Climb +14, Craft: Arms and Armor +18, Handle Animal +9, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (local) +2, Knowledge (nature) +2, Knowledge (religion) +4, Perception +1, Ride +11, Stealth +6
Languages Common, Varisian
SQ bravery +4, armor training 3, weapon training 3
Combat Gear +1 flaming burst arrow, +2 evil outsider bane arrow (2), +1 animal bane arrow (5), 20 cold iron arrows Other Gear +5 adaptive bane oni composite longbow, mithral full plate +1, ring of protection +1, amulet of natural armor +1, ring of feather falling, cloak of resistance +5, boots of elvenkind, boots of the winterlands, lesser bracers of archery, belt of giant strength +4, gloves of duelling, amazing tools of manufacture
Kazumi Kaijitsu
Female human bard (lotus geisha) 14
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +2; Senses Perception +12
DEFENSE
AC 22, touch 14, flat-footed 20 (+8 armor, +2 dex, +2 deflection)
hp 83 (14d8+4)
Fort +11, Ref +18, Will +18; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-dependent, and sonic
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mw fighting fan +10/+5 (1d4-1/x3)
+1 dagger +10/+5 (1d4/19-20)
+2 short sword +11/+6 (1d6+1/19-20)
Ranged masterwork shortbow +13/+8 (1d6/x3)
Special Attacks bardic performance 36 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +4, inspire courage +3, enrapturing performance, suggestion, dirge of doom, inspire greatness, soothing performance), frightening tune
Bard Spells Known (CL 14th; concentration +22)
5th (2/day)—greater dispel magic, mind fog (DC 25)
4th (6/day)—dimension door, dominate person (DC 24), hold monster (DC 24), neutralize poison
3rd (6/day)—cure serious wounds, haste, see invisibility, dispel magic, slow (DC 21)
2nd (7/day)—cure moderate wounds, glitterdust (DC 20), invisibility, mirror image, tongues, hold person (DC 22), tongues, cacaphonous call (DC 20), blur
1st (7/day)—charm person (DC 21), cure light wounds, expeditious retreat, feather fall, silent image (DC 19), unseen servant, disguise self, unnatural lust (DC 21), unseen servant
0 (at will)—light, mage hand, mending, message, prestidigitation, resistance, summon instrument
STATISTICS
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 27
Base Atk +10; CMB +9; CMD 23
Feats Prodigy, Prodigy, Iron Will, Improved Iron Will, Lingering Performance, Dance of 23 Steps, Spell Focus (Enchantment), Greater Spell Focus (Enchantment), Improved Lightning Reflexes
Skills Acrobatics +29, Bluff +32, Diplomacy +32, Escape Artist +6, Fly +29, Handle Animal +31, Intimidate +31, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nature) +6, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Linguistics +10, Perception +12, Perform (dance) +29, Perform (sing) +32, Perform (string) +32, Perform (oratory) +30, Perform (percussion) +31, Ride +3, Sense Motive +32, Sleight of Hand +17, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +17, Use Magic Device +27
Languages Common, Tien, Varisian, Ulfen, Minkaian, Infernal, Celestial, Draconic
SQ versatile performance (dance, sing, oratory), jack-of-all-trades
Combat Gear scroll of cure light wounds (CL5),fugitive’s grenade, potion of eagle’s splendor, potion of water breathing, potion of cure serious wounds (3), potion of protection from arrows, wand of lightning bolt caster level 5 (DC 14) 23 charges, wand of see invisibility (5 charges), wand of cure moderate wounds (39), wand of speak with animals (36) Other Gear +4 glamered mithral chain, masterwork fighting fan, masterwork shortbow, +1 dagger, sleeves of many garments, winged boots, cloak of resistance +5, ring of evasion, ring of protection +2, boots of the winterland, headband of alluring charisma +6, circlet of persuasion, kimono, backpack, bedroll, trail rations (8), travellers outfit, entertainers outfit, cold weather outfit (2), tinder twigs, brooch 70 gp, ruby hairpin 150 gp, jade raven statuette 50 gp, ebony fan 200 gp, blue sapphire 500 gp, , 4 gp, 14 sp
Toshiro Kurosawa
Male human fighter 1/wizard 5/eldritch knight 8
CG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +8; Senses Perception +15
DEFENSE
AC 29, touch 18, flat-footed 25 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +4 shield, +3 natural, +4 deflection)
hp 114 (9d10+5d6+27)
Fort +14, Ref +13, Will +13
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee suishen +21/+16/+11 (1d8+7+1d6 fire/15-20)
Ranged composite longbow +18/+13/+8 (1d8/x3)
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +20)
9/day—hand of the apprentice, metamagic mastery 3/day
Spells prepared (CL 14th; concentration +24)
6th—disintegrate (DC 22), chain lightning (DC 22), empty
5th—cloudkill (DC 21), cone of cold (DC 21), empty x2
4th—stoneskin, enervation, black tentacles, wandering star motes (DC 20)
3rd—vampiric touch, fireball (DC 19), lightning bolt (DC19), displacement, dispel magic
2nd—mirror image, scorching ray (2), glitterdust (DC 18), false life, empty
1st—burning hand (DC 15),mage armor, protection from evil,ray of enfeeblement (DC 15), shield, shocking grasp
0 (at will)—detect magic, mending, prestidigitation, read magic
STATISTICS
Str 13, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 23, Wis 10, Cha 10
Base Atk +11; CMB +12; CMD 30
Feats Craft Potions, Scrolls and Wands, Weapon Finesse, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Katana), Arcane Strike, Fast Study, Dervish Dance, Combat Casting, Weapon Focus (Katana), Improved Initiative, Greater Spell Penetration, Power Attack, Improved Critical (Katana), Empower Spell
Traits Rescued (“Shalelu”), Magical Knack,
Skills Acrobatics +23, Linguistics +14, Knowledge (arcana) +25, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +18, Knowledge (the planes) +25, Perform (dance) +7, Ride +13, Spellcraft +25, Survival +15, Fly +18, Perception +15, Sense Motive +19, Linguistics +14
Languages Common, Tien, Minkaian, Draconic, Skald, Infernal, Abyssal, Giant
SQ diverse training, arcane bond (ring), metamagic mastery
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds,elixir of fire breath, scroll of gust of wind (2), scroll of fly, scroll of lightning bold (DC 14) (2), elixir of fire breath, potion of cure serious wounds (2), potion of cure moderate wounds, wand of ray of enfeeblement (29), wand of endure elements (x2,100) Other Gear spellguard bracers, Suishen, composite longbow, rod of lesser extend, headband of vast intellect +4 (perception, acrobatics), ring of protection +4 (bonded), necklace of netted stars, belt of physical might +2 (Dex, Con), cloak of resistance +4, rod of lesser maximise spell, stone of good luck, quick runners shirt, boots of the winterland, ring of the ram (38), claws of the ice bear, The Thundering Blade of the House Sugimatu, cold weather outfit, 2266 GP
Spellbooks:
0 – all
1 – Mage Armor, Shield, Protection from Evil, Burning Hands, Ray of Enfeeblement, Feather Fall, Endure Elements, Expeditious Retreat, Shocking Grasp, Magic Missile, Floating Disk, Disguise Self, True Strike
2 – Scorching Ray, Glitterdust, Resist Energy, Mirror Image, Darkness, Web, False Life, Darkvision, Make Whole, Rope Trick, Spider Climb, See Invisibility, Fire Breath, Disguise Other, Fox’s Cunning, Gust of Wind, Protection from Arrows, Summon Swarm, Whispering Wind
3 – Vampiric Touch, Fireball, Dispel Magic, Stinking Cloud, Tongues, Hold Person, Daylight, Lightning Bolt, Haste, Protection from Elements, Slow, Keen Edge, Draconic Reservoir, Displacement, Phantom Steed, Gaseous Form, Ice Spears, Wind Wall, Fly
4 – Fire Shield, Enervation, Black Tentacles, Wandering Star Motes, Stoneskin, Dimension Door, Ice Storm, Wall of Fire, Mnemonic Enhancer, Remove Curse, Phantasmal Killer, Greater Invisibility, Calcific Touch, Dimensional Anchor, Bestow Curse, Detonate, Dragon Breath, Shout, Ball Lightning
5 – Cloudkill, Teleport, Hold Monster, Cone of Cold, Baleful Polymorph, Break Enchantment, Dismissal, Mind Fog, Mage’s Private Sanctum, Suffocation, Wall of Stone, Overland Flight
6 – Greater Dispel Magic, Disintegrate, True Seeing, Chain Lightning, Circle of Death, Greater Heroism, Sirocco, Contingency, Fluid Form
7 – Control Weather, Force Cage, Greater Teleport
Brajakh Kar
Male beastbrood tiefling conjurer (teleportation) 1/ninja 13
LN Medium outsider (native)
Init +7; Senses Perception +24, darkvision 60ft.
DEFENSE
AC 22, touch 18, flat-footed 16 (+3 armor, +7 Dex, +1 natural, +2 deflection)
hp 102 (1d6+13d8+14)
Fort +10, Ref +20, Will +12
Defensive abilities improved uncanny dodge Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +2 wounding nunchaku +19/+14 (1d6+2/18-20)
+2 wounding nunchaku +19/+14 (1d6+2/18-20) and bite +14 (1d6)
mw adamantine dagger +18/+13 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged masterwork composite shortbow +18/+13 (1d6/x3)
Blowgun +17 (1d2)
Special Attacks sneak attack +7d6
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +3)
3/day—shift 5ft.
Spells prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +3)
1st—alarm, mage armor, shield
0 (at will)—acid splash, detect magic, open/close, prestidigitation
Focused School Teleportation; Opposition Schools Enchantment, Transmutation
STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 25, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 22
Base Atk +10; CMB +10; CMD 29
Feats Craft Potions, Scrolls and Wands, Weapon Finesse, Skill Focus: Stealth, Eldritch Heritage (Shadowstrike, Shadow Bloodline), Improved Unarmed Strike, Dodge, Combat Expertise, Crane Style, Improved Eldritch Heritage (Shadow Well), Crane Wing
Traits Magical Knack, Friend of the Family (Koya)
Skills Acrobatics +30, Bluff +24, Climb +5, Craft (alchemy) +7, Diplomacy +24, Disable Device +27, Disguise +27, Linguistics +20, Knowledge (arcana) +20, Knowledge (local) +7, Perception +24, Ride +11, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand +25, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +35, Survival +2, Perform (Martial Arts) +11
Languages Common, Varisian, Infernal, Draconic, Goblin, Auran, Tian, Minkaian, Skald, Celestial, Giant,Aklo, Sylvan, Terran, Ignan, Ninja Sign Language, Abyssal, Orc, Aquan
SQ arcane bond (ring), ki pool (12), light steps, ninja tricks (shadow clone, vanishing trick, combat trick, style master, assassinate (DC 21), hard to fool), no trace +3, poison use, prehensile tail, bite (magic fang)
Combat Gear scroll of water walk,scroll of identify (5), scroll of spider climb (2), scroll of animate dead, scroll of magic circle against evil (2+silver dust), scroll of fly, scroll of gaseous form (2), scroll of expeditious retreat (2), potion of cure moderate wounds (2), potion of cure serious wounds (5), wand of gaseous form (5), wand of command undead (11), wand of flame arrow (9), wand of scorching ray (7), elixir of vision, giant wasp poison, spider eater poison, blue whinnis poison (2), deathblade, fugitives grenade (9) Other Gear shozoku of the night wind,belt of incredible dexterity +6, cloak of protection +4, stone of good luck, charm of fate, +2 wounding nunchaku, pearl of power I, boots of elvenkind, boots of the winterlands, amulet of natural armor +1, bag of tricks gray, minor mantis mask (see invisibility, perception+5), ring of feather falling sustenance, bag of holding IV, lesser poisoners jacket, horse terracotta talisman, claws of the ice bear, cat’s eye crown, staff of fire, permanent magic fang on bite, dark blue ioun stone (Alertness),bag of holding IV, scholars outfit, backpack, bedroll, trail rations (4), caltrops, grappling hook, flint and steel, hemp rope (100ft), sack, masterwork thieves tools, gem encrusted jade raven statue 20gp, tindertwigs (2), 4 gp, 92 sp
Spellbooks:
0 – all
1 – alarm, comprehend languages, expeditious retreat, feather fall, identify, mage armor, shield, spider climb, vanish
Ikari Chidori
Female kitsune ninja 14
LN Medium humanoid (kitsune, shapechanger)
Init +10; Senses Perception +18, low-light vision
DEFENSE
AC 26, touch 16, flat-footed 20 (+9 armor, +6 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 114(14d8+14)
Fort +10, Ref +20, Will +10
Defensive abilities improved uncanny dodge
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee +5 adamantine agile evil outsider bane vicious called guardian kusari-game +22/+16
(1d3+11+2d6/19-20) or
+5 adamantine agile evil outsider bane vicious called guardian kusari-game +20/+15 (1d3+11+2d6/19-20) and +5 adamantine agile evil outsider bane vicious defending menacing kusari-game +20/+15 (1d6+11+2d6/19-20)
Ranged masterwork shuriken +17/+12 (1d2) or
masterwork shortbow +17/+12 (1d6/x3)
Special Attacks sneak attack +7d6
STATISTICS
Str 10, Dex 23, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 16
Base Atk +10; CMB +10; CMD 26
Feats Weapon Finesse, Two-Weapon Fighting, Fox Shape, Combat Reflexes, Improved Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (kusari-gama), Improved Critical (kusari-gama), Swift Kitsune Shapechanger,
Traits Reactionary, Friend of the Family (Koya)
Skills Acrobatics +25, Appraise +4, Bluff +15, Climb +22, Diplomacy +10, Disguise +18, Handle Animal +12, Knowledge (local) +7, Perception +18, Sense Motive +18, Sleight of Hand +15, Stealth +28, Survival +15
Languages Common, Sylvan
SQ ki pool (10), light steps, ninja tricks (shadow clone, vanishing trick, darkvision, weapon training kusari-gama, invisible blade, opportunist, ghost step), no trace +4, poison use, change shape (Medium humanoid; alter self), fast shifter
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds (2), elixir of vision, potion of cure moderate wounds, wand of gaseous form (5),alchemist’s fire (2), giant wasp poison (2), blue whinnis (2), deathblade, fugitives grenade (3) Other Gear celestial armor, belt of incredible dexterity +2 ioun stone iridescent blue (+2 WIS), dancing wasp, boots of the winterlands, amulet of natural armor +1, minor mantis mask (see invisibility, perception+5), ring of sustenance, scabbard of vigor, wayfinder (+nacreous ioun stone), wolf spirit skin of resistance +5, ring of evasion, claws of the ice bear, wolf spirit skin, explorers outfit, backpack, bedroll, trail rations (8), caltrops, gem encrusted jade raven statue 100gp, steel statue 100 gp, tindertwigs (4), 19 GP