My players just hit level 3 and are about to emerge into Kenabres. Reading ahead, i am concerned about having them ascend to their first mythic tier at the same time as they hit level 6, especially as one of my players is brand-new to RPGs. She's taken to the roleplaying very readily, but the mechanics are still a bit of a challenge, and as they are leveling up every other session (session = only 3 hours), i know she's not getting enough practice with her abilities before gaining new ones. She's my only new player, but i feel like that's suboptimal for all of them, and it's only going to become more complicated when we add a new rules system on top of everything. i don't know yet whether all the mythic tiers are added in this way, at the same time as levels, but i'm going to do my best to prevent it if so.
For now, though, i'm looking for ways to separate level 6 from tier 1. i'm not awarding XP, but simply leveling them as per the guidelines on the advancement track (page 6), so the challenge is to manage encounters/story development to give them extra time at each level. Ideas i have so far:
- Toss in as many random encounters as possible on their way to Blackwing/wherever.
- Have the PCs accompany the Eagle Watch knights back to Neathholm to seal the alliance with the underdwellers.
- Come up with some side plot regarding Chief Sull's missing son (he's been mentioned a time or two anyway, so i ought to come up with something, although i don't know what yet).
- Have them level up halfway through the Gray Garrison (although i'm betting it won't take more than 3 sessions to do the whole thing, so that might still be a tad quick).
- Ignore that last level-up and just have them hit 6th level early on in Sword of Valor. It doesn't look like they'll be underpowered if they start book 2 at 5th/1st.
i need to reintroduce them to Hosilla at some point, too, as she escaped with Radiance in our last session (and she'd rather not rejoin Vhane without sealing the security leak from the info-dump note). i don't know that that'd be enough to stretch out the encounters, though.
Thoughts?
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
I think that there was too much xp given out over the AP, but they wanted the PCs to reach level 20...an admirable goal.
I would suggest adding some encounters that make sense to you at the start of book 2 instead of doing anything with mass combat. Maybe clearing out some remaining cultists in Kenabres, or some heroic PC fights in the midst of the army fighting.
That would allow both you and your PCs a chance to get used to some mythic powers before bigger stuff hits.
If you want to do something with the chief's son, how about having him captured by the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth. The players could find clues at the safe-houses or be told by the Chief that the alliance cannot happen until his son is rescued. Then have Hosilla have joined/taken over command of the group holding him.
Another good alternative for Hosilla would be joining the witch Jaxon(?) he could use some more muscle.
I also added an Orphanage were some of my pc's had been raised were the children had been abducted for demonic rites in book 3 and the nuns corrupted to the service of Deskari which offended the orphan paladin splendidly
I reinforced the grey garrison a bit (5pc's) with about another 6 Tieflings, 4 cultists , 2 Dretches and an Antipaladin to scare my Paladin. It is looking like taking 2 sessions to clear it with those reinforcments.
I have beefed up the Gray Garrison as well, I have it all written out but have yet to add it to this site. I will do it tonight, I was thinking of also not giving the PCs the mongrel men archers to accompany them because it just seems dumb and the logistics of having them plus the PCs plus Irabeth in there is just crazy.
I also left out the Mongrelfolk rangers. My pc's entered through the hatch on the second floor ran into the flies and then pretty much everything else on the second floor including the Antipladin in one go, they got hurt bad and retreated but killed about half the total defenders, in their first raid.
Yeah, I dropped the rangers myself. Otherwise it's 9 guys on the PC side which is WAAY too many to deal with based on the Garrison at the start.
If you want to spread it out, I think Seanoss is roughly correct. There's a fair amount of time in Adventure 2 before you hit a level, so you could easily throw it in there. If you want to keep the mass combat, you could easily throw it in after the second battle (the one vs Dretches). There will have been no group fights at that point, so you aren't losing anything by waiting. I wouldn't hold up too much longer than that, though, or else it will be fairly close to when they hit level 7.
Thanks, guys. i think that's what i'll do, then—wait till Sword of Valor, add a few encounters at the beginning, and level them up to 6 shortly thereafter. The time frame of the second half of The Worldwound Incursion is so crunchy. It seems like just the fact of overland travel to Drezen should make it easier to fit stuff in there than in the first book.
Thanks for the tips about the Gray Garrison, too (and Sull's son). i have learned so much from reading this forum. :-)
It makes most sense to me right now that if Hosilla knows the PCs have intel on the safe houses, she'll be motivated to do what she can to fix that before trying to meet up with Vhane. i think i'll see what i can do about that—have her tip off at least one safe house before heading over to the Gray Garrison. i'm not sure if i want her to tip Faxon off as that'll change up that encounter significantly, but it makes most sense. i suppose Faxon might toy with them to see what they know or keep them off-guard until reinforcements show up. Or, since Hosilla doesn't know the new PC, and i don't know if Aravashnial and Anevia will be with them (they were when she saw them before), he might just want to delay until he knows whether these are the ones Hosilla warned him about. (She actually made it out of the tunnels a day and a half or so ahead of them; plenty of time for plottage.)
Am i missing something here? Seems like Irabeth doesn't explain how they know that the Gray Garrison is the place to go.
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