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Mike: it was a great event. Chaotic, loud, (sometimes too loud, since there was music playing throughout the scenario!?) but a huge amount of fun.
From a prep point of view, the mix of encounters was great, and it is much easier to prep traps and haunts, so I found this special easier to prep than previous ones. Constructs and oozes also don't have as many tactical variations as complicated spellcasters or NPCs, so that also helped without making it feel that you were running into "use the statblock on page 5" syndrome.
Like TOZ said, I have no idea what my party could have done after the throne room (I ran at Tier 5-6 with a 6-party group which included a full cleric and lots of back-up healing, and a very balanced mix of PCs). Of course, if something else goes into a 5-hour slot, they would have less time to go through the other encounters. We were rushed from the moment the Monument district was opened up, and didn't even complete one encounter there before we were moved to the throne room, so we missed the antechamber entirely.
Everyone had fun, though, so mission accomplished!
Venture-Captain, Michigan—Mt. Pleasant
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the throne room - work in progress - still needs edging, painting and the bottom level and columns adding
https://flic.kr/p/ocY7Q5
https://flic.kr/p/nXvAgu
https://flic.kr/p/ocY7RY
https://flic.kr/p/ogM4Pa
https://flic.kr/p/of1b3a
mine is for paizocon UK, still got a couple of weeks :)
Oh good... I was afraid yours would show up my own 2.5d terrain at GenCon... ;D
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Like TOZ said, I have no idea what my party could have done after the throne room...
I'm not saying it's going to be aliens...but I imagine a spaceship crashing into Jormurden and aliens attacking. ;)
Honestly, I'm really sad my dwarven Holy Vindicator can't play in this, as he has the Glories of the Past trilogy on him and can't play the Seeker tier of Siege thanks to receiving my GM credit for it. I wish the extra content was Seeker level stuff. :P
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Like TOZ said, I have no idea what my party could have done after the throne room...I'm not saying it's going to be aliens...but I imagine a spaceship crashing into Jormurden and aliens attacking. ;)
John is very aware of the resource challenge and we have already bandied about some ideas re: this. The journey through Jormurdun will need to get tightened up some.
But, O me Brothers & Sisters, I'm getting more and more excited about the twist: I think it'll both surprise and delight players and GMs alike.
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But, O me Brothers & Sisters, I'm getting more and more excited about the twist: I think it'll both surprise and delight players and GMs alike.
And rumor has it that the real Kreighton Shaine will be present at GenCon for the event...
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Soooo, this is a new thing. I am going through pulling images from the .pdf to use on the table at GenCon (geez, what else am I supposed to do at work?).
I am able to pull the map for the Grand Cathedral, and the ones for the Throne Room and Brothers Arches out of the document with Acrobat and drop them into gimp for resizing and eventual printing. That's how I have been doing this for years with PFS scenarios.
But, the other maps, the images from Ancient Dungeons, Dungeon Sites, and Cathedral (basically the ones that are from Flip-Mat or Map-Pack products) are not copyable. Is that a new thing that is going to happen, or is it just something funky with this particular file?
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A few other minor questions:
F1. Demonic Greeting - Subtier 3-4 (CR 5). The text says Dretch Demons (plural), but does not specify a number. One CR 2 Dretch plus two CR 2 CW Servants give us an encounter CR of 5. Is that logic correct and there should be only a single Dretch?
F2. The Clockwork Portal - Subtier 7-8 (CR 9). The text says a single CW Mage, but below that it says "hp 102 each", indicating multiples. The CW Mages are CR 6 each, so it seems there should be 3 of these to get to an encounter CR of 9. Should there be three?
G. The Host of Yealek-Vor - Subtier 7-8 (CR 10). The text says Nabasu Demons (plural) but does not specify a number. Should this be singular? Two CR 6s makes the CW Soldiers an 8, added to the CR 8 Nabasu makes a total encounter CR of 10, right?
A few other minor questions:
F1. Demonic Greeting - Subtier 3-4 (CR 5). The text says Dretch Demons (plural), but does not specify a number. One CR 2 Dretch plus two CR 2 CW Servants give us an encounter CR of 5. Is that logic correct and there should be only a single Dretch?
F2. The Clockwork Portal - Subtier 7-8 (CR 9). The text says a single CW Mage, but below that it says "hp 102 each", indicating multiples. The CW Mages are CR 6 each, so it seems there should be 3 of these to get to an encounter CR of 9. Should there be three?
G. The Host of Yealek-Vor - Subtier 7-8 (CR 10). The text says Nabasu Demons (plural) but does not specify a number. Should this be singular? Two CR 6s makes the CW Soldiers an 8, added to the CR 8 Nabasu makes a total encounter CR of 10, right?
Understand that the version of the PDF you have now is the playtest version used at PaizoCon, not the one for GenCon. Corrections will be made and the aforementioned twist will add substantial content to the adventure. I'm not sure what John's release date is for the GenCon version, but it's probably 2-3 weeks out.
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Well, I can confirm that normally copyable maps are not copyable in the pdf. I occasionally do the same thing as Zandari, but with the map pack/flip mats they only copy as black rectangles.
Eric, this is exactly happening with me. I can click on the map pack/flip mat portions, and they select as normal for copying. But, when I then paste into gimp, all I get is a solid black rectangle.
I already have the scenario-specific maps cut, pasted, sized to the one-inch grid, and ready to go, but not the "commercial" maps. I actually own the Cathedral, so that's not a big deal, but my drawing skills SUUUUUUCK, and I was really hoping not to subject any of my poor players to my rendition of the awesome maps from Ancient Dungeon or Shrines.
The tentacle-god on top of that shrine comes out looking like one of the ghosts from Pac-Man when I draw it (usually Clyde).
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Well, I can confirm that normally copyable maps are not copyable in the pdf. I occasionally do the same thing as Zandari, but with the map pack/flip mats they only copy as black rectangles.Eric, this is exactly happening with me. I can click on the map pack/flip mat portions, and they select as normal for copying. But, when I then paste into gimp, all I get is a solid black rectangle.
I already have the scenario-specific maps cut, pasted, sized to the one-inch grid, and ready to go, but not the "commercial" maps. I actually own the Cathedral, so that's not a big deal, but my drawing skills SUUUUUUCK, and I was really hoping not to subject any of my poor players to my rendition of the awesome maps from Ancient Dungeon or Shrines.
The tentacle-god on top of that shrine comes out looking like one of the ghosts from Pac-Man when I draw it (usually Clyde).
I pull the images and print them out as well (it is a joke among the locals that my map drawing skillz do not pay the bills). I ended up purchasing the map pdfs the day before I flew out. There were several copies of the map packs and flip mats used for sale at the paizo shop at paizo con, so you could purchase the maps at Gencon or before for use.
I haven't looked at the updated pdf as to whether the images act like normal or not.
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16
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I have one question for GenCon Prep. I have ordered every map from the PaizoCon version of this module. I'm hoping that whatever the surprise encounter is, will be contained to one of the maps already used. If not, can you tell us what map it is, so I have time to order and ship before the con?
(As an addendum - Hoping the map list for "The Paths We Choose" come out with enough advance notice too. 3D terrain like I'll do for my non-specials is cooler, but for specials, I feel having the official maps will help keep things moving fast so that my players at my table have as much chance as possible to get a lot done.)
I have one question for GenCon Prep. I have ordered every map from the PaizoCon version of this module. I'm hoping that whatever the surprise encounter is, will be contained to one of the maps already used. If not, can you tell us what map it is, so I have time to order and ship before the con?
You won't need any additional map packs than those found in the PaizoCon version of the scenario. I'd strongly encourage GenCon GMs who can afford it to have those map packs ready for use to speed up the game and pre-draw what custom maps you can (the Brothers' Arches, for instance).
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Venture-Captain, Ireland—Belfast
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It looks great Chris. Naturally it was only the transport costs from Belfast that stopped me making one too :-)
A heck of a lot work in there! I did make a Hirst Arts 'Risen From The Sands' which was an undertaking but your scratch built masterpiece is in a league of it's own!
Can't wait to see it in the flesh this weekend!
Venture-Captain, Isles—Online
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I used corrugated card (double wall)for the main structure - although if i did one again i'd use foamcoare instead (it has neater edges).
cereal box card for the columns and filler strips (to hide the corrugated edges)and a small offcut of foamcore for the throne.
then lots of hot glue, some cheap acrylic paint for the basecoat, a can of stone texture spray paint, and 2 sharpies for the gridlines (the textured paint blunts them quite quickly)
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Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
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Ok, been prepping with the July 27th version at various tiers, I found some odd things that should probably be fixed.
Duergar Cleric
Should still have Enlarge Person listed as a Spell-like ability.
At levels 1 & 2, the perception score at the top is correct at 3, but in the skill listings it says 0.
At level 1, it doesn't have an unholy symbol, which limits it a lot.
At level 2, it has a potion of vanish, but vanish has a range of Personal and thus can't be a potion.
At level 9, it has no bolts for the crossbow.
At level 9, it does not have the unholy water and silver dust to cast the desecrate it prepared.
Duergar Fighter
Has an int of 13, should start with 1 more language. The damage code for the crossbow is for a large crossbow, because he's enlarged when you fight him. But enlarge person doesn't affect ranged weapons. It's possible that he brings a large crossbow around for the 1 minute per day he can use it, but in that case the gear listings should reflect it.
At level 2, the AC should be 16, not 17. It even has the math in the line (+6 armor, -1 dex, +2 shield, -1 size)
Duergar Rogue
Has no thieves' tools, but the skill block counts the bonus from them.
At level 4, enlarge person should be 1 per day, not 11 per day.
Fungoid Fighter 1 should still have 14hp, not 17.
Unquiet Spirits. Dwarf ghost aristocrat is still listed as 73 hp, but ghost hp is linked to charisma and dwarves have a penalty to charisma (instead of the default human ghost). Should this be reflected?
Also a Dwarf ghost would be short a feat compared to the human ghost. Should one be removed?
Encounter F1, subtier 5-6. Advanced Schir is misspelled.
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So nobody else had to fight a CLOCKWORK DRAGON in the final Throne battle? I was on a 10-11 table at Paizocon and apparently because we finished off the BBEG so quickly, it was decided we were good to fight a CR 14-15? Clockwork Dragon. (Which also died big time).
I had a great time though and we were right in the very corner of the room a long way away from the annoucements
(and the music was a little .. different)
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So is the June 27 version the final version or is it still the play test version? Kinda cuttin it close if its not the final.
No, the final version hasn't been distributed yet.
But fear not! John and dozens of his whiskey swigging quasit minions are feverishly working on the final version of the scenario as we speak.
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So is the June 27 version the final version or is it still the play test version? Kinda cuttin it close if its not the final.John and dozens of his whiskey swigging quasit minions are feverishly working on the final version of the scenario as we speak.
Actually, it was originally dozens, but it was reduced to 2 quasits by the 4 player adjustment.
I'm not sure if John, Mike, and others on the PFS team have something they're going to do where the aid tokens are concerned. However, I'd recommend that GMs have a bullet-pointed player handout for their tables that lists the parameters and possible uses of the tokens for easy reference.
Also, the compass of the map of the Grand Cathedral should be pointed to the right had side of the page (it now faces what should be west).
Looking forward to seeing you guys bring this to life only five days from now!
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I'm not sure if John, Mike, and others on the PFS team have something they're going to do where the aid tokens are concerned. However, I'd recommend that GMs have a bullet-pointed player handout for their tables that lists the parameters and possible uses of the tokens for easy reference.
Posted one here on GM Prep.
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Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area North & East
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In act one, the previous version let us use "an NPC that suits their particular role-playing style, or indeed, to use a suitable alternative." to interact with the PC's, and some people had talked about using their own characters. It looks like that's been removed now: "Table GMs are encouraged to pick an NPC that suits their particular roleplaying style."
So we can't insert out seeker characters to hand out the dialog anymore? Sad.