Iron Gods Adventure Path Obituaries


Iron Gods

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Figured I would start this one:

Kel, the Orc Fighter -

Spoiler:
Drank some Numerian fluid and suffered 1d4 negative levels at the hills. Player knows he is a wight, the character doesn't know, and neither does the party.


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Oliver Veyrac wrote:

Figured I would start this one:

Kel, the Orc Fighter - ** spoiler omitted **

More Death's Tonight

Hiroku - Wizard 1 - Cause of Death : Skulk did sneak attack with a flask of alchemist fire, fatality was from the burns.

Grog - The one-eyed Orc Fighter - Brother to Kel - Cause of Death 3 natural 20's (1/8000 chance) in a row from a fire beetle. We are on a roll!


Oliver: Can't sneak attack with a splash weapon (Unless you're a level 4 Underground Chemist Rogue, oddly enough).

That being said.. Grog.. died.. from a fire beetle?! Thats some horrible luck XD


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tpk at Gremlins them sneeky bastards and their traps


I'm running the adventure solo with 4 Test PCs before my actual players are done making their characters. My Test PCs have very creative names like "The Fighter", "The Cleric", "The Gunslinger", and "The Arcanist". Yep, very creative.

Name: The Cleric
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Cleric 1
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Black Hill Caves
Catalyst: Blindheim

The Gory Details: After the entire party went blind 3 rounds into the fight, the Fighter fell unconscious to the Blindheim's relentless clawing and biting. The cleric, who was behind him, was standing in the two-foot pool of water and went down after more clawing and biting. He immediately failed his Con check to avoid drowning the next round, and the round after that he had drowned.

The Gunslinger would have been next, but he got an amazingly lucky crit off with his pistol and 1-shot the Blindheim. He couldn't get to the Cleric in time to pick him up out of the water, though.

Dark Archive

Crustypeanut wrote:

I'm running the adventure solo with 4 Test PCs before my actual players are done making their characters. My Test PCs have very creative names like "The Fighter", "The Cleric", "The Gunslinger", and "The Arcanist". Yep, very creative.

Name: The Cleric
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Cleric 1
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Black Hill Caves
Catalyst: Blindheim

The Gory Details: After the entire party went blind 3 rounds into the fight, the Fighter fell unconscious to the Blindheim's relentless clawing and biting. The cleric, who was behind him, was standing in the two-foot pool of water and went down after more clawing and biting. He immediately failed his Con check to avoid drowning the next round, and the round after that he had drowned.

The Gunslinger would have been next, but he got an amazingly lucky crit off with his pistol and 1-shot the Blindheim. He couldn't get to the Cleric in time to pick him up out of the water, though.

I know that this is a test character but did you not let him hold his breath?


He was unconscious, so he had to immediately begin making Con saves. And he failed his first one.

Dark Archive

Crustypeanut wrote:
He was unconscious, so he had to immediately begin making Con saves. And he failed his first one.

Ok that makes sense.


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TPK! Still using my Test PCs, and I had decided to simply replace the previously-killed Cleric with an exact copy, minus any resources he had used previously.

Name: The Cleric, The Gunslinger, The Fighter, The Arcanist
Race: Human, Human, Human, Android
Classes/levels: Cleric of Brigh 1, Pistolero Gunslinger 1, Mutation Warrior Fighter 1, Arcanist 1
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Habitat Dome
Catalyst: Hetuath

The Gory Details: When the PCs entered the observation deck where Hetuath had been patiently waiting for them, the Kasatha greeted them in a language they couldn't understand; Unbeknownst to them, he was also telling them they're about to die. Immediately, combat ensued (No surprise round for either), and Hetuath rolled extremely high on his initiative, with his first action being to throw a javelin at someone (missed) and then moving behind a pillar to avoid the various ranged abilities of the party, as he had seen their capabilities via the skeletons earlier.

As the Gunslinger and Cleric flanked either side of the pillar, neither were able to deal any damage to Hetuath due to his damage reduction. The Fighter went in, however, and immediately dealt half of Hetuath's HP in a single blow. Needless to say, Hetuath returned the favor, dropping the fighter to -9 Hp in the first round, having hit with three out of four of his attacks.

With the Cleric on the opposite side of the room next to the table, he attempted to hit Hetuath one more time, not wanting to risk getting in close. The gunslinger, however, was much closer, and suffered the brunt of Hetuath's wrath, going down to -11 hp on Hetuath's next turn. The reason he went so far down was because Hetuath dropped him with his two shortswords - and, since he was making a full attack, decided to also strike him with his slams after he went down because there was no one else in range. Because he has only 12 Con, he bled out the following turn, before anyone could get to him.

Without any magical slashing weapons, besides the Fighter's Greatsword (Which wasn't magical, but did enough damage beyond the damage reduction), they had no real way of dealing much damage to Hetuath, although the Arcanist, who had burnt his spells when the group nearly died to the skeletons, was forced to use his flasks of acid. In the end, Hetuath's high attack, high AC, and high DR was too much for the party, and each one went down before they could properly retreat.

That being said, the party did turn restore power to the Habitat module, so their replacements won't have to fight the skeletons again, and Hetuath can't naturally heal. He's currently at 2 HP (So close! SO CLOSE!) and will be an easier kill. Once he's dead, he's gone for good.


I'm not sure if I'm just unlucky or this is a deadly adventure, but we've got two more Test PC deaths! Ok, "Technically" one PC and an Animal Companion. But the animal companion was much loved! (By me. Since I'm the only one playing these. Heh.)

Name: The Barbarian, The Bear
Race: Orc, Bear
Classes/levels: Invulnerable Rager Barbarian 1, Animal Companion of the Hunter
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Habitat Dome
Catalyst: Advanced Ghelarn

The Gory Details: With the last group having vanished much like the four adventuring parties before them, a new group was sent to investigate; This time, they were comprised of a dim-witted Orc Barbarian, a Ratfolk Gunslinger, an Android Magus, and a Human Hunter with his Bear Companion.

Having gone through the caves and early habitat module unmolested, they found a huge dome with an artifical sky, heatwaves, and dunes; The path that the other groups had all made had been blown away by the artificial wind, so they made their way around and ended up in the northern caverns, the old home of the Kasatha tribe.

Inside, while they were poking around, they found a curious coral formation. The Barbarian, wanted to smash it for the lulz, found himself in over his head. After failing two fortitude saves in a row (and his first two strength checks) (Seriously? You were raging with +8 strength! You suck!), he became helpless and was wacked twice by the Advanced Ghelarn. Its second attack was a crit, which, combining the total damage, instantly killed the Barbarian.

With the Hunter, Gunslinger, and even Magus staying at range, the Hunter sent in his bear, hoping to get in a quick kill so long as they all focused on it. The Bear, luckily, dodged the attack of opportunity it recieved while charging and was able to bite the Ghelarn. Come the Ghelarn's turn, however, it repeated the same attacks that had felled the barbarian; One successful hit followed by a successful crit, instantly slaying the bear.

The Ghelarn went down without much more of a fight from the combined ranged onslaught of the group shortly after.

----------------

Seriously, am I just having bad luck or is this adventure deadly? Neil! You evil bastard! (I'm not complaining though ;P)


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Because I love killing PCs (They're just Test PCs, don't worry), we've got our 7th death!

Name: The Barbarian
Race: Orc
Classes/levels: Invulnerable Rager Barbarian 2
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Science Deck
Catalyst: Collector Robot, Medical Drone

The Gory Details: Having gone through most of the Science Deck with very little trouble (Beyond the vegepygmy chieftain that infected 4/5 of the PCs with the weakened Russet Mold Spore and also nearly wiped the party in his own right), they found a new sort of challenge with the Collector Robot.

The Barbarian, as usual, started his action by charging the first thing he saw. He has 5 intelligence, 5 wisdom, and 5 charisma, so this is expected. (Surprisingly enough, he was one of only two people to make his will save against the Cerebric Fungus' Star Shriek). Despite his attempt, he missed. The Medical drone, coming after him in initiative, took advantage of his positioning and was able to stab him with his needle-like claw, all while reassuring him the doctor will be with him shortly. The anesthesia had no effect on the Barbarian - but the Collector Robot's claws, did, finding purchase and grabbing him. With the Barbarian grappled, he could no longer swing his Greataxe, so he raged and tried to break free. Even with his +10 CMB, he failed to break the Collector Robot's grip (CMD 18). Come the Drone's turn again, he followed his previous course of action and took advantage of the fact his buddy was holding the big, mean, screaming patient down, and slashed him with his claw again. Meanwhile, the Hunter's bear ripped the Medical Drone a new-one, and the drone went down after a pistol shot to its head.

The Collector Robot's turn coming up (it was first in initiative), it continued to grapple the Barbarian, dealing damage with its Grab and choosing to deal damage again with its Grapple Check. While it had intended to simply subdue the Barbarian, it squeezed a little too tight - the Barbarian had only 1 hit point remaining and was raging. He took 13 damage from the combined Grab and Grapple checks (As for those unaware, enemies with the Grab ability automatically deal damage whenever they maintain a grapple, and then can do more damage as part of their Graption), and fell unconscious, losing another 4 hp from his rage dropping, fell down below his Con Score and was immediately dead.

Oops. The Collector wasn't very happy that it did that. However, it didn't have enough time to try and capture another person, and the Magus used his second Shocking Grasp spell and felled the machine, considering that none of the others could break through the robot's hardness, barring a crit.

I would like to add that the Barbarian was one of the ones infected with Russet Mold Spores.. so he'll have a pair of little children in 24 hours.

Fun!


Yay! Kids!


Isn't maintaining the grapple a standard action? So if he maintains how can he then grapple in the same turn?


It maintained the grapple as a standard action; In doing so, it did its Grab Damage automatically (Using the limb it was grappling with). As part of its grapple check, it also chose to deal damage, rather than attempt to Pin or Move, for example.


Gotcha, blonde moment!


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And the result.. of the final boss fight against the main villian of the adventure, the Cleric of Hellion Meyanda.. is...

T.P.K.

Name: The Barbarian, The Gunslinger, The Magus, The Hunter, The Bear
Race: Orc, Ratfolk, Android, Human, Bear
Classes/levels: Invulnerable Rager Barbarian 3, Siege Gunner Gunslinger 3, Magus 3, Hunter 3, Bear.
Adventure: Fires of Creation
Location: Engineering Deck
Catalyst: Meyanda, Collector Robot

Its a long one! Weeee. The fight had lasted 14 rounds.

The Gory Details:
After having aggro'd all of Meyanda's Scrappers and Fanatics by taking the second door, leading through a small corridor to their sleeping quarters, and after having chased a fleeing ratfolk down to the southern doors, where the group ended destroying some drones, the players went and nearly died to the Gargoyle (Wait, what? Its just a gargoyle!).

After using up most of their healing resources, having only a wand of cure light wounds and a timeworn brown nanite hypogun with 9 charges left, the group decided to press on through the mysterous black metal doors into the room beyond.

However, they lacked a white access card and couldn't pick the lock. So, they did the next best thing. The Barbarian made his own door with his greataxe, breaking both sets of doors after about a minute-and-a-halfs work.

Meyanda, for her part, was waiting patiently upon the 10-ft platform, waiting for them to enter; She had heard numerous gunshots and had heard them bashing down the door to the reactor room. Her buff spells were in place and her robot was ready to attack.

Enter the PCs. Meyanda rolls first on initiative, opening combat with a rather pathetic (3 damage, woo!) Searing Light on the Barbarian. Her next turn was much more effective, catching everyone within Sound Burst and stunning 3/5ths of the party. The Barbarian, having used his last round of rage during the opening turn as he rushed the Collector, quickly became fatigued after dealing half the collector's health in damage, despite its 10 Hardness.

Luckily, the Barbarian was fatigued when he was hit with Lesser Confusion; Otherwise, the Hunter would have been taken out right then and there when the Barbarian swung at him and dealt him almost his entire hp's worth of damage, bringing him to 2 hp. He would've been alright, were it not for the 14 Nonlethal Damage he had taken from the Collector Robot's semi-automatic fire from its stun gun. He went down, unconscious but not dying.

The Barbarian and the Bear continued their failed assault on the Collector Robot. The Bear could NOT deal a single point of damage through the robot's hardness - that didn't stop it from trying, though, since its master was unconscious and unable to give it orders. It scraped and bit the collector many times throughout the fight, hounding it until the bear went unconscious later.

Meanwhile, the Magus and Gunslinger were focusing their efforts on Meyanda, as neither were able to deal any damage to the Robot. The Magus, for his part, had already exhausted his Shocking Grasp spells on the Gearsman earlier. The Magus was taken down after a few rounds of gunfire from Meyanda, though he got a few hits off himself. He had climbed up on the ledge with her and was dueling her - She had to bring out her Black Nanite Hypogun and dual wield it with her inferno pistol (Though she couldn't use both at the same time, since the nanite gun isn't technically a weapon to be dual wielded with).

The Gunslinger nearly killed Meyanda with a nasty crit - but, as she retreated and he was unable to get a good shot, he decided to go and retreive the Magus's Timeworn Brown Nanite Hypogun to save him.

He was too late. Not because the Magus bled out, but because Meyanda unleashed her Channel Negative Energy ability, and the Magus failed his save, instantly succumbing to the wave of negative energy. The Bear fell unconscious to the energy as well, and the Hunter took enough damage to bring him below 0 hp.

Meyanda was sick of these a&!$*!*s; They had shot her multiple times, they had killed her minions, destroyed her robot, even destroyed her shrine to Hellion. For the next two rounds, she burnt off her remaining Channeled Energy, killing the Hunter and his Bear and nearly knocking out both the Gunslinger and the Barbarian; The Barbarian had been dancing with the robot collector as the latter grappled him. After he had gotten free, the robot collector retreated to try and snipe him, as he had a mere 4 hp left. Alas, this allowed the Barbarian to get one final charge off before the final negative energy wave took him out - He smashed what was left of the Collector and was at peace, knowing he destroyed one last machine before his death third and final death.

With only Meyanda and the Gunslinger up, it was a duel of pistols; Meyanda won the fight with a nanite-surged critical (She wanted to make sure this shot hit, and then it turned out to be a crit!) to the Gunslinger's face, killing him. She had won, but her defenses were ruined, her minions killed. Should they come again, she might just have to blow up the reactor, and take them all out with her.

All in the name of Hellion.

That makes a total of 11 PCs killed and 2 Animal Companions. They were all built with a 15-point build, 2 traits (One was a campaign trait) and average starting gold for their class. It might've been crappy-rolls, but this campaign seems brutal so far. I love it!

Silver Crusade

This topic needs massive spoiler tags because it currently does not.

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

It's the obituaries page, by definition there will be spoilers.


11 player deaths does seem pretty brutal for the first book in an AP. I can imagine my usual group of players getting pretty frustrated with having to roll up so many replacement characters. :s Did your test characters return to town between dungeons (as the author suggests) to rest/resupply?

Silver Crusade

Did you play each monster to their intelligence and tactics? Not all monsters are tacticians. I usually have a 13 int requirement for coup de grace. Most monsters aren't interested in attacking a downed opponent while others still stand, and can they can be lured away by other players. 'test pcs' usually aren't a good metric.


Ayanzo wrote:
I usually have a 13 int requirement for coup de grace.

... 13 int? Seriously? Average humanoid intelligence is 10, you know. I don't think it takes a genius to know to slit a KO'd opponent's throat to make sure they don't get up again.

Animals and such I can understand not allowing to do that, but preventing creatures of average intelligence from using a basic combat skill?


I never used a single coup-de-grace in the entire campaign; Well, the monsters didn't, but the PCs did once or twice.

I played all monsters according to their intelligence or personality when applicable. Mindless/beasts attacked the first thing that they saw and rarely let up (Unless that target went down, then they switched), while more intelligent foes used their intelligence to their advantage when they could.

With the sole exception of monsters who had a crap-load of attacks and were using a full-attack action, but couldn't 5-ft to get to a new target, I didn't attack downed characters. In the above exception, such as Hetuath (ESPECIALLY Hetuath), he had already taken a 5-ft step before his full-round-attack, so he couldn't switch targets. And he's a fairly angry undead, having been cursed for all eternity and whatnot, so it makes sense he'd not waste any of his attacks even if his target went down after the first few.

My Test PCs went back to town each time there was a single death in the group (Like the Cleric the first time, or the Barbarian the 2nd and 3rd times). They also went back when they felt they were out of resources or had decided they hit a milestone and needed to return to inform the councilors on what they had found.

In that essence, I was giving the PCs free Resurrections (Minus the negative level), since I was too lazy to make new PCs each time I lost one. Purely for Testing purposes, but they had to go to town to do so. If I had a TPK, then I had to make an entirely new group.

They usually had buffs on them; The Magus even had a Wand of Shield for the Science Deck, which helped greatly when they pissed off the entirity of the Scrapwall Fanatics and Ratfolk Scrappers at once. Didn't help against Meyanda's Inferno Pistol, though. I do think giving him Wand Wielder was a bad idea though, as all he had was that single wand..

Didn't help that our only source of healing was either from the Cleric or the Hunter, though. When they went down, the party couldn't use the Wand of Cure Light Wounds they had (Even at the start, as the entire party chipped in to buy a semi-charged wand of it).

One of the biggest dangers I found was the Hardness 10 of the Robots, surprisingly enough. Unless the players have either a big-hitter or someone with electricity, those robots will Mess. Shit. Up. Not including the Repair Drones or Medical Drones though, as they're relatively easy. The Collector Robots are terrifying though. And although one might easily miss it, they can make two shots with their Integrated Stun Guns per round; The Stun Guns in the Tech Guide are Semi-automatic, allowing their users to effectively use the Rapid Shot feat. Such attacks aren't iterative since they aren't from BAB. I think. I could be wrong. (If so, oops!)

Even though Meyanda's Channel Energy DC is only a mere 12, you'd be surprised at how effective it is. Not only does she have no allies to worry about hurting with it (The Collector Robots aren't living creatures, thus aren't affected by it), but it is her single best source of AoE. Even Sound Burst can be used without worry, as the Robot's hardness can easily withstand it.

Silver Crusade

Orthos wrote:


... 13 int? Seriously? ....

During the heat of combat, most would resolve to keep hitting the threats currently up. The concept of someone reviving the downed PC in the middle of combat isn't something they'd be inclined to keep track of. Either way, that's a stat thing that I do when I decide tactics certain creatures will take, especially humanoids.

Crustypeanut wrote:


One of the biggest dangers I found was the Hardness 10 of the Robots, surprisingly enough. Unless the players have either a big-hitter or someone with electricity, those robots will Mess. S+~&. Up. Not including the Repair Drones or Medical Drones though, as they're relatively easy. The Collector Robots are terrifying though. And although one might easily miss it, they can make two shots with their Integrated Stun Guns per round; The Stun Guns in the Tech Guide are Semi-automatic, allowing their users to effectively use the Rapid Shot feat. Such attacks aren't iterative since they aren't from BAB. I think. I could be wrong. (If so, oops!)

Collectors are downright deadly if you utilize their abilities rather than just dumbly full-attacking. They're there to 'collect' creatures after all.

As for the semi-automatic quality, they need a full attack to do so (-2 on each attack), and if they're within melee range they provoke on each attack since it's (EX) it actually does not provoke as it's integrated. It won't matter much since it's all touch. A collector five-foot stepping and full attacking is down right deadly as far as removing threats (not necessarily killing them).


Integrated ranged weaponry doesn't provoke. :D And yes I did include the -2/-2; Its Touch though, so its really not difficult to hit most PCs.

And then you have the fact that they're EXTREMELY mobile with their perfect 60ft flight. Mobile, hard-to-damage, strong at melee or at range.. and they have Grab to boot! ..Yep they're dangerous alright.


Orthos wrote:
Ayanzo wrote:
I usually have a 13 int requirement for coup de grace.

... 13 int? Seriously? Average humanoid intelligence is 10, you know. I don't think it takes a genius to know to slit a KO'd opponent's throat to make sure they don't get up again.

Animals and such I can understand not allowing to do that, but preventing creatures of average intelligence from using a basic combat skill?

I always treat creatures with an int score of 3 or higher able to coup de grace, but they don't if there is a threat. My cat does coup de grace's on things that it finds and catches (Birds primarily). But then again, I limit it to humanoids and ghouls, just because I am that cruel and horrendous. Player's usually go to cover over the body, just to make it unsafe to do so. Once they do that, I don't go for the coup de grace.


Crustypeanut wrote:


Collectors are downright deadly if you utilize their abilities rather than just dumbly full-attacking. They're there to 'collect' creatures after all.

As for the semi-automatic quality, they need a full attack to do so (-2 on each attack), and if they're within melee range they provoke on each attack since it's (EX) it actually does not provoke as it's integrated. It won't matter much since it's all touch. A collector five-foot stepping and full attacking is down right deadly as far as removing threats (not necessarily killing them).

I agree with you on that, but it doesn't matter if it is extraordinary, or spell-like or supernatural. Any ranged attack provokes an attack of opportunity sadly. The creature is proficient with the item because it is integrated (it isn't treated as an exotic weapon.)

If you cast scorching ray defensively, you will provoke attacks for each ray that is fired unfortunately. But you won't have to roll a concentration check as the spell was already cast.


Oliver Veyrac wrote:

Figured I would start this one:

Kel, the Orc Fighter - ** spoiler omitted **

He became a wight? How/where/why? Is that in a book somewhere?


Oliver Veyrac wrote:
Crustypeanut wrote:


Collectors are downright deadly if you utilize their abilities rather than just dumbly full-attacking. They're there to 'collect' creatures after all.

As for the semi-automatic quality, they need a full attack to do so (-2 on each attack), and if they're within melee range they provoke on each attack since it's (EX) it actually does not provoke as it's integrated. It won't matter much since it's all touch. A collector five-foot stepping and full attacking is down right deadly as far as removing threats (not necessarily killing them).

I agree with you on that, but it doesn't matter if it is extraordinary, or spell-like or supernatural. Any ranged attack provokes an attack of opportunity sadly. The creature is proficient with the item because it is integrated (it isn't treated as an exotic weapon.)

If you cast scorching ray defensively, you will provoke attacks for each ray that is fired unfortunately. But you won't have to roll a concentration check as the spell was already cast.

I don't know about extraordinary or supernatural types affecting attacks of opportunity, but I can say for sure the collector's integrated stun gun does not allow one. The robot rules on page 81 of Fires of Creation specifically state integrated range weapons don't provoke.


Yep, you are right.


Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
Oliver Veyrac wrote:

Figured I would start this one:

Kel, the Orc Fighter - ** spoiler omitted **

He became a wight? How/where/why? Is that in a book somewhere?

It's an old houserule we kept from 3.5, our group has been playing for the past 12 years.

Pathfinder :

For each negative level a creature has, it takes a cumulative –1 penalty on all ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, Combat Maneuver Defense, saving throws, and skill checks. In addition, the creature reduces its current and total hit points by 5 for each negative level it possesses. The creature is also treated as one level lower for the purpose of level-dependent variables (such as spellcasting) for each negative level possessed. Spellcasters do not lose any prepared spells or slots as a result of negative levels. If a creature's negative levels equal or exceed its total Hit Dice, it dies.

The original from 3.5 (under energy drain at the 3.5 srd) :
A character with negative levels at least equal to her current level, or drained below 1st level, is instantly slain. Depending on the creature that killed her, she may rise the next night as a monster of that kind. If not, she rises as a wight.


Oliver Veyrac wrote:
Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
Oliver Veyrac wrote:

Figured I would start this one:

Kel, the Orc Fighter - ** spoiler omitted **

He became a wight? How/where/why? Is that in a book somewhere?

It's an old houserule we kept from 3.5, our group has been playing for the past 12 years.

Pathfinder :

For each negative level a creature has, it takes a cumulative –1 penalty on all ability checks, attack rolls, combat maneuver checks, Combat Maneuver Defense, saving throws, and skill checks. In addition, the creature reduces its current and total hit points by 5 for each negative level it possesses. The creature is also treated as one level lower for the purpose of level-dependent variables (such as spellcasting) for each negative level possessed. Spellcasters do not lose any prepared spells or slots as a result of negative levels. If a creature's negative levels equal or exceed its total Hit Dice, it dies.

The original from 3.5 (under energy drain at the 3.5 srd) :
A character with negative levels at least equal to her current level, or drained below 1st level, is instantly slain. Depending on the creature that killed her, she may rise the next night as a monster of that kind. If not, she rises as a wight.

That's cool. So does the CHARACTER know she/he's a wight? And then are keeping it secret from the other PCs?


The wight ended up dying due to a cure light wounds, he took a hit which caused him to need to be healed. I never tell characters if they are diseased, etc. That's what the spell status is for, knowledge checks on monsters, and heal checks. Other then that, they get blind sided (generally the party usually does which is what happened in carrion crown when the rogue went werewolf on the party). Most of our player's want to experience, and be challenged at all costs. Our golden rule, is don't fight what happens in the game. That's what makes characters memorable.


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Oh boy, looks like get to contribute a T.P.K, with a real party this time.

Victims: Half Orc Bloodrager 2, Human Inquisitor 2, Human Gunslinger 2
Cause of Death: Hetuath

The Story: This fight looked a whole lot like Crustypeanut's test PCs. The party was pressing on after fighting the skeletons, which drained the rager of all his resources (rounds of rage, orc ferocity, and elemental strikes) and ate the inquisitor's judgment. This proved to be decisively crippling for this fight.

The gunslinger won initiative and prepared a shot for when the zombie got with touch AC range. Hetuath charged next, eating the prepared action but only taking a single point thanks to DR. He got up in the bloodrager's face and did some damage. The bloodrager went next and even against DR wiped out half of Hetuath's health in one greataxe swing. But things rapidly went downhill after that. The inquisitor cast divine favor, and the gunslinger dropped the gun, and gave the bloodrager a flank with his longsword. Hetuath, though, proceeded to drop the barbarian with his full attack. The combination of his high AC and DR left the remaining two with little options.

The gunslinger put up a valiant stand fighting defensively and hugging a pillar for cover. He managed to survive two full rounds of Kasatha four armed fury while the inquisitor healed the bloodrager back to consciousness. It should have been one round, but the first touch of the Cure Light Wounds wand healed the minimum. The rager bravely got back into the fight but missed his swing. Hetuath put him on the floor again, and this time finished the job with a coup de grace as the inquisitor could only watch. One full round against him too ended the fight.

Rather than reroll characters entirely, we decided to just rewind the entire fight from initiative and give the party a second a chance. The second fight started as a mirror of the first, but I let them use every little metagamey trick they could think of to pull though. Two rounds in and the party was passing around the barbarian's greataxe to each other as it was proving to be the only thing hurting him. The inquisitor had to use True Strike just to be able to hit with the thing. However, Hetuath still managed to drop both the rager and the gunslinger again. The inquisitor was ready to just give up, but I pressured him into taking his final turn. He pulled off a hit with his light crossbow, and with max damage got through the DR to finish off Hetuath's last two HP. Quite the last stand, as he provoked two AoO to pick up and fire the thing. Thankfully, Hetuath missed both those attack rolls.

Overall, Hetuath is a brutal fight. He has a good AC for the party level, he is effectively immune to 3 energy types, and can put out a horrendous amount of damage with his 4 arms. His DR is very tough to bypass at this level without oil of magic weapon on hand. He even has combat reflexes so my party trying to game out provoking his AoOs so other players could perform actions didn't work. The real joke, though, is that the party didn't fix the habitat module so I get to see the look on their face when Hetuath comes back for round 2.


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Angry Cow wrote:
Rather than reroll characters entirely, we decided to just rewind the entire fight from initiative and give the party a second a chance. The second fight started as a mirror of the first, but I let them use every little metagamey trick they could think of to pull though.

I love the whole story! Full of excitement and drama! This "rewind" stuff makes me a little uneasy, as a PC and a DM. I mean, there's No Wrong Way To RP. But I would feel like I lost "fair and square" as a PC, and wouldn't want a rewind.

And if I was a DM, I would be excited to fill this in to the larger plot. A great opportunity! Flash forward in time... Double the stakes! The 5th Party hasn't returned.... make the symptoms cast over the town ever worse.... Perhaps the Technic League has finally begun to sweep into town! Perhaps the party IS the Technic League...! Have a real time limit to full meltdown! The possibilities are endless and enticing!


My actual group are just about to the undead skeletons (they're fighting the Ghelarn atm) and I can't wait to see how they fare against Hetuath. Two of them are heavy-hitters though, so I think they'll do alright.. though the poor sorcereress has only Color Spray and Shield as her 1st level spells, and hasn't been very useful so far. Luckily she has an animal companion which has helped.

So far, one guy (The Warpriest of Gorum) has gotten knocked unconscious twice (Once by Sef, another by the Repair Drone), but other than that it has been a relatively easy crawl. Even the Blindheim didn't last long.

Though when you have a Barbarian that does 1d12+12 damage without raging, it tends to get bloody very quickly :P


Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
Angry Cow wrote:
Rather than reroll characters entirely, we decided to just rewind the entire fight from initiative and give the party a second a chance. The second fight started as a mirror of the first, but I let them use every little metagamey trick they could think of to pull though.

I love the whole story! Full of excitement and drama! This "rewind" stuff makes me a little uneasy, as a PC and a DM. I mean, there's No Wrong Way To RP. But I would feel like I lost "fair and square" as a PC, and wouldn't want a rewind.

And if I was a DM, I would be excited to fill this in to the larger plot. A great opportunity! Flash forward in time... Double the stakes! The 5th Party hasn't returned.... make the symptoms cast over the town ever worse.... Perhaps the Technic League has finally begun to sweep into town! Perhaps the party IS the Technic League...! Have a real time limit to full meltdown! The possibilities are endless and enticing!

It depends on the group, a lot of adult gamers seem to play with their children and I know mine would respond badly to a TPK. Something like that can totally kill all enthusiam for a campaign. I personally don't mind rolling up a new character when one dies, but some folks do get attached to their avatars. Whatever works for your group. :D


Crustypeanut wrote:


Though when you have a Barbarian that does 1d12+12 damage without raging, it tends to get bloody very quickly :P

How does he get that +12?


mikeawmids wrote:
Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
Angry Cow wrote:
Rather than reroll characters entirely, we decided to just rewind the entire fight from initiative and give the party a second a chance. The second fight started as a mirror of the first, but I let them use every little metagamey trick they could think of to pull though.

I love the whole story! Full of excitement and drama! This "rewind" stuff makes me a little uneasy, as a PC and a DM. I mean, there's No Wrong Way To RP. But I would feel like I lost "fair and square" as a PC, and wouldn't want a rewind.

And if I was a DM, I would be excited to fill this in to the larger plot. A great opportunity! Flash forward in time... Double the stakes! The 5th Party hasn't returned.... make the symptoms cast over the town ever worse.... Perhaps the Technic League has finally begun to sweep into town! Perhaps the party IS the Technic League...! Have a real time limit to full meltdown! The possibilities are endless and enticing!

It depends on the group, a lot of adult gamers seem to play with their children and I know mine would respond badly to a TPK. Something like that can totally kill all enthusiam for a campaign. I personally don't mind rolling up a new character when one dies, but some folks do get attached to their avatars. Whatever works for your group. :D

No children here, but it definitely depends on the group. For us, it was a unanimous decision. I didn't want to lose the rest of the session and the momentum of the campaign to create a new party. The players were still such a low level that they did not feel they had seen the potential in their characters. One player even mentioned he would just reroll the same class/archetype combo to see what it can do, and I am never a fan of Mark's long lost twin brother Nark showing up to take his place.

Now if just one player died, then that player would have had to make a new character. Likewise, if this happens again later I will probably call for them to roll a new party. It will probably be easier too since they have all decided to have one prepared. I was feeling lenient this one time because the party is undermanned and I think Hetuath is closer to a CR 4 than a CR 3. Juju Zombie gives just so many immunities, and Kasatha is a strong race on its own.


leo1925 wrote:
Crustypeanut wrote:


Though when you have a Barbarian that does 1d12+12 damage without raging, it tends to get bloody very quickly :P
How does he get that +12?

Off the top of my head guess...

20 STR gets you +7 (+5 with 1.5x damage from two-handed). Add in Power Attack for another +3 (because two-handed) and a +1 enhancement. That's +11 right there, easy. Not sure where the last +1 is coming from. Bard Song?

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

There's all sorts of ways. Besides bard song, a magic weapon cast on the barb's WoC or some random Trait come to mind.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Sadly, now I have to report as well.

Victims: Human Rogue 1 (Gunthar), Human Barbarian 1 (Granden), Elf Oracle 1 (Celesara), Android Wizard 1 (MEAM)
Cause of Death: Hetuath (again)

This is beginning to become a thing.

So, since I've got a slightly larger party, the level didn't come until they restarted the habitat module. Unfortunately, that meant that they didn't have a chance to level or rest before fighting Hetuath, and they were still low on resources when he came after them.

It was an ugly fight - Hetuath had watched them fight through his skeletal minions, so he knew Granden was the real danger. When he came around the corner to fight the PCs in the control room, he was face to face with Killswitch. He attacked Killswitch, fighting defensively. His plan was to let the barbarian come after him and deflect the blow. Sadly, it worked. Gunthar tumbled into flank but couldn't connect. MEAM and Celesara were out of spells, and were reduced to shooting arrows or throwing alchemist's fire and alkali flasks. Then Hetuath unloaded. He dropped Granden with two hits from his swords, turned to Gunthar and dropped him with a slam (a critical hit, no less), and missed Killswitch with his last attack.

The mass exodus began, but unfortunately, Hetuath was in the way. Celesara ran past, but got stabbed for her efforts. MEAM followed, and discovered that he also had Combat Reflexes - she fell as well. With only Celesara and Killswitch active, and Hetuath barely injured, they had to get creative. Then they had an epiphany - the malfunctioning decontamination chamber! If they could lure the unkillable beast into that, it could blast him with electricity, and they might just have a chance! I thought this was a great idea - since he was cursed to unlife by Zyphus, an accidental death like that was both ironic and fitting. So, they lured him there, and the lightning arced. I examined his stats to take a look at his Reflex save.

Then I noticed his immunities line. He's immune to electricity. Even I had to admit, that was dirty pool, Neil.

Killswitch ran. Unfortunately, the only way he could go was deeper, so he fled the way Hetuath came. He saw the monitor room cum Zyphan chapel, and went south, encountering the security doors to the next level. They didn't have a black card, so he fled west. When it dead ended several hundred feet later, he turned to wait for the inevitable.

It never came.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he fled back the way they came. He noted that his friends' bodies were gone. Rather than go looking for them, he fled back to Torch, his synthetic mind racing to figure out how to save everyone.

Next Time:

Now, as you might surmise, the PCs aren't dead. Partially because of how nasty that fight was, and partially because they were all level 1, I decided that Hetuath was more interested in sacrificing them to Zyphus in an attempt to be free from his undeath curse. So now I'm putting together two disparate groups - the captured PCs and the deathtraps that Hetuath makes for them, and the group that Killswitch puts together to go after them. It'll be challenging, both mechanically and narratively, but if I do it right, it should be both awesome and fulfilling.


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Is Hetuath the new Xanesha? :o


Misroi wrote:

I thought this was a great idea - since he was cursed to unlife by Zyphus, an accidental death like that was both ironic and fitting. So, they lured him there, and the lightning arced. I examined his stats to take a look at his Reflex save.

Then I noticed his immunities line. He's immune...

Het is a beast. I think it may be wise for GMs to nudge players to take a rest after clearing the caves, especially if they are sitting on enough exp for a level. Unless you have players with significant system mastery and optimized characters, I don't see much of anyone getting past Hetuath at level 1 with drained resources. That second level is key just to have the HP totals to stand against him for a round.

Its a shame what happened to your players' plan. The Combat Reflexes is a nasty surprise, but so are those immunities. To reward the players for something so clever and fitting, I would have just ignored that immunity and given them that small victory. I think knocking out 2/3s of the party was already enough to scare them and create tension. However, I like your even more ambitious plan. Assuming that is two full groups of PCs, good luck in your effort to keep things sane.

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

It also doesn't help that they've not really optimized their characters. Their primary damage dealer is the barbarian, who is optimized in the sense that the barbarian is a powerful frame.

I'm going to start another thread regarding my spoiler - I think it might be a good place to brainstorm solutions for people who find that Het TPKed their group.


mikeawmids wrote:
Is Hetuath the new Xanesha? :o

Who dat


Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
mikeawmids wrote:
Is Hetuath the new Xanesha? :o
Who dat

A villain from the second book in the Rise of the Runelords AP, she had a reputation for being a party killer (until Paizo nerfed her in the anniversary edition).


mikeawmids wrote:
Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
mikeawmids wrote:
Is Hetuath the new Xanesha? :o
Who dat
A villain from the second book in the Rise of the Runelords AP, she had a reputation for being a party killer (until Paizo nerfed her in the anniversary edition).

Oh, I only have the anniversary edition. The big mega book version. What were the changes made?


Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
mikeawmids wrote:
Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:
mikeawmids wrote:
Is Hetuath the new Xanesha? :o
Who dat
A villain from the second book in the Rise of the Runelords AP, she had a reputation for being a party killer (until Paizo nerfed her in the anniversary edition).
Oh, I only have the anniversary edition. The big mega book version. What were the changes made?

Stats slightly nerfed down, a change to the energy drain attack going from 3.5 to Pathfinder, slightly different spell list and tactics.


leo1925 wrote:
Crustypeanut wrote:


Though when you have a Barbarian that does 1d12+12 damage without raging, it tends to get bloody very quickly :P
How does he get that +12?

Full Blooded Orc, and he dumped int/wis/cha to get 18 strength before racial. He has 22 after racial, so +9 from strength and then +3 from power attack.

He has 5 Int, 5 Wis, and 5 Cha though, so he's not really the smartest, wisest, or most charismatic of the bunch, and he roleplays accordingly. One of the other players (Usually the Gunslinger) has to keep him in line otherwise he'll end up doing something stupid. He's almost like a big animal companion to the gunslinger. XD


mikeawmids wrote:

Is Hetuath the new Xanesha? :o

Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:

Who dat

mikeawmids wrote:

A villain from the second book in the Rise of the Runelords AP, she had a reputation for being a party killer (until Paizo nerfed her in the anniversary edition).

Hobgoblin Shogun wrote:

Oh, I only have the anniversary edition. The big mega book version. What were the changes made?

Orthos wrote:

Stats slightly nerfed down, a change to the energy drain attack going from 3.5 to Pathfinder, slightly different spell list and tactics.

Plus the class levels were basically swapped between X. and her sister.

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