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Ruins of Azlant fans:
We are pleased to announce that Order of the Amber Die will be starting a new project this coming November:
The Azlant Odyssey
Here is what we can release so far:
12 months
6 marathons
1 entire Adventure Path
The party will consist of:
15-point builds
4 iconic characters featured in the concept art
1 campaign trait per iconic
We try to feature a different spin with each of our projects, and for this one we will be focusing on highlighting the setting itself. We have a lot of elaborate ideas that we’re looking to implement in regard to capturing the environment and experience of underwater/island adventuring, including trying to take our game on-location for the first time!
As always, the entire Adventure Path will be played while employing the full rules set, and as closely as possible to each author’s intent. In addition to our living PDF (containing tips, data, and our play-by-play much like The Giantslayer Endeavor and The Strange Aeons Experiment), we will also be answering questions on this thread about our project as we play through it. Obviously anything time-sensitive is off limits until each volume of the AP is released.
Check back on this thread as we reveal character builds for our iconics over the next few weeks!
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What do you mean by on-location?
Are you going to play underwater or something? :)
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What do you mean by on-location?
Are you going to play underwater or something? :)
Without giving too much away just yet, yes, water will be involved. :)
Perhaps sand, too.
And, if we're really fortunate, maybe some big fish. One marathon at a time, though.
Glad to have you guys along for the ride!
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What do you mean by on-location?
Are you going to play underwater or something? :)
I kinda want to do this now. I have no idea how to pull it off, though. Probably just wait to see what you guys do. :)
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Do eet.
Hey Rysky, long time! (This is Darkborn from the PTBC)
Although it's right on the heels of Strange Aeons, I'm definitely looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I'll be Ezren for this one, and I'm very much anticipating the challenge of playing an old man! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up a Sean Connery accent for 300+ hours.The best part of this new project--more video. ;)
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As an author of one of the adventures, I'm extremely excited to see this!
Robert, great to hear from you!
After Adam's recent teaser, I can't wait to prep Into the Shattered Continent. We'll be approaching 150 published adventures completed during this AP, and I can speak for everyone in the Order and say that we're also eager to be adding your work to our list of experiences.
See you among the ruins!
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Oh hey, I'm about to start this too! Though that unfortunately means I won't be able to follow along as quickly, I'm looking forward to seeing your exploits at some point in The Future (tm)
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Do eet.Hey Rysky, long time! (This is Darkborn from the PTBC)
Although it's right on the heels of Strange Aeons, I'm definitely looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. I'll be Ezren for this one, and I'm very much anticipating the challenge of playing an old man! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up a Sean Connery accent for 300+ hours.The best part of this new project--more video. ;)
DARKBORN!
Bwaaaaaaaaa!
*hugs*
I'm sorry I let the book club die ;_;
And that does sound interesting :3
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DARKBORN!
Bwaaaaaaaaa!
*hugs*
I'm sorry I let the book club die ;_;
And that does sound interesting :3
Hey now, you didn't let the PTBC die. I just got super busy with the Order and couldn't sustain it anymore, especially the weeks when our marathons were scheduled. But it was really great while it lasted, and your participation was a big reason it succeeded as long as it did, so thank you!
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Hey now, you didn't let the PTBC die. I just got super busy with the Order and couldn't sustain it anymore, especially the weeks when our marathons were scheduled. But it was really great while it lasted, and your participation was a big reason it succeeded as long as it did, so thank you!DARKBORN!
Bwaaaaaaaaa!
*hugs*
I'm sorry I let the book club die ;_;
And that does sound interesting :3
*hugs*
Okies. Glad to see you're still part of the community. I wish I had kept the BC going though, I'll probably try to get it back up and running once the Tales line starts up again.
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Oh hey, I'm about to start this too! Though that unfortunately means I won't be able to follow along as quickly, I'm looking forward to seeing your exploits at some point in The Future (tm)
I hope you're as excited to start as I am, Andrew. After some of the lore we discovered during Strange Aeons, I'm curious as to what this path will bring us. Are you going to be playing in or running the adventure path?
Follow us as best you can, we appreciate all the feedback and interest from the Paizo community and beyond. I'm giddy with anticipation at playing Kyra, it's been a while since I've been able to play a female character and a cleric on top of that! Keep us updated on how your game goes, would be fun to share notes sometime.
Happy Gaming!
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I hope you're as excited to start as I am, Andrew. After some of the lore we discovered during Strange Aeons, I'm curious as to what this path will bring us. Are you going to be playing in or running the adventure path?Follow us as best you can, we appreciate all the feedback and interest from the Paizo community and beyond. I'm giddy with anticipation at playing Kyra, it's been a while since I've been able to play a female character and a cleric on top of that! Keep us updated on how your game goes, would be fun to share notes sometime.
Happy Gaming!
Playing! First chance I've had to PC in a long term game for a little while. Definitely looking forward to it, especially some ruins diving and ancient Golarion lore discovery!
Happy to compare notes at some point, though I expect a wyrwood occultist's will look a little different than a human cleric's :)
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Awesome! I wrote book 3 of the AP, and like Robert, I'm very excited that you guys are going to play RoA!
Mikko, welcome to the thread!
We’re excited about the lineup of authors in this AP, and like Amber, Robert, and Thurston, your material is something that we’ll experiencing for the first time—the lineup was one of the many enticing reasons that led us to choose Ruins of Azlant next. There are so many nuances to adventure design, and it can’t be understated just how much the game’s evolution has been influenced by the authors of adventures across the decades; of course, I was very pleased to see the “Author Shout-Out” sidebar included in the adventures!
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Oooh, 15-point builds. That'll make it a bit tougher than what you did for Giantslayer.
I really wanted to run this one, but I prefer to wait for all supporting material to be released first, including pawns, which pushes RoA out to May. This wouldn't be a problem except that I'll be ready for the next campaign beginning in December or January and my Sunday guys are itching for more wilderness (we have one session left for Anvil of Fire in Giantslayer). Ironfang Invasion is winning the race. My Saturday group is barely a group anymore, so maybe I can get something organized by May for RoA.
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Oooh, 15-point builds. That'll make it a bit tougher than what you did for Giantslayer.
I really wanted to run this one, but I prefer to wait for all supporting material to be released first, including pawns, which pushes RoA out to May. This wouldn't be a problem except that I'll be ready for the next campaign beginning in December or January and my Sunday guys are itching for more wilderness (we have one session left for Anvil of Fire in Giantslayer).
Glad you’ll get a chance to follow along, Taks! Unfortunately, rolling ability scores for Giantslayer (higher than average) didn’t make it much easier, and that one ended in a TPK. It was interesting how our 15-point builds in Strange Aeons were enough to go all the way.
What system did you use for ability scores in your Giantslayer campaign? Also, best of luck in Shadow of the Storm Tyrant, I’d love to hear about your experience with the final fight.
We’re excited to see how our ability scores hold up in Ruins of Azlant, and we’ll definitely be on this thread to share some of our thoughts on it.
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Oooh, 15-point builds. That'll make it a bit tougher than what you did for Giantslayer.
I really wanted to run this one, but I prefer to wait for all supporting material to be released first, including pawns, which pushes RoA out to May. This wouldn't be a problem except that I'll be ready for the next campaign beginning in December or January and my Sunday guys are itching for more wilderness (we have one session left for Anvil of Fire in Giantslayer).
Glad you’ll get a chance to follow along, Taks! Unfortunately, rolling ability scores for Giantslayer (higher than average) didn’t make it much easier, and that one ended in a TPK. It was interesting how our 15-point builds in Strange Aeons were enough to go all the way.
What system did you use for ability scores in your Giantslayer campaign? Also, best of luck in Shadow of the Storm Tyrant, I’d love to hear about your experience with the final fight.
We’re excited to see how our ability scores hold up in Ruins of Azlant, and we’ll definitely be on this thread to share some of our thoughts on it.
My take is (in general) that rolling is a benefit for early levels, but ceases to matter once the party gets sufficient loot. In Giantslayer, loot is not just sufficient, it is excessive, IMO.
We generally use 25-point builds because my whine..., um, players, think MAD characters are impossible otherwise. Of course, bigger numbers on their sheets translates directly to bigger numbers on my sheets, too, so it isn't the benefit they claim.
I have read about your great Endeavor, btw, and I think we were heading down the TPK in book 6 path as well. However, due to various circumstances, we'll likely end up with a better spread of character abilities going into book 6. We were a shaman, investigator (GM PC), ranger, and fighter, but will be adding a bard and a wizard for the remainder of the campaign (another player is taking over my investigator). There's nearly half a million GP in book 5 alone, not counting the million or so in the previous books, so I'm already working hard to balance the encounters. We shall see how it pans out.
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Playing! First chance I've had to PC in a long term game for a little while. Definitely looking forward to it, especially some ruins diving and ancient Golarion lore discovery!Happy to compare notes at some point, though I expect a wyrwood occultist's will look a little different than a human cleric's :)
Sorry for the delayed response, my isolationist tendencies got the better of me. :)
Glad to hear you are looking forward to playing, I need to run something small so our GM can experience that again. That's definitely a ways down the road though, have to find the right one-shot to do.
I'd love to hear how your experience went, our characters will definitely have different outlooks and opinions of what happens. I'm looking forward to playing a cleric again, going back to my roots with this one. Exploring ruins and expanding civilization, what could go wrong with that?!?
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Source: APG
Here in the Order we remain of the firm belief that teamwork feats are among the strongest feats in the game, with often their only drawback being that one must convince their companions to take the feat as well. If players are aware of this, then it should be a simple matter of putting aside individualism and adjusting their personal builds to accommodate a larger gain. Our employment of the Shake It Off feat was critical to the success of The Strange Aeons Experiment, as was our use of the Escape Route and Swing About feats to reach the final battle of the The Giantslayer Endeavor. We tracked data to show the effectiveness of the teamwork feats in our last two projects, and for The Azlant Odyssey, we'll be tracking the number of surprise actions granted throughout the entire Adventure Path.
Each player will select the feat at 1st level, and we look forward to sharing our results!
Aerick Lim
Player Captain
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Sorry guys, something got cut off at the beginning of the last post, here's the entire message...
Reveal:
Our party has selected its teamwork feat for The Azlant Odyssey:
Lookout
Source: APG
Here in the Order we remain of the firm belief that teamwork feats are among the strongest feats in the game, with often their only drawback being that one must convince their companions to take the feat as well. If players are aware of this, then it should be a simple matter of putting aside individualism and adjusting their personal builds to accommodate a larger gain. Our employment of the Shake It Off feat was critical to the success of The Strange Aeons Experiment, as was our use of the Escape Route and Swing About feats to reach the final battle of the The Giantslayer Endeavor. We tracked data to show the effectiveness of the teamwork feats in our last two projects, and for The Azlant Odyssey, we'll be tracking the number of surprise actions granted throughout the entire Adventure Path.
Each player will select the feat at 1st level, and we look forward to sharing our results!
Aerick Lim
Player Captain
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Reveal:
As you may have guessed by my new portrait, I'll be playing Ezren the iconic wizard in The Azlant Odyssey. As we've always done in our previous projects, I tried to come up with a version that stays true to the iconic background while also adapting to the qualities of the Adventure Path. I read all of the Pathfinder comic books, the Ruins of Azlant Player's Guide, and several entries in the PathfinderWiki to come up with an appropriate character build that was the right fit for Ezren. The sword binder archetype from Arcane Anthology originated from followers of Aroden who have operated in many cities, including Absalom. Since Ezren hails from there, our version of him has the wizard studying with the sword binders in his later years, before joining this expedition. It’s a relatively rare archetype that I believe is appropriate to both Ezren and relevant to Ruins of Azlant, so I’m looking forward to seeing if my instincts are correct. Here’s the final draft of the stat block:
EZREN
Old human wizard (sword binder) 1
NG Medium humanoid (human)
AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
hp 9 (1d6+3)
Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +3
Melee longsword +0 (1d8/19-20) or dagger +0 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +0 (1d8/19-20) or dagger +0 (1d4/19-20)
Wizard spells prepared (CL 1st; concentration +5)
1st—mage armor, shocking grasp
0 (at will)—detect magic, mage hand, read magic
Feats Lookout, Scribe Scroll
Skills Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (geography) +8, Knowledge (history) +8, Perception +2, Spellcraft +8, Survival +2
Str 10, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 13, Cha 9
Traits Pathfinder Recruit, Stabbing Spells
Alternate Racial Traits Dual Talent
(For updated versions of Ezren's stat blocks as the campaign progresses, check in with our Dropbox.)
Data Tracking:
-Successful uses of Stabbing Spells trait to bypass SR
-Successful uses of Sword of the Mage ability
-Number of spells cast underwater
To enhance immersion and help bring Ezren to life at the table I'll be attempting a Sean Connery accent for 300+ hours, and his soundtrack song will be Into the Unknown by Starset, which I feel captures his sense of mysticism and hopefulness about the expedition.
Additionally, similar to the scripted excerpts that I wrote for the Strange Aeons Experiment, we thought it would be fun to script a few short scenes with the iconics to enrich their placement in the Adventure Path. The player's guide mentioned that the characters "were put though numerous interviews and screenings to select the best individuals," and there's been some chatter on the Azlant threads about developing the interview process for characters joining the expedition, so we’ve taken the liberty of expanding on that and will be providing a glimpse of some of those initial meetings in official screenwriting format. The script for each iconic and their interview will be included with each character release in the upcoming weeks, and can also be found in our Dropbox. Here's the script for Ezren: Interview with a Wizard
GM's Commentary: Aerick has the highest number of both modules completed and session hours logged of any player in the history of the Order. This wealth of experience, combined with his skills in developing and embedding character builds for a particular setting or theme, are a couple of the prominent reasons he earned the role of Player Captain. Most notably for The Azlant Odyssey, Aerick is the only player on the roster who also played in each of our last three projects: The Strange Aeons Experiment, The Giantslayer Endeavor, and The Emerald Spire Project. His idea of a great weekend is one spent among racks of sourcebooks, engrossed in statting up characters for future campaigns. Following more than one mid-marathon TPK, he's had to deliver a new party’s stat blocks (in official Pathfinder format) on the fly, which contributed to our running jest: “Aerick doesn’t build characters, he builds parties.” --Adam Smith, GM
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His idea of a great weekend is one spent among racks of sourcebooks, engrossed in statting up characters for future campaigns. Following more than one mid-marathon TPK, he's had to deliver a new party’s stat blocks (in official Pathfinder format) on the fly, which contributed to our running jest: “Aerick doesn’t build characters, he builds parties.”
That's awesome, actually. If I were a player, that's probably what I'd do. Actually, I spend quite a bit of time building characters even as the GM, both for investigative purposes and fillers (GM PCs).
Otherwise, looks like a character I'd be interested in as well. I'm an arcane caster at heart, as I've always been. My "alter ego" is Mendolf, typically an evoker or similar, since at least 1998. I'm going to look into the archetype when I get home.
Ok, so how about the rest of your crew?
Edit: ah, missed
The script for each iconic and their interview will be included with each character release in the upcoming weeks, and can also be found in our Dropbox.
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That's awesome, actually. If I were a player, that's probably what I'd do. Actually, I spend quite a bit of time building characters even as the GM, both for investigative purposes and fillers (GM PCs).
Nice, Taks--that's similar to what I do. Whenever a player companion book comes out I usually don't have the time to sit down and read it cover-to-cover, especially at the rate Paizo releases them. Instead, I just flip right to the archetype sections and flesh out a few characters, moving onto feats and traits next, then spells and magic items. Before I know it, I have a couple stat blocks embedded in the settings the books provide and are ready to go at a moment's notice. Even if they never get implemented as a PC/NPC somewhere, it's still a useful exercise and I end up investigating the new material in the process.
P.S. If I were a Pathfinder character I'd be a bard, so I guess we're both arcane casters at heart!
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Reveal:
Greetings all, I'll be playing Merisiel the iconic rogue in The Azlant Odyssey. We considered a lot of different archetypes for her, but the one I settled on was Relic Raider. It doesn’t substitute any abilities that we know Merisiel has (or will likely need throughout the AP) like Trapfinding and Trap Sense, which are the usual suspects for archetype substitutions. It also suits the type of rogue she’s portrayed as in the comic books, being more of a treasure hunter than a bounty hunter, and I think it’ll be the right fit for her role in the group.
Here’s her stat block:
MERISIEL
Elf unchained rogue (relic raider) 1
CG Medium humanoid (elf)
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +1; +2 against enchantment spells and effects
Immune magic sleep effects
Melee rapier +3 (1d6+1/18-20) or dagger +3 (1d4+1/19-20)
Ranged dagger +3 (1d4+1/19-20)
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
Feats Skill Focus (Perception), Lookout, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +6, Appraise +5, Disable Device +7, Escape Artist +6, Perception +10/+11 to locate traps, Sleight of Hand +6, Stealth +6, Spellcraft +6, Use Magic Device +4
Str 13, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
Traits Classically Schooled, Skillful
Alternate Racial Traits Human-Raised
Data Tracking:
-Successful uses of the Skillful trait
-Successful uses of Curse Sense and Disable Curse
-Sneak Attack damage dealt underwater
Soundtrack Song: "Your Future Is Not Mine" by Daisey Hamel-Buffa, which captures Merisiel's spontaneous personality from the comics, where no individual (despite how close a connection) could have much control over Meri's future--except for herself.
Immersion: I’ll be sporting actual bandoliers of daggers that she’s well-known for, although don’t expect me to be actually throwing them across the room at anyone. Well, maybe...
Key Feature: I will be playing Merisiel using the Unchained rules for Rogue, which makes this one of the few documented progressions of an Unchained Rogue to c. 17th level while employing the full rules set.
Additional Content: The interview screenplay for Merisiel is now available in our Dropbox along with Ezren’s, so please check it out! Interview with a Rogue
GM Commentary: "Sterling is one of the longest tenured players in the current OAD roster, having become a member back in 1998. He's also our Visual Director, whose dramatic photographs have captured the game in a way that has never been portrayed before, with his avant-garde approach being one of the reasons that the Order has been recognized to such a broad extent by the gaming community. At the table, he is the calm voice needed to settle a dispute or lay out the aspects of a challenging riddle again in detail. He's also clocked more miles than any member in the history of the Order, consistently crossing a handful of states with 10-hour car rides to reach our game. When it's 2am on a weeknight, he's probably tweaking the graphic design for our next project, or editing a photo from our last marathon which will continue to change perspectives on the game for years to come." --Adam Smith, GM
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Reveal:
Hi all! I'll be playing Kyra in The Azlant Odyssey and my goal will be to focus heavily on her religious devotion. I intend to take her into the Exalted prestige class, and being the first member of the Order to do so in a project, I want to do it with the same intensity that I always bring to the table. From what I’ve read about Kyra in the comic books, her faith gives her a strength and assurance that I want to emphasize in my portrayal of her, so to translate this into game mechanics, I gave her the Acolyte of Apocrypha faith trait to unlock special subdomains.
Check them out in her stat block:
KYRA
Keleshite human cleric 1
NG Medium humanoid (human)
AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (+6 armor, +1 shield)
hp 10 (1d8+2)
Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +4
Melee scimitar +1 (1d6+1/18-20)
Ranged sling +0 (1d4+1)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 5/day (DC 12), wilting glare 5/day
Cleric spells prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3)
1st—detect evil, diagnose disease,* shield of faith
0 (at will)—guidance, light, stabilize
Domains Healing (Medicine), Sun (Thirst)
Feats Skill Focus [Knowledge (religion)], Lookout
Skills Diplomacy +6, Heal +6, Knowledge (religion) +7, Perception +3
Str 12, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 14
Traits Acolyte of Apocrypha, Employee
Alternate Racial Traits Focused Study
Data Tracking:
-Successful uses of Blessed Surgery
-Uses of Exalted Boons
-Lethal damage done with Wilting Glare underwater
Soundtrack Song: I chose the song “Allahi Allah” by Niyaz to express Kyra’s love and devotion to Sarenrae and what her blessings mean to Kyra; besides, it was hard to pass on the opportunity to choose Azam Ali. :)
Immersion: Even though she hasn't taken the Deific Obedience yet, I will be incorporating her daily obedience both in and out-of-game: I will wake at dawn, blindfold myself with a pashmina, and try to locate the sun in the sky through the layers of fabric. For finishing touches, I'll be using tattoo paper to imitate the symbols underneath Kyra’s eyes, as well as the divine brand once I’ve unlocked that class feature.
Additional Content: You can now find her scripted interview, along with the interviews for Ezren and Merisiel, in our Dropbox.
Interview with a Cleric
GM Commentary: "Dan's story represents the enduring friendships that have made the Order possible. He was with us for about a half-dozen marathons back in the 2000s, until distance and life's frustrating obstacles separated us for six years. We reunited at a convention in 2014, when he excitedly returned to active status and donned his OAD jersey once more. Since then, Dan has participated in over 500 session hours, where his natural charisma always seems to find him in the role of lead party negotiator. Playing as closely as we do to the rules wouldn't be possible without him, as Dan is always ready with the latest errata or evidence for discussion. At our marathons, he is respectfully referred to by the team as our 'Den Mother,' whose task is to wake up weary gamers each morning and get us started on time--more difficult than you can imagine until you've marathoned. When you're four days of real time into an adventure, it's Dan's continuing drive that will see you to the bottom of the dungeon." --Adam Smith, GM
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Reveal:
For my debut as one of the core four iconic PCs, I'll be playing Valeros in The Azlant Odyssey. I plan to spill the blood of those who oppose us, but not a single drop when I raise my mug in honor of Cayden Cailean! Valeros will be using the Aquanaut archetype, which will be a perfect fit for a fighter at sea. Having read the entirety of the Pathfinder comic books to date, I have a strong sense of how to portray Valeros, and being a player that has always favored fighters I'll feel right at home with his role in the group. He often rushes into danger in order to help his companions, which will be accentuated by the Reckless trait. Here's his stat block:
VALEROS
Human Fighter (Aquanaut) 1
NG Medium Humanoid (Human)
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 16 (1d10+6)
Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +0
Melee Longsword +5 (1d8+4/19-20) or Shortsword +5 (1d6+3/19-20)
Ranged Longbow +3 (1d8/x3)
Feats Toughness, Lookout, Weapon Focus (Longsword)
Skills Acrobatics +4, Climb +4, Swim +5
Str 17, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 7
Traits Athletic, Reckless
Data Tracking:
-Damage taken from all enemies
-Effects of Aquadynamic Paragon on buoyancy and current
-Piecing damage dealt to creatures underwater
Soundtrack Song: I chose the song "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zeppelin as the lyrics are spot on with his iconic backstory, and as melancholy as it can be it still has a lot of kick--very much like Valeros.
Immersion: I will be using a special custom tankard made to resemble the iconic fighter's tankard. Furthermore, there will not be one moment of this marathon when the tankard is empty and plan to consume an ample amount of beer every marathon to appease Cayden Cailean. Blood and Battle!
Additional Content You can now find his scripted interview, along with the interviews for the other three iconics, in our Dropbox. Interview with a Fighter
GM Commentary: I've mentioned a couple of times on the Paizo blog that Erick has the best player-vs-player skills in the Order, but he'll be stepping down from his usual role of cutting down PCs and will instead be joining the core four iconic roster for this project. I first met Erick fourteen years ago when he was my student; he was a solid gamer with a ton of promise. A short while after he graduated high school, we matriculated him into the Order as our youngest member. He's well known as the finest roller to ever sit at our table, which combined with his no-nonsense style and exceptional grid play, were some of the reasons he was given the role of Valeros as an aquanaut. When the battle looks hopeless and the campaign looms, you want it to be Erick's turn--he always finds a way." -- Adam Smith, GM
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Oh god, drunken gaming...
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I loved Merisiels interview quip about being unchained ;)
Thanks DerNils, glad you picked up on that! I was originally going to end the scene with her just escaping with the map, but even though it was borderline "breaking the fourth wall," I couldn't help but throw that in there!
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Great stuff - love triangles ftw :)
I follow your facebook posts and am in complete awe of your commitment. Beachside adventuring, getting up at sunrise for gaming. Wow.
Thanks!!
Check out this love triangle: We had Luetin Calewick and Harcourt Carrolby about to go at it with fists in a housing dispute. Well, it just so happened that Anya Sandstrider was a live-NPC all weekend for us, and she walked up alongside some of the party to help end the dispute. Anya had a crush on Harcourt, and Luetin had a thing for Anya. It got really, REALLY complicated...
Incredible role-playing opportunities in this one.
As for our beachside adventuring, with the support of our Patreon we were able to take the game to some new heights for this project, and there's more envelope-pushing adventure to look forward to!
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Oh god, drunken gaming...
Captain, thanks for stopping by and checking out The Azlant Odyssey! I promise drunken gaming wasn't as bad of an idea as it sounds. I tried to immerse myself in roleplaying Valeros (which meant having ample ale all weekend), but never to the point where I felt it was dictating my decision making. Since I was the only one doing this, I think it turned out better than it might seem. I even happened to come across Valeros' iconic mug in the first adventure, and our GM served me the iconic item card! Of course, it's the Tankard of the Drunken Hero from Inner Sea Gods, which will lead to more ale…
Long live Cayden Cailean!
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Greetings all! We recently wrapped up the first module of Ruins of Azlant, and our documentation should be up on the Paizo Blog very soon. In the meantime, we're going to release the updated stat blocks of our iconics every day this week, starting with Ezren:
EZREN
Old human wizard (sword binder) 3
NG Medium humanoid (human)
AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
hp 19 (3d6+9)
Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +4
Melee longsword +1 (1d8/19-20) or dagger +1 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged light crossbow +1 (1d8/19-20) or dagger +1 (1d4/19-20)
Special Attacks sword of the mage +6 (1d8+1/19-20, 30 ft.)
Wizard spells prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
2nd—(2/day) force sword, slipstream
1st—(3/day) hydraulic push, mage armor, shocking grasp
0 (at will)—detect magic, mage hand, message, read magic
Feats Lookout, Scribe Scroll, Point-Blank Shot
Skills Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (engineering) +8, Knowledge (geography) +8, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Knowledge (nobility) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Perception +4, Profession (sailor) +5, Spellcraft +10, Survival +4/+6 to avoid becoming lost
Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 13, Cha 9
Traits Pathfinder Recruit, Stabbing Spells
Alternate Racial Traits Dual Talent
Highlights featuring the iconic wizard:
- The sword binder's Sword of the Mage ability evoked some dramatic reactions from around the table as his longsword flew from his hand to slash at an enemy before returning to his grasp. Although he didn't actually hit with it as often as everyone would've liked, there were two natural 20s rolled with the new Azlant die--both of which resulted in confirmed critical hits that brought down each foe!
- Ezren went 4 for 4 in succeeding with the hydraulic push spell, but not how you would think: Although one was used against an enemy, the other three were used to save an ally in danger, such as being flanked by several enemies or prone and about to be hit with multiple attacks. This goes to show you that (in the right hands) certain offensive spells can also have defensive applications.
You can find additional materials from The Azlant Odyssey in our Dropbox.
Hey everybody, we’re ready to go with our next iconic installment this week. From the conclusion of Marathon 1, here’s Merisiel:
MERISIEL
Elf unchained rogue (relic raider) 4
CG Medium humanoid (elf)
AC 20, touch 13, flat-footed 13
hp 38 (4d8+8)
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +2
Melee rapier +6 (1d6+3/18-20) or dagger +6 (1d4+1/19-20)
Ranged dagger +6 (1d4+1/19-20)
Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6, debilitating injury
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +5)
at will—detect magic
Feats Skill Focus (Perception), Lookout, Weapon Finesse, Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +7, Appraise +5, Climb +4, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +12, Escape Artist +7, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +7, Knowledge (local) +5, Perception +13/+15 to locate traps or to notice haunts, Profession (sailor) +5, Sense Motive +5, Spellcraft +6/+8 to identify cursed items, Stealth +8, Swim +5, Use Magic Device +7
Str 13, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10
Traits Classically Schooled, Skillful
Alternate Racial Traits Human-Raised
Highlights for the iconic rogue:
- Merisiel is the first unchained class to be used in the Order, and we all noticed its increased potential right away. The abilities to add Dex to both attack and damage – for free – made a big difference against several foes, and it’ll be interesting to see how the other abilities work out as she progresses further.
- Having access to a large amount of skill ranks was refreshing. With some strong rolling, Merisiel was able to hit 30+ on skill checks multiple times with different skills, which is pretty amazing at lower levels. As expected, Perception and Disable Device helped us out of some sticky situations, and with her Relic Raider class features kicking in too, I’m confident she’ll be an integral part of discovering the mysteries of Azlant.
You can find additional materials from The Azlant Odyssey in our Dropbox.
Why is the wizard only 3rd level, but the rogue is 4th?
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Order of the Amber Die
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Why is the wizard only 3rd level, but the rogue is 4th?
Hey Taks! That's because I sat out the submerged cave excursion. I was out of resources at that point, and even my mage armor spell had expired. I viewed Ezren as more of a liability than an asset, so I stayed out of it. Granted, I'm regretting not gaining the experience, but I still think I made the right decision for the group.
Hmm, I don't know how I feel about that either as a GM or a player. Regardless, it's always interesting to hear how others play their games. There is no right way, after all. You'll pay a price, of course, but only for a level or two. A few thousand XP difference is meaningless by 6th level, maybe sooner.
Hmm, I don't know how I feel about that either as a GM or a player. Regardless, it's always interesting to hear how others play their games. There is no right way, after all. You'll pay a price, of course, but only for a level or two. A few thousand XP difference is meaningless by 6th level, maybe sooner.
Definitely hear you there Taks, over the decades we've tried many different methods (including story advancement), but we've always come back to the system we're with now. The players enjoy a tight game with the complete rules set, striving for as much verisimilitude as possible; in this case, if Ezren didn't participate in a series of encounters, he doesn't get the XP for them. We do look for ways to offer separate XP to PCs in situations like this, so it was entirely possible that by staying in the ship's boat with Carver and Lyra as he did, a random encounter (or even set encounter) could have occurred and given him a chance to earn XP. Likewise, we physically separate the players during such situations, so one group of players (outside the sea cave) spent the time in a different room of the house while I checked in with them periodically. After thirty minutes of game time passed and they still hadn't heard back from the sea cave team, Ezren and his group became nervous enough to consider entering the cave on their own. At about thirty-two minutes of game time, the inside team returned out of breath, bloody, and with tales of vicious grindylows lurking within. The "all clear" was given, and the second team (loaded with knowledge skills) went through and searched the cave for Azlanti lore, magic items, and evidence of missing colonists. It was a fun afternoon!
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That would certainly increase the realism. My guys are adamantly against splitting the team up, even if it means bringing someone along that might not be helpful. In fact, they'd probably find a reason to delay the mission in such a case. I can see this coming up in our upcoming Ironfang Invasion campaign because it has a similar fish out of water (no pun intended) beginning. They will similarly have a group to hang out with performing other tasks (such as crafting) as well. I suppose time will tell!
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So my burning question for Adam is, how many times do you check back in with a split group only [in another room of the house] and find them all passed out during a marathon session?
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So my burning question for Adam is, how many times do you check back in with a split group only [in another room of the house] and find them all passed out during a marathon session?
Haha, oh man that question brings back memories!
During our marathons when we were younger, there was very little time (if any) allocated for sleeping. I remember going to grab a Gatorade and stepping over people who were asleep in the kitchen. We also weren't going through as much effort to enhance our game, so it was pretty normal (even a welcome opportunity) to have a couple of hours to sleep while the party was split. Nowadays, there's always work to be done during a marathon, and if I walked in to find them sleeping I'd give them a task. Oh, chatting about the new Star Wars on the couch I see? We've got some miniatures that need re-gluing. Finished working on your character? We need you guys to cut two templates for a map I'm going to draw, a 10" circle and a 14" circle. Have time to watch YouTube videos on your phone? The kitchen needs cleaning and someone should start cooking lunch. If one group is working in-game to clear a sea cave full of grindylows, then the other group should be working to help the marathon go smoothly out-of-game. Long marathons are a team effort, and the combined manpower of an entire gaming group is pretty impressive when tasked are delegated out effectively.
And we all know that the GM doesn't get the same opportunity to catch shuteye in the middle of a session. Typically, GMs have put in dozens more hours than players have--before they've even arrived. If the GM isn't able to take a break, neither should the players. :)
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Order of the Amber Die
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Hey there y'all, I'm back with an updated stat block after the first module. I'm pleased with her progress and am excited to see what the next modules brings. Here's Kyra:
KYRA
Keleshite human cleric 4
NG Medium humanoid (human)
AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17
hp 32 (4d8+8)
Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +7
Melee +1 seaborne scimitar +5 (1d6+2/18-20) or longspear +4 (1d8+1/x3)
Ranged sling +3 (1d4+1)
Special Attacks channel positive energy 2d6 (DC 12)
Cleric spells prepared (CL 4rd; concentration +7)
2nd—(3/day) hold person (DC 15), lesser restoration, placebo effect*
1st—(4/day) bless, diagnose disease*, shield of faith, unwelcome halo(DC 14)
0 (at will)—create water, guidance, light, stabilize
Feats Skill Focus [Knowledge (religion)], Lookout, Deific Obedience
Skills Bluff + 7, Diplomacy +9, Heal +10, Knowledge (planes) +4, Knowledge (religion) +10, Perception +6, Sense Motive +7, Swim +3
Str 12, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 14
Traits Acolyte of Apocrypha, Employee
Alternate Racial Traits Focused Study
Highlights of playing the iconic cleric:
- Most of my focus in leveling has been in preparation for 6th-level when Kyra takes a level in the Exalted prestige class. Normally I would take cleric levels all the way through, but this path feels right for how I'm playing Kyra. We've seen a few different iterations of her in other campaigns and I wanted something to set her apart, so I decided to really push her faith to the extreme. It's been fun, especially playing a relatively young and naive character, despite a few social blunders, but role-playing through multiple love triangles has also been a lot of fun so far.
- Domains have been a big boon for me, and the first ability granted in the Medicine subdomain is amazing. It only heals a few hit points here and there, but it's already been a life-saver on the battlefield--being able to take the best of two rolls is massive and the quicker treatment aspect was an unexpected bonus. It definitely helped prevent TPK in the subterranean battle against the darkmantles, saving both Valeros and Merisiel's life. Unfortunately, the Day subdomain hasn't seen much use since there haven't been many undead yet, but hopefully that'll happen soon enough!
You can find additional materials from The Azlant Odyssey in our Dropbox.
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Ah, yes, dictator style! I love it! /jk
I totally agree, Adam. I put in probably a minimum of 5-10 hours per session, and each of the AP books is 6-10 8-hour sessions. For a marathon single book, 80-100 hours from the GM wouldn't surprise me, particularly given how much effort you put into it. Map drawing alone is a killer, and I'm not nearly as detailed as you are. I'm just now getting to the point where I know how to plan fights appropriately, which adds additional time.
At least one of my guys doesn't seem to understand why I do as much work as I do to prepare. To him, it should be no problem to simply scale battles for additional characters that decide they want to play. His point of comparison is "fight of the week" style gaming, which tends to be about building a couple big encounters geared toward the party you have. There's no real long-term story, and you don't have to concern yourself with any related elements. Furthermore, an 8-hour session in an AP can easily be a dozen encounters (not all involving battles) that need at least some prior consideration. The GM needs to know tactics, dialogue, and even a certain notion of how to perform an NPC's actions. We certainly would not do this if we did not love it.
Bang on, Adam and the rest of your team.
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How's it going guys? I've got a 4th level stat-block for you all after the first module of The Ruins of Azlant. This level was a huge leap ahead for Valeros, due to the ability point that rounded him out to 18 Strength! Without further ado, here's Valeros:
VALEROS
Human fighter (aquanaut) 4
NG Medium humanoid (human)
AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 17
hp 38 (4d10+16)
Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +1; +1 against paralysis and immobilization effects
Melee +1 longsword +10 (1d8+9/19-20), shortsword +9 (1d6+6/19-20) or +1 longsword +8 (1d8+7/19-20) and shortsword +7 (1d6+4/19-20)
Ranged mwk composite longbow +7 (1d8+2/x3)
Special Attacks power attack
Feats Toughness, Lookout, Weapon Focus (Longsword), Two-Weapon Fighting, Power Attack, Weapon Specialization (Longsword)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Climb +8, Swim +9
Str 18, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 7
Traits Athletic, Reckless
Alternate Racial Traits None
Highlights for the iconic fighter:
- Dealing with quicksand was harder than one might think. Well, for the others without a swim speed, that is! T he "soft initiative" built the suspense, and before long we had multiple party members falling into quicksand pits and failing miserably to get themselves out. Our wizard, Ezren, attempted to help pull people out and was nearly pulled in himself, but luckily the aquanaut was there to save the day! I'm loving this archetype and anticipate it will come in hand many times more.
-For my immersion, I purchased a stylized mug that resembles the one on Val's portrait to drink from during the marathon, but I had no idea I would find a magical one in the first adventure. After receiving one of the group's first iconic equipment cards I gave it a try and it's perfect! Once a day, after making an oath to Cayden Cailean and pounding a beer (in- and out-of-game) he gets a heroism spell for 30 minutes--this thing is going to see so much use in the campaign it's not even funny.
You can find additional materials from The Azlant Odyssey in our Dropbox.
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Order of the Amber Die
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At least one of my guys doesn't seem to understand why I do as much work as I do to prepare. To him, it should be no problem to simply scale battles for additional characters that decide they want to play. His point of comparison is "fight of the week" style gaming, which tends to be about building a couple big encounters geared toward the party you have. There's no real long-term story, and you don't have to concern yourself with any related elements. Furthermore, an 8-hour session in an AP can easily be a dozen encounters (not all involving battles) that need at least some prior consideration. The GM needs to know tactics, dialogue, and even a certain notion of how to perform an NPC's actions.
Hey Taks, I hear you there. In my opinion, the only way your player will fully understand what you go through is if he GMed an Adventure Path to completion. After I GMed for the first time, not only did I gain an immense respect for the work that goes into preparation, but I also improved as a player. Being on the opposite side of the screen gives you a different perspective of the game, what it takes to run it (even just combat), and sometimes players need to experience it to truly understand it.