[AP] Curse of the Crimson Throne by GMs Rutseg, Zek and Snowheart (Inactive)

Game Master Balacertar

Ominous...

So, are there rules for taming monsters? If charm monster works, do we have to keep casting it over and over, or is there a way to convince the beast to ally with us? We don't share a language, but someone might have a spell that allows us to talk, but we would have to find something that it wants, in order to convince it.

Also... if we DO get it to ally with us, by some miracle (which would be super awesome of course), how do we feed it? Do we know how much it currently eats, and how often? -- I mean, is that listed somewhere? I'm not sure where to find rules for this sort of thing, or if there are any.

I'm not familiar with any specific rules, though I would note that Cindermaw's intelligence score is higher than 2, so to truly control hit would likely require a dominate monster spell. I suppose you could try negotiating with it if you manage to charm it, but you would need some way to communicate as it knows no languages.

I think that I just Scythe critted the monster for 246 damage. If this is the case I can’t wait to see the Shoanti reaction :D

Is my Scythe becoming an issue? If so, by GM fiat I’m willing to have it changed into something like a falchion. Same 2d4 damage, but it would be 18-20x2 instead of x4. So crits would happen more often, but they wouldn’t immediately end encounters.

Just wanted to go ahead and say that I don’t think that would be fair to you. Honestly it just means I need to work on adjusting and upgrading enemies more. Also, I rarely if ever play at this high a level, so those kind of damage modifiers are basically eye-popping for me.

Well, I never planned on using a Scythe. It was just an item drop from the AP. Also don’t want to lead to situations where you feel the need to bump everything up on the off chance I roll a 20.

I don't think it's a problem. The only time this happens is if you happen to roll a 20 on a solo monster, which has been pretty rare. Anything else just leads to massive overkill.

I'd say leave it as-is.

The only time it can make things really anticlimactic is when it happens on the final boss of a book, or something similar. But I just have to do a better job of prebuffing said boss and/or just increasing their stats in general. I don't think it's fair to have you change anything, AP drop or not. And you're going to be doing really high damage anyway, so I should be making more adjustments regardless.

No post today guys.

No worries Zek.

Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

Yep--crazy times. Thanks for your diligence, Zek!

No post today guys.

I refuse to accept this, so I consider your above to be a post for today.

Haha. :)

Trying to, Bashiel! Hopefully this provides a small something to do (most days) to keep us sane in these times.

As always, thank you for the kind words, Ilsa!

Kalem, I suppose I should have said no gameplay post today. :)

I'll give y'all another day to decide what you want to do/where you want to go.

Also, Ilsa, I'm not sure which door you wanted to go through. Both of the doors leading out of the room (that you haven't been through) are to the east.

I mistook the hallway to the west for another room. Let’s go southeast door.

Just curious... if you can tell us without giving anything away... is it possible (if we were high enough level) to fix the spell on the globe so that it does what it was originally intended to do?

Decanter of Endless Water
Sustaining Spoon
Unidentified scroll x2
Scroll of Dimension Door x2
Cloak of Resistance +3
Scabbard of Keen Edges <- Bashiel

Who wants the other loot?

You forgot these:

Bottle of air
Scroll of Clairvoyance x2
+1 magical beast-bane dagger

(from the first loot post)

... I think we should keep the dimension door scrolls for the party in case we need an escape at some point. I can already cast that spell, but not often enough to save us.

I'll wait to claim anything until everyone else has a turn because I already have lots of new stuff, but I might grab something after everyone else has a chance.

If you look at the Group Resources tab in the loot log, we've got a wand of dimension door with 19 charges (as well as a whole bunch of other goodies). I'm happy with just the scabbard for now, but whoever has the worst saves should get their hand on that cloak.

Oh, cool. I didn't know about that tab... or I forgot or something. That works. We don't need the scrolls for the group then.

Who would benefit most by an upgrade to saves?

That cloak should certainly go to someone.

Zamanda, theoretically, yes. It would probably require at least a feat or two and some very, very high Knowledge (arcana) and Spellcraft checks. Oh, and probably quite a lot of time.

That would be cool... or you know, potentially devastating if it was actually some evil thing, but sounds cool at least. I would love to see a high level campaign where the goal is to get some of these ancient things going again, reclaiming lost magical technologies. :)

I'm thinking Kalem would benefit most from the +3 cloak, since overall his saves seem the lowest.

Mine is already a +2. Kalem, you want it? Anyone only have a +1 cloak?

Thanks but I already have a +3. Bloodragers just have really bad saves.

I was thinking of taking steadfast personality to mitigate that problem

I have a +2 as well. If you want it, Ilsa, you are welcome to it.

I've got a +2, and also Angelic Bond grants a resistance bonus to saves that makes me less excited about cloaks.

Okay, I'll go ahead and take it.

EDIT: 8/12/16 now--not too shabby.

Still here, but nothing to add. Ready to go to Flameford and find out whatever additional hoops we have to jump through.

No worries, Zamanda. Get your Acrobatics checks ready. ;)

No update tonight.

Lvl12!

Stat: +1 Con (14)
HP: 1d10 ⇒ 2 becomes 6 (class) +1 (FCB) + 2 (Con) + 11 (Con increase) = +20
Saves:+2 Fort, +1 Ref/Will
Skills: +4
Bloodline Feat: Deceitful (+4 Bluff!)
Bloodline Power: Dark Wings (Su) At 12th level, when entering a bloodrage you can choose to have bat-like wings grow from your back, giving you a fly speed of 60 feet with average maneuverability. At 16th level, your fly speed increases to 80 feet with good maneuverability.

New Spells: Mount (lvl1) Mirror Image (lvl2) Versatile Weapon (lvl3)
Spell Slots: +1 lvl2

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Amazing level. Flight speed is huge! Also a big jump in HP, some nice spell options, and even better Bluff. Quite happy.

Bard 8 / Arcane Archer 4

HP: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

BAB +1
Stat Bump... I guess Strength, symbolic of the recent trial. It's an odd numbered bump, so won't actually affect anything till 16.

New Ability:

Seeker Arrow (Su)
At 4th level, an arcane archer can launch an arrow at a target known to him within range, and the arrow travels to the target, even around corners. Only an unavoidable obstacle or the limit of the arrow’s range prevents the arrow’s flight. This ability negates cover and concealment modifiers, but otherwise the attack is rolled normally. Using this ability is a standard action (and shooting the arrow is part of the action). An arcane archer can use this ability once per day at 4th level, and one additional time per day for every two levels beyond 4th, to a maximum of four times per day at 10th level.

Spells, another first and another fourth level spell known, and another 3rd and 4th level spell per day.

Skills:

Err... got to go, but I will choose spells and skills and post again later.

Nice! 12th level! It feels like we zipped to 12th really fast.

Unfortunately it might take me a couple of days to get leveled up. I maaaaay have signed up for a lot of PaizoCon games that are now gobbling my time like a kid gobbles chicken nuggets.

I'll give y'all at least a couple days to level up and discuss your next steps as you have a few days before the Sun Shaman will reveal what he knows.

Also, Ilsa, you aren't alone. This is the highest I've GM'd. Don't think I've played this high either. Uncharted territory!

12th level Paladin

Bashiel HP: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 +1 from favored class bonus
BAB +1, All Saves +1
Stat bump goes into dex, which back at 1st level I had started at 13, so its now 14!
Skills -> Religion, Diplomacy, Perception, Spellcraft
New Mercy -> Taking Ensorcelled, which allows lay on hands to function as dispel magic! Should be useful.
Spells -> +1 2nd level spell slot, no other changes

I'm hyped about the new mercy, but otherwise not anything too dramatic changing this level.
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I've GM'd for a group that got to 15th level, which gets pretty wild (thankfully for my GMing sanity, they were relative novices at the time and didn't picks the spells and abilities that make the game much harder to balance). This is the first time I'm playing that high though.

12th Level Cleric

HP: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 55+2=7
BAB +1, All Saves +1
Wisdom Increase
Skills - Diplomacy, Heal, Kn (Religion), Perception, Sense Motive

Spells - 1 5th & 1 6th

In case you're waiting on me, I'm mostly just waiting on y'all to put any finishing touches on leveling and to discuss the information Bashiel shared.

Skills:

Diplomacy, bluff, disable device, perception, stealth, acrobatics

New Spells:

Greater Invisibility, Timely Inspiration

Sorry, really busy week at work. I'll be leveled and up to speed in the next couple of days.

I'll give Ilsa one more day.

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As I mentioned in-game, the Sun Shaman (and Chief Ready-Klar) will be gone for 3 days for their trip to the Kallow Mounds, so if there's anything you want to do in the meantime, feel free to mention it.

Is that enough time to find the Cinderlander? Would still love to be able to get that murderer taken care of.

Yeah, three days sounds like a good opportunity to find the Cinderlander. Maybe we can even get the help of the Shoanti this time for finding them.

All,

I'm so sorry, but I have some huge obligations at work that will keep me from posting through next Wednesday. I have a confluence of some of my worst cases and am feeling overwhelmed. I'll catch up soon.

Going to wait till there's a bit more of a consensus on the questions. You've got three left.

Hey all,

Just finished my awful, no good work week and am wading back into posting. Hallelujah!

I may remain slow through the weekend as I try to catch up on everything else that I had slide, but by Monday I'll be back full throttle.

Good to hear from you, Ilsa!

——-

No update tonight, folks.

(still here, just nothing additional to add to the questions for Pharasma)