Aaron Gillespie's page

My players just defeated Kardswann. They bound him in the battle market and they're on their way to the Magic door underneath the chapel.
I know my players, and I can bet that, when Kardswann tells them he is going to return to his mistress to tell her what happened, the players are going to want to accompany him (especially the player who is the moldspeaker.)
I'm all for letting the players make choices, but I don't know how I would handle this if they want to go with.
Thoughts?

My players just defeated Kardswann. They bound him in the battle market and they're on their way to the Magic door underneath the chapel.
I know my players, and I can bet that, when Kardswann tells them he is going to return to his mistress to tell her what happened, the players are going to want to accompany him (especially the player who is the moldspeaker.)
I'm all for letting the players make choices, but I don't know how I would handle this if they want to go with.
Thoughts?

I'm running Carrion Crown in Ravenloft.
I want to change it so that Kendra turns out to be one of the big bads.
What I would like to do, is have the players run through the campaign, thinking that they are going to confront AA who is trying to bring Azalin back, but in reality, AA is just a pawn and Kendra is running the show...
BUT, I would really love to end this thing with a raid on Castle Ravenloft and a fight with Strahd. Strahd has a complicated relationship with Azalin...maybe somewhere along the way, Strahd's minions steal the components from the Whispering Way (The Ebon Fold in Ravenloft setting) and the focus shifts to Strahd? Maybe Strahd wants the components to ritually ascend him to a Dark Power?
I'm kind of at a loss on how to do this. Any ideas?

Thinking of starting II but I dont think my players will like starting the game with a retreat...even a tactical one.
Has anyone started it a different way?

How much work would it take to drop Wake of the Watcher? Just go from Broken Moon to Ashes at Dawn?

I literally JUST had this idea and haven't had a chance to work it out, so if it's lame, or wont work, please let me know.
Trying to make a big bad guy with more resonance than the AP provides...

What if Kendra is the Big Bad? What if she ordered her dad killed?

Again, brand new idea that I haven't worked through yet....

I'm an experienced GM wrapping up Rise of the Runelords with my group. We have about 2 sessions left.
I've read through the first 3 books of CC so far and I'm really liking it. This will be the next AP I run.
I do see some deficiencies in the plot. I'm pouring through this message board and reading some great ideas.
My question is, in general, what do you see as the big problems I should address? I'll admit, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed for some reason I cant really explain.

I'm about halfway through reading CotCT. Thinking of running it as my next AP. I love the tone and setting of the AP.
What I dont love is that so much of the main plot happens with the PCs merely being observers. Or just told about major happenings.
Anyone have any advice on how to rework the AP to make the players more participant than observer?

If the players miss the full moon fasting method, what are other ways they could find the path to Xin Shalast?

Having a problem in my RotRL campaign.
My characters are on the way to Xin Shalast. They've just left the Vekker's cabin...
I have one character that wants to constantly retreat to safety or teleport back to sandpoint/magnimar over and over again for a variety or reasons.
I keep stressing how close Karzoug is to returning but this player keeps acting like he has all the time in the world. And he basically wears down the other players until he follows them.
I try to solve this in game by having consequences. For instance, after the giant raid on sandpoint he talked the rest of the party into waiting weeks before heading to Joegenfist.
So I had a second, much more devastating raid on the town...
I'm having the giants occupy large portions of variisa currently, building seige equipment and outposts in preparation for karzoug's imminent return. Shaleleu has had to recruit a band of guerilla fighters to try to keep the giants at bay...all because of this player's lazy attitude...
I'm getting so fed up with this I'm considering having Karzoug return and enslave the entire region, but I thought I'd ask your opinion...
How should I escalate this in a way that teaches him a lesson?

Having a problem in my RotRL campaign.
My characters are on the way to Xin Shalast. They've just left the Vekker's cabin...
I have one character that wants to constantly retreat to safety or teleport back to sandpoint/magnimar over and over again for a variety or reasons.
I keep stressing how close Karzoug is to returning but this player keeps acting like he has all the time in the world. And he basically wears down the other players until he follows them.
I try to solve this in game by having consequences. For instance, after the giant raid on sandpoint he talked the rest of the party into waiting weeks before heading to Joegenfist.
So I had a second, much more devastating raid on the town...
I'm having the giants occupy large portions of variisa currently, building seige equipment and outposts in preparation for karzoug's imminent return. Shaleleu has had to recruit a band of guerilla fighters to try to keep the giants at bay...all because of this player's lazy attitude...
I'm getting so fed up with this I'm considering having Karzoug return and enslave the entire region, but I thought I'd ask your opinion...
How should I escalate this in a way that teaches him a lesson?

I find the Xin-Shalast portion of Chapter 6 somewhat lacking. Anyone have any advice/examples of encounters to add to beef up this section of the AP's climax?

I just started building select pieces of 3d terrain for my RotRL campaign. So far, I've just built the Lecture Hall from Jorgenfist so we could have it for the Mokmurian battle. Hope you like it. Comments are always welcome...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1992069430809003&set=pcb.199206 9527475660&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1992069467475666&set=pcb.199206 9527475660&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1992069500808996&set=pcb.199206 9527475660&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1992069470808999&set=pcb.199206 9527475660&type=3&theater

I'm always looking to buy RotRL minis for my campaign.
My players are about to wrap up chapter 4, so I'm looking for minis from chapter 5 and 6.
Send me a PM!

I have a setup for my halloween sidequest. It'll be a fun take on GREMLINS. But I'm having a difficult time deciding where to go with it.

First, the set up:

A body is discovered in the streets of Sandpoint. The party's investigation leads them to believe that Pidget Tergelson did it. (Back story...the PCs took him from Habe's Sanitarium and took him to Sandpoint. An old woman adopted Pidget and he locks himself in a shed during the full moon.) After investigating, they figure out that Pidget couldn't have done it.
After further investigation, they figure out the killer came from The Feathered Serpent (not sure how i'll lead them to this conclusion...still working on this part.)
When they get to the Feathered Serpent, Vorvashali tells them that he recently sold a strange creature from a far away land to a father looking for a present for his son's birthday. Vorvashali sold the man the creature and gave him three rules: 1. Don't expose it to strong light, especially sunlight, 2. Don't get it wet and 3. Never, ever feed it after midnight, even if it begs.

Okay, so that's all I have. I figure gremlins will start running wild, but I can't think of a good way to escalate this with a few encounters until a bigger conclusion. I'm usually okay at this point, but this is eluding me.

I could really use any help you'd like to offer.

Anyone know where I can find more information on The Wishing Well in the Sandpoint Hinterlands? Other than what is in the back of the AE, I mean...

Where can I find the story of the black dragons in the dragon's punch bowl?

Hey all,

I want to have a one-off Halloween adventure with my players set in Sandpoint. They liberated Pidget Tergleson from Habe's Sanitorium and brought him back to Sandpoint where he was "adopted" by an old widow who is able to keep him contained on the full moon.
I'm wondering if there are any good adventures with werecreatures that I could use for something like this?

Thanks!

What kind of incriminating evidence would be in Scarnetti Manor? What kind of treasure?

I know that the AP details the blackmail letters from Jubrayl to Titus, but what else would there be?

I want to give one of my players a sidequest during some downtime and I'm having a hard time coming up with something.
The PC is an 11th level Ulfen shapeahifting ranger who worships Erastril.
Many of the obvious options aren't currently available. Jubrayl is currently lying low, for example.
Tsuto is still out there somewhere, after Ironbriar (who is Tsuto's real father in my campaign) orchestrated his escape. So I guess that's a possibility.
Anyway, any brainstorming is greatly appreciated.

Is there a map for Scarnetti Manor anywhere?

First, let me set up where my players are and what they are doing, then I'll ask my question:

The PCs did a good job of stopping the raid on Sandpoint, but Teraktinus got away with a stone from the Old Light.

Once they figured out that he was probably heading for the Storval Stairs, they teleported to Ravenmoor (They had intimate knowledge of the town from earlier in the campaign) to try to cut him off.
They located him and killed him.

They suspect he was taking the rock back to Mokmurian so Stone Tell could be cast on it (the way they came to this conclusion would take too long to tell and is pretty unimportant.)

Most of the characters wanted to go on to Jorgenfist. The Barbarian/Sorcerer/Eldritch Knight convinced them not to. Jorgenfist will be too tough (this is something this player always does...if something is going to be hard, he talks the other players out of it until he can figure out some metagamy way to conquer it... B.I.D.)

He convinced the rest of the party to return to Sandpoint with the stone so they could find someone to cast Stone Tell on it and maybe they could figure out what Teraktinus wanted with the rock.

So far, they've come up emptyhanded. The Barbarian is currently wandering the hinterlands of Sandpoint, hoping to run into the druids that make periodic stops into town to help Madam Mvashti. He's hoping one of the druids will be powerful enough to talk to the stone.

So, here's my question...

How should Mokmurian respond when Teraktinus doesn't return to Jorgenfist? I'm getting a little tired of the one player convincing the others to deviate from the heroic course for no other reason than self preservation, so I'd like Mokmurian's response to be pretty nasty with an obvious lesson built in.
My first thought is having another party of giants sent down to find Teraktinus and, when they find his corpse a half hour away from Ravenmoor (which is where the PCs killed and left him), the giants burn Ravenmoor to the ground to extract information about what happened to him.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

I'm GMing Rise of the Runelords. The players are currently heading for the Storval Stairs on their way to Jorgenfist.

I have a player that figured out a tactic last night. It is, as far as i can tell, by the book...but it is frustrating to me as a GM.

My player is a barbarian/sorcerer/eldritch knight who has taken the Leadership feat. His cohort is a Life Oracle.

He casts invisibility on the cohort and then goes into battle. The cohort stands right behind him, constantly healing him (even going full healing elemental) meanwhile I can't do anything against the cohort because, since the cohort isn't attacking any of the bad guys, she stays invisible.

This is completely rule-abiding, right? How should I get around it?

What's the deal with Grubber's Hermitage? Is there a Paizo product that goes into detail about what's going on at the island?

If a character is possessed by a demon lord, like Pazuzu, how would you go about excorsizing them?

I have all of the original CoCT. Is the updated version worth buying? How much is changed? I know it's been updated for the Pathfinder rules set.

How much would a church, above and beyond the component cost, charge to cast resurrect on someone?

When an Oracle's Life Link says it needs to be within medium range, what does "medium" mean?

My player created a trap that is basically a bunch of stacked logs connected to a trip wire. So when the enemy sets off the trap, the logs roll down onto them.
Anyone have any suggestions on rules for this trap? Damage? I'm assuming a reflex save would half the damage.
Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

Somewhere on this messageboard, is a list of Sandpoint Guards and their duty schedule.
I can't seem to find it anywhere. Can someone point me in that direction?

We just finished Hook Mountain Massacre, so all of my players now have a

My players routinely use Enlarge Person on themselves. I'd like a "giant sized" miniature that represents this for each of them. Anyone know of any companies that make minis to this scale?

I don't have any clockwork elements in my campaign world. Does anyone have any advice on a good replacement for the clockwork librarian?
Thanks!

My party just encountered the Frost Wight in RotRL. Two of the PCs took some energy drain.
Which energy drain is the right one? The one from the core rulebook or the one from the bestiary? I feel like the Bestiary should be the right one, but how have other people settled this?
Thanks!

What is the most Cthuluesque adventure path?

Is there a mini for a Taiga Giant?

Are there any Taiga Giant minis?

Anyone know a good mini for an Annis hag? Keep in mind, the Annis Hag is a large creature.

My group is finishing up Rise of the Runelords and I'm trying to decide what to run next. I have narrowed the choice down to either Curse of the Crimson Throne or Hell's Rebels.
So, I'm looking for opinions. I want something with a strong storyline, but not too railroady. And, if it matters, I am limiting this to races/classes/spells/feats/etc from the Core Rulebook only.
Thanks!

Are there any dungeons or lairs in the Sandpoint Hinterlands that might have loot in it that the adventurers could explore during their off time? I know I can make something up, and I'm happy to, but I was wondering if there's anything already written.
Thanks!

I seem to remember somewhere (maybe the CotCT or CC AP?)rules for each of the Harrow cards. I'm specifically looking for the rules of the Trumpet card.

One of my players, an elven witch, got Pazuzu's attention while investigating Chopper's Isle in my campaign.
I've been slow-rolling hints up till now. She has seen Pazuzu in dreams, woken up to find locusts in her room, she sees crows wherever she is, etc...
I'd like him to contact her and maybe even possess her, but I'd want the possession to progress slowly as well.
My question is, what would Pazuzu's end game be? Why would he want to use the witch? Is there something specific to RotRL that I could use?

I have a character (an elven witch) in my campaign who has been noticed by Pazuzu.
I have been foreshadowing things for awhile now. She sees Pazuzu in her dreams, crows seem to follow her around, locusts swarm from under her bed, etc...
Anyway, my plan is that Pazuzu is going to possess her (the specifics of this are too long to talk about right now)...but I'd like it to be a slow process where Pazuzu has some kind of end game that he wants to use the PC for.
Any ideas what kind of endgame that would be?

My characters are in the middle of a magic-industed rainstorm that has lasted days. They're about ready to fight in an area that is covered in thick mud. I'd like to figure out some rules that make combat a bit harder. Between the ankle-deep mud and torrential rains.
Any advice?

Where can I get some kind of flying stands to represent different flight elevations?