B_Wiklund's page

Pathfinder was able to seize the moment when 4e face planted with most players. But it also inherited the overly detailed crunch of 3E. The APs were great and I ran lots of PF but as others have mentioned beyond level 10 things start to get annoying to track and once you start building spreadsheets to run an NPC it tends to lose appeal.

I didn’t come to 5e right away but when I did it was clear they had built a much better fantasy RPG with a more rules-lite approach that suited most players and DMs far better. I was quite happy to bid the days of 3E and PF farewell. Due to the lower amount of prep needed also got back to running more home brew adventures and campaigns.

I have a lab called Fafhrd. Yet to get a cat though to complete the pair.

Ran the very last session of Jade Regent, I quite like books 5 and 6 as written but inserting a kaiju battle while the opposing armies fight was a pretty epic way to end this campaign.

The Five Storms (down to Three Storms for the final battle -Jade Regent, Oracle, and Anam) had control of the Tarrasque. The party after completing the quest at the Emperor's Isle were also blessed with the ability to summon a CR 20 Imperial Sovereighn dragon using the Amatatsu Seal.

So the final battle occurred outside Kasai triggered by the summoning of the Tarrasque to stomp out the rebels.

It more or less eliminated the walk thru of the palace in book 6 but I inserted some challenges around the army and included the Raven Prince attempting to assassinate Ameiko on the eve of the battle. It made for a more fluid last half of book 6, my group seemed to enjoy it.

Ah the inevitable Lovecraft was a racist therefore anyone who enjoys his writing must be racist. (OK well if you enjoy Horror at Red Hook maybe)

The notion that Paizo has a conflict of interest (i.e. a company with evident progressive direction) mining Lovecraft (and others) for inspiration for a game is spurious. I don't think the good folks over at Chaosium are continually worrying about the yellow peril or miscegenation either.

Looking forward to the AP and all of its Lovecraftian tentacles.

Jade is a lot of fun (my group is about to start book 6), and the beginning of the AP should be fun for a group that just wrapped up Rise. Like any APs it takes some tweaks to tailor it to your group.

I would also highly recommend Curse. Still hands down the best AP published.

I just finished running this AP a few weeks ago, and we certainly added a few steampunk-ish touches throughout. Re your adjustments,

1. 25 point buy is too high even for a low magic approach. I wouldn't suggest going any higher than 20.

2. Commonplace guns - if you're sticking to muzzle loaders should be just fine (thats what we did). Once you get into revolvers things can get out of hand pretty quick.

Re low/limited magic, it all really depends on your approach. As your using the slow XP progression the campaign could well end before any high level hijinks begin, that would be the simplest. As for explaining it, the campaign doesn't need to be set in Golarian just Ustalav. Hell Ustalav could be in Ravenloft if you wanted.

XP is not worth the headache. I suggest using hero points for the purposes of rewarding players. Does the same thing with far less work.

Another recommendation for Harrowstone, as a solid halloween dungeon crawl.

Other books from Carrion Crown could work very well as a stand alone:

-Trial of the Beast
-Wake of the Watcher

Other adventures:

Hangman's Noose (Paizo 3.5)

Skinsaw murders (Book 2 in RotRL) provides some great halloween material.

And of course another recommendation for the original Ravenloft (or the 2e House of Strahd remake). Avoid expedition to Castle Ravenloft.

Brinewall Legacy makes great use of dire corbies. I think that might be a first.

Yep I'd agree with Alzrius, the character being from Lamordia makes perfect sense. If you can give the player the Lamordia gazeetteer to read so he can pick up on the Lamordian persepective (basically a very materialist and condescending attitude toward magic and well all of the other countries in the Lands of the Core). Players while free to come up with the concept of their character should also strive to use material from the setting as a basis and an arrogant Lamordian fits this very well.

On the other issue about being a jerk to gracious hosts well the player is making choices and consequences result (it doesn't mean to go out and punish the player but sounds like he may very well get the cold shoulder from a lot of society)

Book four in JR is one example. The hunting lodge in Book three of CC is another good one (it covers the setting of the lodge, the host of characters visiting complete with brief backstory, personality and secrets (including a memorable red herring at least for my group). It also contained some other information re clues that would help their investigation. Lastly, there were a few trigger events included that provided some response to the party's actions as they snooped about.
While I ended up going through that material relatively quickly depending on the group that easily could have provided 2 sessions worth of material.

Re Umbranus:

1. I do agree with you re the gothic horror themes though that is more of an aspect of being a pathfinder game. The REH Solomon Kane stories or the old universal monster movies are probably a better analog - pulpy gothic horror.

2. The lead to help the beast should be grounded in the notion that the museum was broken into and a relic stolen. The adventure as written doesn't necessarily tell the GM to play up the possibility of the Way's involvement which I think is where your disconnect comes from (and truthfully this is an issue for the next two adventures). What got my players interested in this was I gave enough hooks to make them believe that the Way was behind the robbery and that either the beast (or his creator) was in league with the way or a patsy but either way investigating the crime would lead them to the Way.

I do think a sandbox AP similar to Kingmaker but centred around court intrigue, espionage and diplomacy would be a good framework to punch up the RP but still leave the field open for groups that want to get their hands dirty (though they might have to put some thought into how to cover their tracks).

Absalom, Brevoy and Taldor or Cheliax come to mind as potential settings.

Though I'd be happy with a module along these lines as well (especially given the new format).

Domains could be associated with saints of that religion thus providing some rationale (e.g. Saint McGee famous for his ocean faring pilgrimages)

It depends on the AP and the group. From the APs I've ran a quick overview:

1. CoCT - nothing signficant save cosmetic changes for History of the Ashes re the setting (made the Shoanti homeland more Mongolia in winter with volcanoes)

2. Carrion Crown - wove alot more plot points to make Petros more of a presence throughout the campaign. Also books 5 and 6 went through a lot of changes mostly taking cues from what interested the players.

3. Savage Tide - again mostly unchanged save the last three adventures were greatly condensed, I think we left off around 15th level.

I don't really see what you're getting re the proliferation of supposed DMPCs. Many of the APs have an ongoing supporting cast which is a good thing in my mind. The only case I can think of is perhaps Ameiko in JR. Really its up to the DM and the group how they use friendly NPCs. Sometimes they're just like Q; you get some fancy gear from them, others provide some intelligence and if the group is inclined maybe some extra muscle.
I'm running JR and I often use the caravan NPCs in the first few books as one would volunteer to go with the "away team" but I think its pretty clear the campaign is about the PCs. Granted my group helps that Ameiko is one of the group's PCs. So while I haven't read RoW I did sub for WoTR and did notice again a 'supporting cast' that by certain DMs could be twisted into a gallery of DMPCs but I don't think Paizo presents that as a default assumption.

I didn't see anyone else post this in the thread so thought I'd provide a link to an excellent article from Steve Winters.

Saying no

Banning or saying no to certain propositions can be just as important as saying yes to a player's suggestion. Balancing those can be tricky though and as other posters have pointed out its important for a DM who is banning or limiting options to explain why upfront and then also listen and heed the players inputs or take on those ground rules.

For the record, I now do just simply ban the summoner class and while I'm fine with gunslingers they'll never come across advanced firearms.

As a DM, one thing that bugs me is when you have a setting and ideas about the campaign, whether it be an adventure path or a custom made game, and a player shows up with this whole back story that doesn't fit with that. Mr. Real Roleplayer has his brilliant concept and lengthy back story and he doesn't care that it doesn't work with your plans. He's such a brilliant thespian that of course you'll alter your campaign so his character can have his epic arc. And then he'll have the spotlight and all the other players will be second stage to him.

I'd almost rather have the casual players without much background who just go along with your game because that's what the game is. If the players can be a little more invested, work out a short back story that fits your game, and go from there, that's the ideal.

I'd concur with you it doesn't help when a player comes up with a concept entirely disconnected from the rest of the group or the premise. (i.e. insisting on playing an elven ninja in a viking campaign). One of the things that has entered talk in rp circles the last several years is borrowing the always say yes concept from improv theatre. What is often forgotten is that for this to work the player also need to yes to the DM (i.e. ok guys I'm running a gothic horror themed campaign set in this particular city, the players respond by building characters that have a stake in the city and somehow play to the premise). As a DM I don't want an overly long background but I do want the player to build something based from the context I've provided.

More Tian Xia would be great. My group is just getting through Forest of Spirits and the oriental setting is a blast.

Viking AP would also be great.

Last thing would be a political/spy campaign with lots of court intrigue could be fun. That could be placed just about anywhere.

One thing is to integrate story into the dungeon crawl.

What is the party hoping to accomplish by exploring this dangerous site? Are they actively opposing the cult's goals or is this their first contact with them?

-Overall, I'd say its important to identify some specific objectives that the party is likely to accomplish by entering these tombs (i.e. learn more about the cult's goals, obtain some of the race's technology, track down a particular cultist etc.). The goals of the party are likely to shape how they go about their task (e.g. a rescue mission, heist, lore gathering etc.) and should inform you as to how to run the crawl and where you might want to insert clues either about your ongoing plot or providing further background about the cult and their origins. Libraries or archives of course make great info-dumps as does large scale artworks such as murals, tapestries etc.

So you have a set of underground warrens, the remnants of a long dead race from another planet and a cult of their descendants having pilfered some of their tech.

I'd second Glutonny's suggestions of leaving some of the cultists active in the complex. Perhaps while they obtained the key item they were looking for there is a group doing mop-up or leaving traps behind to protect their find. They also make sense as your chief protagonist. If they know the complex and become aware of intruders the crawl could quickly shift from a simple exploration to a deadly game of cat and mouse as the cultists use traps, hit and run tactics to terrorize and eventually eliminate the party (that is of course until the party turns the tables by locating some plasma guns).

Constructs and machinery seem a likely theme given the interplanetary nature of the tomb.

What is the purpose of the 'dungeon'? Is it a crashed ship? An actual tomb or simply a storage facility for critters held in suspended animation? Or something entirely else? Again how does this complex relate to the greater story of the campaign?

Sounds like a fun session!

I can't wait for the revised Inner Sea Guide to come out that shows Golarian in a post-globster and wraiths setting.

Depends on the type of encounter you want but I often GM larger groups my usual bag of tricks include:

1) Lots of fodder/mooks. Can be more of a headache to run have sometimes pre-rolled or even rolled for them as groups (e.g. 6 minions get split into two groups of three).

2) I will sometimes max the hp of the monster (especially bosses, sub-bosses). Even for minions I'll generally increase them by 50%

3) Casters with abiltiies to control the battlefield (Black Tentacles is a good way to up the challenge in an encounter) and cast dispel magic are good for important battles.

4) My campaigns generally feature on-going villains so yes I do make use of the tailored encounter to target PCs but use these sparingly.

5) Ensure there's a good mix of opponents. I'm running JR and CC both campaigns feature particular type of monsters very often. So its important to throw them off a bit and dump a golem or aberration into an encounter every so often.

I just finished Broken Moon with my group. Its been so far but yes the AP does need some Gm work to massage things. I've tried a few low-workload changes and embellishments to tie things together.

-First off the format of the AP is yes here is the werewolf advneture, the vampire adventure, Frankenstein, wallking dead etc. Tell the players that so they know to expect some monster of the week stuff. It may not be the most unified but I think most players will appreciate the chance to deal with all of these different foes.

-Make Petros and his past an important part over the entire AP which pretty well means you have to connect

-I had the party meet and work with Petros' old adventuring party. The old party all hated and distrusted each other for some past deed that took the first 3 books for the players to unravel -

-Play up the Palantine Eye. Make them full members in Book 2 and use the Eye as the good guys. I played up the threat of a traitor in their ranks

-Play up Auren Vrood make him the BBEG for the first 3 books.

-Don't keep

So going into Wake of the Watcher:

-My feeling is to take out the Raven's Head as something the WW desires. It'll simply be an artifact the party can find. I'm leaning towards some bargain with the deep ones/mi-go to craft a mutant plague for the WW to use as a weapon. Only problem is the plague they create gets loose and is tied to Shub-Niggurath (hence slugspawn infeestations, mutations etc.). The party essentially walks into a failed WW plan and has to contain the danger and maybe stop a shipment of the plague from reaching Caliphas. The Mi-Go will be simply be a higher form of intelligent deep ones.

-Ashes at Dawn is the most problematic. I get the whole Ann Rice approach but I kind of just want to do Castle Ravenloft but Gallowspire is pretty big on the dungeon stuff. Also there really isn't a compelling reason for the party to help the vampires and let alone clear Ramoska from any wrongdoing. I will probably just work to play up the bloodbrew elixir and the rift b/w vampire elders who want to keep the status quo and the young upstarts. Which pretty well makes it like the Blade movie but I can live with that. In fact maybe I'll just have most of the court killed off by the young rebel vamps. Not sure about the tailor with the deadly scarf though... I'd consider chucking this adventure but I know the group is anticipating the vampire adventure so have to make it work.

-SoG looks just fine.

Hi all thought I would throw this out on the forum. So as per some other threads here and my own thoughts I've been making some changes to aspects of CC.

-The party has had a chance to meet and adventure with various NPCs that made up Petros' old adventuring party (Adivon, a halfing bard and aristocrat, a now disgraced paladin) and work with Kendra.
-Adivon is an adviser to the Prince (on supernatural, magical matters) and is well established in the royal court.

-I've played up Vrood's role to the point where the party considers him the chief antagonist of the campaign. The party has some idea that the components are for a powerful ritual possibly related to the Tyrant himself.

-My idea with Feldgrau is that it is actually a showdown b/w Vrood and Adivon. Vrood is planning on usurping Adivon and has rounded up several high ranking WW figures who might be a threat to his rule. By making a fiendish pact Vrood hopes to take charge of the WW and dispose of Adivon. Except that Adivon has realized this and is in fact directing the party to their confrontation with Vrood. Meanwhile Adivon is in town to ensure he snakes the ritual components from under Vrood's nose while everyone else is fighting in town.

So essentially the plan is the party will hunt down Vrood as in the module and dispose of him. Now I can leave it that the ritual components are mysteriously stolen (signs of a clever B & E, garrotted cultists etc.) and leave the party in the dark or have Adivon unmask himself arrogantly thanking the party for their help.

I would prefer the latter option as its good for a campaign to have a clear villain but I would think that the party knowing where Adivon is based would go straight to Caliphas after Broken Moon. Though I am thinking of having Adivon use his influence to make the party members wanted fugitives. Curious as to thoughts/suggestions. Thanks!

A barbarian doesn't need speeches.

A barbarian needs one-liners.

Learn from the best.

Now that Paizo's moving to the 64-page format for its modules, is there any chance of a high-level Bastardhall module in our future?

Would be very interested in seeing this too!

All very good advice. CocT was I think the best campaign I've ran, and the best of the APs I've read.

1. Be upfront with the players, the characters need to have a stake in the city. A motivation to want to save it. If they build this into their background they'll have much more enjoyment plus they'll also create some backstories that you'll be able to weave into the events of the AP.

2. Books 4 and 5 are good but I would suggest cutting it down a bit to keep the plot going forward. My group actually really liked History of Ashes (again it helped that we had two Shoanti characters who had a connection to 1000 Bones) Scarwall is a kick-ass dungeon but it is huge so it can be a bit of a slog.

3. I made the re-taking of the city a bit more epic as the party had worked hard to forge alliances with the Shoanti and Magnimar. Nothing like leading an army on the field to say hey we're high level.

Unfortunately, I moved away and only ran CC as far as the ToB but my plan was to have Kendra be the

Courtesy of googleshng in the Hungry storm thread:

LAKE ROUTE:
To reach Bearleg Lakes: 96 miles/3 days
Through Bearleg Lakes to Old Magu Encounter: 260 miles/5 days
To Qopuk Ford: 64 miles/2 days
To start of Wandering Herd: 32 miles/1 day
Duration of Wandering Herd: 224 miles/7 days
END OF LAKE ROUTE (Paths rejoin here)

HILL ROUTE:
To Lost Lake: 256 miles/8 days
To Avalanche Ambush: 96 miles/3 days
To Cannibal Camp: 64 miles/2 days
To Fording Taraska: 32 miles/1 day
To end of HILL ROUTE: 32 miles/1 day
END OF HILL ROUTE (Paths rejoin here)

To Iqaliat: 128 miles/4 days
(Side note: 64 miles from rejoin point to Iqualiat/Unaimo route split, 128 miles from there to Unaimo, so at this assumed speed, if you want to head there first, learn the path is blocked and double back, it's an 8 day side trip)
To Dragon: 64 miles/2 days (3 days without a guide, so 96 miles for the scenic route apparently)
To Storm Tower: 704 miles/22 days (starting at Iqaliat, 640 from Dragon)
To Dead Man's Dome: 512 miles/16 days
To Ul-Angorn: 320 miles/10 days (224 high ice, 96 standard)
To/through Ovorikeer Pass: 160 miles/5 days
To Jaagiin: 224 miles/7 days
To Last Pass: 384 miles/12 days
Chased by Morozko: 30 miles/1 day (special rules for it)
To Necropolis: 48 miles/3 days (half speed in the tunnels)
To rejoin path/end of adventure: 160 miles/5 days

Bad Dms aside, if a DM pitches a concept for a campaign to a group (and assuming the group is interested) they should build characters that are geared towards that overarching concept (e.g. if the campaign is Greek myth then really don't suggest playing a samurai). As a DM I'm fairly open to suggestions even strange ones and yes there are ways to shoehorn character ideas into the most unlikely of settings but truthfully it won't be as fun for the player if they had said yes to the idea and built upon it. Its a collaborative game.

An example comes to mind from when I ran Crimson Throne. I gave the group the overall pitch of what the campaign was about and info regarding the city's background and Varisia. I lucked out and nearly all the players built interesting characters with an investment in the setting. And I'm not talking about extensive backgrounds in most cases just enough to gradually build and develop. Throughout the campaign I built on those backgrounds and wove them into a fairly well-tailored campaign. However, there was one player who wanted to play an elven ninja. I didn't say no though I did suggest playing a rogue instead even supplying some juicy hooks to do with the thieve's guild in the city. He wanted to play the ninja and because the concept really had no good way of linking to the city his character throughout the campaign sort of stuck out like a sore thumb (the other players certainly noticed) We made some attempts but they were I think obvious to everyone pretty shoehorned. Truthfully I don't think he had as much fun as if he had instead embraced the setting/campaign.

I think a good DM should present a sense of the world and an overall concept. Good players will pick up on those cues and make them their own. Then the DM follows suit and adapts/tailors the adventure and campaign to include those. No one is getting the short end of the stick but a DM usually has to make the first suggestion to get the ball rolling.

What makes a man turn neutral?
Lust for gold?
Power?
Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?

When I ran this I was worried about it to but not having prepped anything else, I ran the encounter as is. It was a real blast and a memorable encounter. I used the wishes suggested, amazingly the party succeeded their Will saves save for the rogue who got the "I wish you'd go to hell". No one in the party had planar travel at the time. Not wanting the party to get derailed into a whole quest to go to hell I came up with something on the spur of the moment. The rogue arrived on an upper layer of hell on a ridge overlooking a great field where a battle was taking place. A single blasted tree was nearby where a man sat playing towers with the harrow deck.
The man greeted the rogue saying something like he had waited there for a 100 years the divninations being rather imprecise. The devil went on about how events in Korvosa would have a deciding factor in events in hell (gesturing to the battle below). My thoughts were that a faction wanted the party to succeed to reduce the chance of Lorthact gaining power. Long and short of it the rogue was planar travelled back (after the party defeated Trif back in Korvosa)

It was a bit of a deus ex but it actually seemed to fit.

For my two cp, CC is one of the most non-railroady of the traditional APs. As the adventures are all investigative they provide a wide freedom for the party to tackle the problem in each adventure. The railroads are prominent in the links b/w each adventure (as the AP is on the whole a bit of a road-trip). However, players while they can be lured by the promise of treasure should strive to find a reason why they're concerned about the supernatural and things that go bump in the night. Make it personal and you'll have more fun. CC is a strong AP on the whole.

Hi all as per the thread title was wondering if there were any folks that care to share their experience with this AP (assuming you have ran/played through most or all of it). I have all the volumes and after a move am considering running this for a group that I have gamed with before. Regarding the group:

1. Casual gamers, not big into rules, optimization etc. Hoping to play 2x a month.

2. Prefer heroic, swashbuckle style

3. I plan to ignore the caravan subsystem

4. I plan to ignore the whole relationship points and just RP it.

Jade Regent seems a better fit for this group than say CC and I've never ran an oriental campaign before. Though I am tempted to take a look at LEgacy of Fire since its on sale. So feel free to share any overall comments regarding the AP, any areas that needed reworking?

When I ran CoCT I was surprised at how important it seemed to my players. They really liked the Harrow point system and the the harrowings were often brought up when they talked about making choices as how to proceed. Zellara was a great NPC to have (though you have to walk the fine line b/w helping and pushing the players along). So harrowings were great fun. My main advice is not to worry about the details of how it is 'supposed' to work. You have three columns, past, present, future. The cards on the top row are largely beneficial, the middle row uncertain, and the bottom row opposition. You know the adventures, the NPCs so you have a pretty good grasp on the 'future' (and hidden backstories). Simply interpret the cards in that light ignoring the whole misaligned thing. I found it too much of a headache. Brush up on the suggested interpretations of the cards but don't stick to them if they don't work for you (or if you can't remember just take inspiration from the picture and go from there). I found the harrowing to really work requires a degree of improvisation. It also helps that I usually had in mind three key things I wanted to cryptically suggest to the players and I would weave that into the reading. The other option as was suggested is to stack the deck. Its the foolproof way but I think improv-ing it is more fun for the GM and the players will pick up on it.

And CoCT has some great villains,

Port-a-Lucine. A beacon of culture, sophistication and civility on the coast of the Sea of Sorrows. A gleaming jewel all alone in the night. Sure it looks pretty. The handsome opera stars, the well-heeled merchants, courteous nobles, studious scholars, musicians, painters.
Its all very civil.
From a distance.
It doesn't take long to see the dirt under the nails though. Most have little pleasure from these cultivated pursuits. The longshoreman grunting under his heavy load, the family with little to eat, the desperate gambler, or the feverish anarchist wandering the streets. Surviving each day is enough.
Surviving, well, that might be enough for the sans-culotte. But not for you. Not for a DeSuis.

You remember the strange missive you received. Decorated with hellish symbols and grinning imps was an invitation to the grand re-opening of the old gambling house, the Golden Goblin, only a stone's throw from the old territory by the docks. The invitation declared the event to be called Cheat the Devil and proclaims, "win not only soul back but also take the devil's treasure! But beware, only the strong of heart need venture forth!" Below it in a cramped but legible handwriting is another message;

"Come to the opening. I would like to discuss an important business opportunity."

Helene duSuis

Helene duSuis. Recently nominated to the Council of Brilliance, the ruling body of advisors under the Governor General Marcel Guignol. Even in the salad days, the DuSuis weren't on the Council. She's now heading up public works. You're not sure what the story was how she survived the Night of the Knives. You recall something. Caught in a fire but escaped. There were many lives lost that night, hard to keep track of them all.

Impelled you have arrived for the gala evening.

Just inside the main doors, two sultry beauties scantily clad and wearing faux bat wings, devil horns, and tails play the part of alluring succubi. Both are employees of the Gold Goblin, and they cheerfully register contestants for the tournament and process entry fees. Armed guards stand nearby to either side of an immense treasure chest into which each patron’s entry fee is added. The guards are on hand to not only protect the money, but to prevent any overzealous admirers from trying to dare the infamous touch of a succubus.
Beyond the registration table is the hall’s game floor. Dozens of gamblers, waitresses dressed as succubi, and bouncers mill about the room, wandering amid tables offering various games while dealers shuffle cards, roll dice, and spin wheels. Moving through this throng are a dozen more of the barely clad, bat- winged vixens serving drinks and batting coal-black eyelashes flirtatiously for tips. In the center of the chamber is a short podium atop which sits a massive gold chest affixed to the floor by similarly gaudy chains. On either side of it stands a bare- chested bouncer in the exotic garb of some foreign sultan’s court. Each stands with muscled arms crossed over his chest and with a naked scimitar of prodigious size tucked through his waistband. High above them, from the hall’s cloth-draped ceiling, hangs a brass birdcage within which crouches a small, bat-winged, pointy-tailed devilish creature that sulks as it gazes over the room and occasionally rattles the bars threateningly.

Ok guys so I know this is rough but to get it out there so if folks want to start generating characters. Hope to get started by the coming weekend.

Dementlieu Campaign
Player friendly overview of Dementlieu http://ravenloftsd.wikispaces.com/Dementlieu
Player friendly overview of Port-a-Lucine http://ravenloftsd.wikispaces.com/Port-a-Lucine
Map of Port-a-Lucine
http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/Mausoleum/Port-a-Lucine.jpg
Map of Ravenloft (so-so)
http://www.gryphonhill.com/core/colormap.html

Setting Notes – I’ve added more countries, ports of call to the Sea of Sorrows. Liffe, Vechor and Zherisia are found to the west. The sea extends down the coast to the southern cape of Nova Vaassa where it joins the Nocturnal Sea.
De Suis Family History
The story of the DeSuis family is in Dementlieu, an unlikely one. A family of crude dockhands, longshoremen turned to shrewd if ruthless merchants and quartermasters. Over the course of three generations they became one of the more powerful mercantile companies in Dementlieu controlling trade routes to neighbouring Lamordia, Mordent and to the island nations of Liffe, Blaustein, and Ghastria. The family’s control was dependant on corruption, intimidation and even piracy but they were careful to keep their hands clean as respectable businessmen.
Twenty years ago, for valiant service in the Falkovnian invasion, the DeSuis were even elevated to the ranks of the nobility. The house prospered and flourished. The family fortune and their power continued to grow even in the shadow of their unsavoury business practices. The DeSuis were often the targets of disdain from many of the old families and there was always the long and hateful rivalry with the Renier family. Despite these obstacles, the DeSuis seemed untouchable. But then, quite suddenly a court scandal and an a coordinated series of raids, and assassinations brought the family to their knees. Their wealth was all but stripped and many of the family’s holdings confiscated or stolen. The DuSuis’ noble title was suspended by the Council of Brilliance and the surviving members were once again faced with hard life on the streets of Port-a-Lucine.

Anton DuSuis is credited as the founder of the house. DuSuis was not from Dementlieu but arrived on a ship from an unknown land across the Sea of Sorrows. He spoke of unimagined lands beyond the mists. Some even hinted he possessed arcane powers. At first he was but a tough but canny dockhand that began organzing and rigging games of chance. Anton quickly established himself as an entrepreneur and began DeSuis Trading Company. Recruing dock toughs, Anton began to establish a profitable control of the docks until running afoul of the Renier clan. The Renier were a family originally from Richemulot. They are distantly related to the ruling Renier family but seem to have little or no support from the relations. The Renier gang attempted to move in on the DuSuis territory but were rebuffed. Anton murdered one of the Reniers stabbing him in a gambling hall brawl. Ever since, the families have clashed with increasing hatred.
Anton passed away and control of the family passed through three successive generations. The DuSuis control of shipping and trade grew only rivaled by a few other companies including the Renier and Sturmanddrang companies. During the Falkovnian invasion, Claude DuSuis led troops against the Talons, Drakov’s elite forces and succeeded in a series of decesvie victories. Impressed by his deeds, the Governor-General granted title to the family.
After Claude’s death, the family was headed by Jean-Paul DuSuis, his eldest son and champion fencer. Under Jean-Paul’s leadership the family reached its height of wealth and power. The DuSuis shipping grew in profits, the DuSuis established a colony on the island of Markovia, lavish art commissions for the opera and artists were given. Invitations to the Governor-General and theD’Honaire estates were regularly given. The DuSuis name was on everyone’s lips. Jean-Paul had a reputation for derring-do and was considered to be a ladies man. In its success the family may have sown its own seeds of destruction. The old families became resentful of this nouveau-riche clan of upstarts. The Renier clan remained a visible threat and thorn to the family.
After two years there is still much mystery around the Night of the Long Knives. Jean-Paul was arrested in the Governor-General’s chambers with the Lord’s wife. He was accused of seducing her in part of a larger effort to unseat the Governor General. At the same time, a series of brazen robberies and assassinations were carried out. Ships were lost at sea and contact was lost with the Markovia Colony. Jean-Paul’s trial had only started when he fell ill with Sri Raji fever and died in his jail cell. Within a week, the DuSuis title was revoked and most of the family fortune seized by the Council of Brilliance. Jean-Paul’s wife, Lenora hung herself in the family manor. The surviving members of the DuSuis family left the country or went into hiding in Dementlieu. A few remained defiant and set about to rebuild the DuSuis shipping company and swore to clear the family name. The family suspects the Renier played a hand in their downfall and certainly the Renier fortunes have steadily improved with the removal of the DuSuis. Yet, many talk that such a campaign is beyond the ability and resources of the Renier that there was a silent partner behind the scenes pulling the strings. The DuSuis estate remains unsold and empty and within the past year it has acquired a haunted reputation.
Last year, after the unfortunate drowning death of Justine Malken in Parrault Bay, a surprise nomination to the Council of Brilliance was announced. Helene duSuis, one of the leading members of the family was appointed. Helene’s position as advisor have not reinstated the family but it does provide a toehold. A few whisper that Dominic D’Honaire, the Governor-General’s Prime Minister has expressed great interest in her and the two are often seen together.

Character Generation
Your character can either be a member of the DuSuis family or a loyal retainer of some kind (perhaps your family has served/worked with the DuSuis for generations). The DuSuis are human though some speak of elven blood in some part of the family.
Pathfinder 15 point buy
Each character takes a level of Aristo, Warrior or Expert.
Races: Any (see above re family, retainers)
Classes: Any (Core, UM, UC, APG)
Ones that fit the campaign well would Rogue, Alchemist, Oracle, Witch, Bard, Fighter, Cleric, Sorceror, Wizard, Gunslinger
Traits: Pick one social trait from http://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits
Campaign Notes:
-mostly urban but with some seafaring.
-will emphasize social, investigation more than combat (but there will of course be that too)
-Your mobsters with a grudge in a fancy decadent city.
-Alignment obviously tends to the scoundrel. Evil can work but within reason (your still a party, and the Dark Powers are watching)

The question is: Why wouldn't you be encountering it a lot, karkon? It's only one feat without any prerequisites. One feat that practically negates movement related AoO's when the GM plays that way--something that PCs can't do even with delayed actions, I might add. Most monsters and NPCs can easily spare one feat for such a huge advantage.

For my two cp, I would say that encounter is totally fair and actually a neat thing for a band of brigands to have (a well trained cohesive team of pros rather than clumsy oafs).

seekerofshadowlight wrote:

Yep and that is pure sandbox, which is fine but is nothing like an AP and would not work in that line at all.

No it isn't. In a sandbox you have no set goal other than those the players come up with. In this you would have a goal like "stop the rise of Karzoug". It's sandboxish, but not pure sandbox.

Have you checked out Conquest of the Bloodsworn Vale? That sounds more like what you're describing. Its sandbox-y but still with a goal, some set pieces connected to the overarching problem.

And for what its worth declaring your opinion is objective. Well, really? I mean of course people are going to get their back up when you state things in such a fashion.

Am preparing to run CoCT in the near future and having been mulling over the Queen issue. Bearing in mind, I haven't seen the next few installments one thing that has been bothering me a bit is the Queen. It might be from knowing roughly the arc of the path but she seems all too obvious as the real villain. Her reputation, history, attitude etc. makes her the #1 suspect for the king's death, and the troubles in the city. I'm thinking of ways to conceal her villainy, maybe even make her appear as a noble queen, or at least the damsel in distress. That way when she is revealed to be the demonic creature that she is it comes as a nice sharp twist. To quote Sanjuro "The worst one is beyond your imagination".
The principal problem is that the rioting begins as the citizens take umbrage to the idea of this gold-digger taking the throne. Also the framing of the painter is an all too obvious ruse and even the briefing given by the PCs by the Watch should set alarm bells ringing as to the Queen's role. So the principal problem is how to reframe those events without major surgery to the adventure? Any thoughts?