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GM OfAnything wrote:

I have to imagine that the statues on the map are meant to represent the ten terraced towers with mosaics.

They are towers with mosaics of the Ten Magic Warriors, but the towers are more ornamental than functional; from the top down, they could indeed be carved to look like people. But they are not statues, as depicted, they're towers.

Thanks Ron.

I’m a little confused about different references to 10 towers/buildings/mosaics/statues from various sources. I’m not sure if these are all references to the same structures or different structures.

Starting with the map from Kindled Magic, it shows 10 objects surrounding the perimeter of the campus. Based solely on the drawing of the map, these look like 10 giant statues. No other objects on the map appear to be "towers."

Page 9 of Kindled Magic then describes “… a beautiful campus with massive mosaics of Jatembe’s Ten Magic Warriors overlooking the school’s terraced gardens and the surrounding city of Nantambu …” The term “mosaic” doesn’t really tell me if these are mosaic statues or buildings with mosaic walls, but I’m assuming this reference is to the 10 statue like objects surrounding the campus on the map.

Lost Omens: World Guide, page 89, reads “Looming over the city’s lesser stone buildings, the academy’s ring of 10 terraced towers form Nantambu’s heart, each decorated with a massive mosaic of one of the legendary Ten Magic Warriors.” This suggests to me that these 10 statue-like objects depicted on the map are actually towers with mosaic walls (despite the appearance on the map).

Lost Omens: Character Guide, page 98, briefly mentioned “… colorful, mosaicked terraces of the academy’s towers …” which again suggests the existence of mosaic towers, but doesn’t seem to specify where.

And finally, the Mwangi Expanse, page 240 mentions “… 10 distinct buildings were constructed, one for each of the Ten Magic Warriors.” This also doesn’t specify where the “buildings” (not necessarily towers) are located, so they could arguably be any ten buildings on campus.

Given all of this, are the 10 statue appearing objects that circle the campus on the map supposed to be statues or are they mosaic towers/buildings? Are all the references above to the same 10 structures, or are some of them referring to other structures (for example, is one of the 10 "distinct buildings ... for each of the Ten Magic Warriors" the Heron Archives, presumably named after the Black Heron)?

I have a question for Ron about the impression points that can be awarded during this module. I don't see anywhere that describes the impact these points have except for an award of XP. Will they also be used later in the AP, or are they just used for the reward of XP in this one encounter?

The reason I ask is that I had already planned to implement an "impression point" mechanic with teachers in the first module, allowing characters to use a downtime activity to impress teachers or socialize and become better friends with other students. Ideally I'd like to merge these, but I'm not sure what sort of impact it will have if players are able to gain impression points with teachers as early as the first module, therefore probably having more than is expected by the later modules.

If these points are going to be used in future modules, can you give us some advanced notice on how these impression points will be used?

By the way, loving this series so far.

Hi everyone, I like the look of the circus mechanics, but I have a few questions about how traits work, specifically regarding signature tricks developed by the PCs.

It appears that the PCs get to choose their own traits when they develop their trick (and as they level up), with the exception of the compulsory trick traits (such as injury or team) that are automatically added to the trick and do not take up a “trait slot.” My question is whether some traits should be required depending on the nature of the trick.

For example, if someone were to develop an animal trick that also involved dancing with the animals as well as the use of magic, should the signature trick be required to have the animal, dancing, and magical traits? If so, does that mean the trick can not be created until the PC gets to level 12 (and is allowed three traits), or should all of those traits automatically be assigned? Or should the trick be allowed but with only 1 trait until the PC gets to a higher level?

I’m a little concerned with the possibility of gaming the system here. What prevents a PC from adding the Aerial trait to a trick that involves escaping from a water tank just to get the bonus to the acrobatics check? Or to not add the animal trait to a trick that involves animals until the circus gets someone with the animal handler role just so they can avoid the Animals Break Loose event?

Also, the rules state that traits cannot be added to a signature trick until the circus hires an NPC performer whose trick includes that trait, meaning that at level 1 the only traits allowed are agile, animal, fire and water. Does this mean that no trick that uses alchemical items should be allowed, even if the PC is an alchemist?

I’m a little torn on how to handle this. Part of me wants to enforce adding traits that “match” the trick, but I also don’t want to, for example, prevent a wizard from creating a magical act just because she can’t add the magical trait at the beginning of the module.

Thanks for your input.

If a cleric has an 8 charisma (e.g. a Dwarf that didn't boost the score back up to 10 or higher) does that mean they do not get a bonus Divine Font spell (normally 1 + Charisma bonus)? The rulebook doesn't state "Minimum 1" or anything like that.