BoscoDM's page

All for this as a subscriber. I never run the society scenarios so the flexibility is much better for me, will probably put my gold toward Starfinder 2e instead.

Will the 15% store wide discount from Legendary tier stack with the discounts redeemed with gold?

The post says they don't stack with store sale discounts specifically, but I want to double check that interaction because it changes how I'd need to use gold to get good value out of it.

I also thought this item could be more twisted and desirable when I first read through. Now that my game is nearing this point, I like using the Cayden Cailean angle to make the most dangerous item a stick in the mud Arodenite can imagine.

Keeping the base simple to start, no randomness, no immediate danger, just a 3/day Restoration.

But I am making it into a sort of pseudo-intelligent item that judges the user. If it thinks you extol the virtues of Cayden Cailean, then it grants you his minor boon (a la Gods and Magic) for a short time, or very rarely his (single use) moderate boon. If it thinks you're lacking, same deal with his minor and moderate curse.

Finally, anyone who drinks from the chalice three times in the same day is hit with a Suggestion effect to go take the Test of the Starstone.

Yes, this can easily derail a campaign (especially one set in Absalom), which is what I want from an item with such a scary name. I look forward to one of my PCs trying to catch the next boat from Escadar to Absalom.

I finally got to put Balenni into action. Been looking forward to this for a while but had to wait through infrequent sessions.

The PCs actually bypassed her, taking the other route through the tower and going straight to Cavnakash. They had spared a Quasit who surrendered and begged for his life, so I had him go snitch to Balenni as the PCs ascended the stairs to the boss.

She arrives just as they finish the fight and the Aeon orb grants them the reflection. Seeing that, she takes a keen interest in the PCs and the strange magic at work here. I made her a follower of Zevgavizeb and she knows the Xulgaths have some important mission with the Orb, but isn't clear on the details. She figures the PCs must play a key role and that she can learn more by following them.

She introduces herself as a captured scholar, the usual schtick, says the quasit freed her while they were fighting Cavnakash, and elaborates on what she knows to direct them to Moonstone Hall. Why lift a finger when you can get some adventurers to do your research for you? The PCs offer to escort her to safety, but she says she'll stick around to keep studying the tower now that it's safe. That's a lie of course, and she easily beats them back to Abberton with flight and dim.door.

Previously the PCs recruited Viktor Volcano to the CoWW through exceptional kindness after the performance dual. The others categorically rejected their offer. Well the PCs return to the circus to find that "Danika" has joined as well. Balenni has taken her guise, extracted what info she needs from Viktor to play the role, and has started up a romance with the Bearded Man.

The players are suspicious of both Viktor and "Danika" just because they're CM members. We'll see how long Balenni can maintain the ruse. I do have a hard deadline on this, as eventually the PCs are going to enter Moonstone Hall and find the generic sacrificed body in the Defiled Chapel is in fact the real Danika, who Balenni will have convinced Dusklight to dispose of.

TLDR: Is Balenni the "Iconic Succubus?"

The first time I saw Balenni her headband struck me as an interesting design. Well today I was flipping through Bestiary 1 and something caught my eye (and not the usual eye catch on succubus images in ttrpgs). She's wearing the same headband!

Is this common Succubus gear? They don't have an items line so, apparently not as far as I can tell. Maybe someone more versed in the lore/items might recognize it? Is this a specific item? A symbol of some deity or belief? Is Balenni the Succubus from the Bestiary? We deserve answers.

Images for AFB comparison
Succubus
Balenni

Hey there, I'm currently reading through Book 2 in preparation and one thing that bothers me is *why exactly is Moonstone Hall buried*? It says it was buried to make room for civic improvements to the Woodworkers District, but that doesn't really make sense to me.

I also had a difficult time reconciling this. The AP mentions in passing that it was buried "to make way for civic improvements" like that's a totally normal thing that just happens and not an absolutely wild assertion. For my game, I decided the best way to make some sense of this is a slight tweak to the presented lore:

If asked about ruins below the city, locals impart the common knowledge that all the old ruins under the city were converted into an expansive sewer system several decades ago (although this popular assumption is erroneous).

In my Escadar, much of the older city had fallen into disrepair and been condemned. It may seem odd to us that a church of Aroden on the island he created would just be abandoned like that, but we can't really fathom the impact of a provably extant god dying. The priests lost all their power so the church really didn't fulfil its purpose anymore. More than anything, it was probably a painful reminder. There may even have been riots after Aroden's passing centered on Moonstone Hall that further ruined this part of the old town.

Then the church of Abadar stepped in to seize an opportunity. They could have repaired and renovated the condemned old town, but the alternative was too alluring. Raise the earth and build anew over the ruined city, and turn those old ruins into a world-class sewer system.

I think that's sufficient to explain the oddity, though I'm going a step further because I can't help myself.
I'm reworking chapter one to take place primarily in the sewer. Adding to the undesirability of the land the circus is given, Escadar's sewers empty out right into the swamp and everything that was in the cave is in the sewer instead. Kalkek's attacks lure the PCs in to explore the sewers where they find a collapsed tunnel that reeks of xulgaths. I'm doing away with the mermaid fountain entrance, because it makes zero sense to have a full time staff of four guards permanently stationed at a sinkhole that could be fixed with one spell and that leads down a set of stairs to a major historic holy site and they've heard the sounds of crime and/or monsters down there but have taken no efforts to close the sink hole or investigate at all. Instead my PCs will need to clear rubble in the collapsed tunnel to access Moonstone Hall. And to do that, they need a writ of passage because the sewers are off limits and there are guard patrols in the sewers to reduce crime. Most criminals, monsters, and adventurers can avoid the ineffectual guards, but not when they're taking several hours to clear a passageway, so they will need to get permission.

- - -

Did you end up making and playing through these adjustments, Bosco? What mechanics did you use during the circus encounter, if any? I am wanting to bring in some mechanics for swaying Menagerie members to their side, and maybe have them tussling with Wayward Wonders members in the background.

Unfortunately my game is a pretty slow pace because I'm alternating sessions with another GM's game, it'll probably be a while before we reach the end of book 2. If you end up running the Celestial Menagerie before me, I'd love hear anything you did to spice it up.

Huh, I didn't know they were shapechangers, just never looked much into them. That could be fun for sure!

As an arachnophobe, I despise anadi and consider pathfinder a worse game for their inclusion. Looks like I've got a lot of pest control rewriting ahead of me.

Would there be any major repercussions to just discarding the whole hag plotline? The idea of a sandbox adventure through bumblefudge nowhere to uncover the mystery of one dude's outstanding debt fills me with boredom.

It seems like there are some inconsistencies in the lead up to chapter 4. Harlock tells the party a couple things that don't make sense.

1 There are Xulgaths in the tower with dinosaurs and demons.
Well there wouldn't have been any demons the last time Harlock was there, unless they've all left since then. The handful of demons present in ch 4 serve Balenni, who had not been to the Erran Tower until after fully corrupting the hermitage.

2 He overheard corrupted hermits speaking about Cavnakash.
I'm not sure how that name would make its way to the hermitage. Balenni didn't meet him until after the corruption. The demons could have mentioned him, but that seems strange since it was a secret mission and despite Harlock speculating that the demons in the hermitage are related to the demons at the tower, nothing indicates the demons summoned in the hermitage are part of Zevgavizeb's designs.

Point 1 is just false. Point 2 could stand, it's just not supported or foreshadowed anywhere else in the text. I realized these inconsistencies while trying to make a stronger connection between chapters (3 and 4 are pretty disjointed) so I figured I would address these as well.

I made a simple change with Balenni to draw a clearer connection between the scattered events, by making her a follower of Zevgavizeb. Her faith isn't mentioned to my knowledge, but I'm going to have her as a former follower of Nocticula. Displeased with the Redeemer Queen's redemption, she sought a more reliably evil demon lord, settling on Zevgavizeb, drawn by his exemplification of Indulgence (alternate domain a la the Life's Long Shadows gazetteer). Working in the service of the Glutton in the Dark, these events were related from the start.

Balenni came to the hermitage knowing that Zevgavizeb has recently turned his interests toward the Starstone Ilses and looking to create more followers. I also dispensed with the generic "demon worship" and made the corrupted hermits explicitly worshippers of Zevgavizeb. The priest, Yoril, even found the PCs in the crypts after they slayed the ghouls and asked them to help her reconsecrate the crypt to supplement Gozreh's blessings with those of Zevgavizeb.

I'm toying with adding an extra guise of Aroden as a Circus Performer. ExCurse is the circus AP and I'll be damned if I don't play that up at every chance I get.

I'm a bit of a Golarion noob, so idk what exactly that might impact in the lore, but it seems an easy enough change to the AP. Obviously that calls for an extra statue and mask in Moonstone Hall, then an extra trial later on.

For the Trial, I'm thinking of incorporating a Performance Duel as introduced in book 1. The opponents might be guardians placed by Aroden, a troupe of Xulgaths who bested the trial earlier, or most interesting imo, a handful of Celestial Menagerie performers. We know Dusklight was handing people over to the Xulgaths as sacrifices, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Sarvel took some for precisely this trial.

There's probably more little things I'm missing, but my final change for now is to make Clownish Curse a divine spell for followers of Aroden. Praise the god of humanity and clowns!

Can you add the lyrics in the comment bellow the video?

Oh sure. Don't usually post anything on youtube so it hadn't occurred to me.

Whenever I read "the Hermitage of Blessed Lightning" my mind went to "Greased Lightning" the song from the movie Grease. My first inclination was to just call it that in my game as a minor joke. But then I saw the true potential.

So I wrote and commissioned a parody of Greased Lighting entitled Blessed Lightning and tonight I had the first retainers in the hermitage perform it as a song and dance number to exposit on their hatred of Abberton.

I hope this is alright to share here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha5EB8R7DQs

Hello,

I started to go through this campaign and I wonder if there is, somewhere, an exhaustive list of NPCs belonging to the circus of Wayward Wonders.

I found difficult to imagine the family it should be for its members if I have no idea about who is part of it...

Thanks for your help !

I think there was some discussion on that earlier in this thread if you want to comb through it, and there are some other threads with suggestions like this one. You might also be able to crowdsource from the Obituaries thread. Sadly we don't have much official to go on.

Have you managed to work out how you're going to approach this? I'm intrigued by your idea and want to do something similar.

I'm still a long way to this point, but I have a tentative plan. Sorry for this wall of text.

I got into the weeds of encounter building now, and realized how little variation there is in this chapter, and this book overall. Nearly all moderate encounters, with a spike of severe in chap 3. I'm gonna make a few things easier, especially toward the start of this chapter. This will be in addition to the finagling I need to do to bring Paldreen along for the ride (whom I will try to hand over to a guest player).

1. Combining D1 and D2. Nothing drastic, just makes more sense to put the tickets before the attractions.

2. Adding the Wheel to the Midway. Don't know why this was separate from the other games. Kagrud will prod the heroes to use it, instead of Adrivallo. Might change Kagrud to a catfolk.

3. Making the Sideshow mandatory. There are two ways forward, through the Sanctum of Sublime Spectacles or through the midway. You can't just leave a circus like this, they want your money. Either your tips in the sideshow, or the cost of any games you play on the midway. If I left it out of the way as written, I foresee a 90% chance my players will never see it.

4. Rearranging the Heavenly Gallery. The paths through the midway and sideshow rejoin, to split again shortly after. It forks with the Heavenly Gallery on one side, and the Hall of Mirrors on the other. The Gallery is in a large tent with a shining sun motif, while the hall is moon themed.

In the Gallery are the Lamias playing on a stage, who attack as normal.
In the Hall of Mirrors is the Zuipnyrn. A gaze-based creature is far more interesting when encountered in a hall of mirrors.
If the PCs are doing well, some carneys from backstage release the smilodons into whichever path they took.

5. Stopping the Show. The PCs arrive in the Big Top during a show and interrupt Jasmaile and the giant clowns' act. She feigns appreciation from the trapeze and exclaims, "I'm saved, heroes have arrived." while subtly harrying the heroes as they fight the giants.

6. Take Five. Book 1 Chap 1 showed me the danger of gauntlets. There will be three encounters in center ring, and the PCs will need a break. As the next act is set up and announced, I'm going to treat that as "10 minutes"-ish to refocus, treat wounds, etc. between each of these encounters.

7. The Big Number. Evora and Gigi arrive on stage to protect their home. This one is very clear in my mind.

The lights go out, maybe the CM even has Darkness Spotlights to plunge the stage into total darkness. A single, tight spot shines down on an orc. She challenges the party, to the effect of, "Who are you to stand on this stage? Mere exiles who could not hack it in the greatest show on Golarion! And now you have returned, take this chance to beg forgiveness, to grovel your way back into the Celestial Menagerie!" She paces while talking and ends with a flourish, jumping forward and sliding down Gigi's trunk as she finishes her monologue and the spot grows to show her mammoth as well. Then she attacks, the center ring is illuminated but the rest of the tent kept in darkness. Paldreen peels away from the group, tells them to handle this, she's going to ensure Dusklight doesn't get away.

8. The Grand Finale. Evora is defeated or swayed (Gigi ceases fighting if Evora does), the final act is announced, one of the side rings is illuminated to reveal Dusklight. She gets her chance to monologue, during which she taunts the PCs by revealing she has Paldreen as a hostage. The third ring is lit, Darricus stands by a glass water tank for escape artists, a lever in his hand, which would release Paldreen (tied and stuffed in a burlap sack) headfirst into the tank.

Combat begins. As soon as a PC attacks, Darricus uses a readied action to pull the lever. This puts a timer on one aspect of the fight, but it's very adaptable. Paldreen could have up to 10 rounds of air, she could try to attack the tank each turn, taking her down to 5 rounds, or she could already be unconcious in which case she needs to be saved immediately.

As this encounter is setting up, I'm going to have a little cutscene to Mazael because I love the aesthetic. The camera follows behind this aasimar in golden armor with snow white hair, so pure he seems to glow. He stalks toward the brightly colored fabric of the circus tent and pulls back the curtain. Inside is a single faint beam of light shining down some distance away on the party, and all else is darkness. He steps inside and disappears into the dark.

In Dusklight's ring, I'm puling out all the stops. My inspiration for this fight is the Revue of Pride scene from Revue Starlight. She constantly provokes the heroes, with lines like, "Do you honestly think you escaped? If any one of you were worthy of the Celestial Menagerie, I would have had you back in an instant!" I'm giving her what I'm calling a "circus action," essentially she's quickened and can use the extra action for a stride*. This stride can be performed vertically, imagine her grabbing ropes or set pieces that get hoisted up over the stage. The ring will be marked with all sorts of indicators that tell the actors where to stand (Circus Lore to let the PCs interpret them). At one point early on, I'm having her step onto a plywood facade of a castle hidden under a covering of dirt and hay, when she does so, it gets pulled up so she's standing at the top (maybe with some slight cover), and this prompts Mazael to enter initiative, bursting through the newly raised castle doors to attack. All the while her fighting is extremely performative, she never stops putting on a show. These are the things that will make her The Circus BBEG that my group will remember.

Ooh, I just had a thought that would be awesome if I could make it work: set the fight up to mirror a circus performance, with an opener, a build-up, a big number, and then facing Dusklight in a finale. I wonder if it'd work if I just made the lead-in fights extra easy.

This might work as well. Dusklight, as I'm running her, is enough of a drama queen to toy with the PCs through a whole show. Even so far as giving them a 10 minute rest while each act sets up.

I'm also tempted to just handwave the actual time and give them a "10 minute" rest for free before the boss. After all, it's my decision to have one fight after the other, I don't want to punish them like when they choose to rush ahead.

What do you mean by exhausted from dancing? And Gnome?

Shoot, I mixed up my short ancestries. Halfling! Right after the grigs.

Has anyone made any of the Abberton NPCs circus-recruitable?

The circus in my game is a bit short on performers, after Nemia TPK'ed the heroes and then continued on to several of the circus cast. The New PC's are all from the sideshow, and only two of the other acts escaped unscathed. They really enjoyed the first circus, so I do want to let them fill the roster again.

Any NPC *can* join, of course. Just curious who others have identified as a good fit.

Total Party RIP:

Name of PC: Nikasil Torres
Class/Level: Champion 1

Name of PC: Rikkle
Class/Level: Rogue 1

Name of PC: Jairus
Class/Level: Alchemist 1

Name of PC: Soari
Class/Level: Ranger 1

Adventure: The Show Must Go On!
Catalyst: Being attacked by a certain gnome while exhausted from dancing.
Story: Well, they triggered Nemia's assault before getting a good rest in. I did give them time to make one round of medicine checks before she attacked, and I'm sure things would have turned out differently if not for that Nat 1 on the treat wound roll. Nikasil never escaped her initial entangling vines, and his high AC did little to stave off the rat swarm that nibbled him to death. The others fell one by one to Nemia's sickle. A few key NPCs soon joined them in the grave.

After sitting down with this book last weekend, I like most of what's here, but I think I'll be redoing all of chapter 4.

This just doesn't evoke anything I wanted from the Celestial Menagerie. It feels very dungeon-y in the Heavenly Gallery Gauntlet, and I'm confident my players will just want to crash through the wall at the far side when they find out Dusklight is waiting at the end. But even if they don't, I don't think a variety hour funhouse dungeon crawl does the CM and Dusklight justice. My PC's are in Book 1 Chap 2, and she's already been built up as a big bad that imo needs a more cinematic fight.

The encounter with Evora and Gigi sets up to potentially deliver what I've been imagining, a showdown in the three rings. That's the battle I want for Dusklight. And I want an audience.

First two assumptions I'm throwing out:
1. The heroes arrive in the off hours - This should go down during the circus show. It's time to repay the favor.
2. The heroes are sent off alone - They're either working with the law or they aren't. I'm gonna have the professor advise them to get Paldreen, and then she will say something to the effect of "We should take care of this immediately, but all my men are occupied. Heroes, if you would be willing, I deputize you to assist me in this arrest. Bear in mind, Dusklight is not the only rotten apple in this bushel, be prepared for a fight from any number of her clowns."

After that I'll be making a new map that puts the Heavenly Gallery as a lead-in to the bigtop. Of course, it will be arranged for operating hours, not as a defensive murder maze. In the bigtop they fight Evora as normal. Paldreen splits off to keep Dusklight from escaping, but she has no desire to do so, she wants to stick around and taunt her foes. Off screen, Darricus and a bruiser get the better of Paldreen. The tent will have to be larger, and lighting will play a key roll. The spots will illuminate only Evora and the heroes in center ring until they defeat her. Then two spotlights peel off to reveal Dusklight in one side ring to deliver her villain monologue, supported by Mazael. In the other ring, Paldreen is cartoonishly suspended in chains, unconscious, over an escape artist's water tank, with Darricus ready with a lever to lower her in. Thus the final battle begins.

My goal with this is to make the fight more dramatic and vaudevillian. A basic 30x30 room just doesn't cut it for the evil *circus* villainess. Since I first read about the CM, I just saw the final showdown as a spectacle, something theatric. I would liken it to Phantom of the Opera or the anime Revue Starlight. I hope can manage something closer to what I imagined.