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![]() I actually have very little to comment on, other that to say I'm still enjoying this immensely. I think a lot of what defines Belessa really shone through in this last installment. Evil. Evil. Evil. :D I'm especially liking the story with the priests of Lathander, although I hope that this wasn't just the DMs way of closing down loose end. I was surprised that they didn't stick around afterward to try and help the wounded. ![]()
![]() Heh, these posts were just what I needed today (being stuck at work unfortunately). Belessa wrote:
I just couldn't stop smiling after I read this. Still am. :D So it seems that some of your characters are actually getting to fulfill their personal goals after all - that's nice. I get this vibe from Raguhl and Belessa that "this island isn't big enough for the both of us." Funny (or perhaps fortuitous) that you play both characters. So does this mean that you are basically retiring Raguhl, or will he still join the group in the final adventures? ![]()
![]() Moonbeam wrote: Oooppsss... :( I hope you didn't lose any important data! :) Luckily I've got a friend in IT. I've probably lost the computer (a laptop) - the screen has no power, but I'm hoping we can extract the HD and all it's info. It would be a bummer if I can't. For now I'm relegated to posting from work when I get the chance. It's interesting... I was reading through the next AP and the designers actually chose to leave out a level (level 6 IIRC). I really love the APs. The older I get the less time I have (it seems) and the APs seem like they could really help in setting up a game. On one hand that's great. On the other hand you do loose something (heh, you can't get something for nothing after all). It seems like there is very little time for characters to pursue their own goals when being run through an AP. Now, lots of folks on these boards were complaining about the missing level 6 in Second Darkness, but I kind of like the idea. It gives DMs the chance to inject some more personalized adventures into the story. Yes, it's more work, but it gives both the DM and the players a chance to make the story more their own. I've been reading several campaign journals detailing various adventure paths, and I've noticed that this happens quite often. The low level characters will have some great historical plot hooks built into them and have dreams and aspirations of their own, but once they get thrown into the thick of the action they rarely have time to pursue these goals. Oh well... it is what it is. I still enjoy reading the journals, but I miss all of the surprises that come with home grown campaigns. ;) of course that might be just because I've already read through the paths... ![]()
![]() Just getting caught up on my posts again. So much has happened here since I last read! It looks like the PCs are just about ready to exit Runeforge. Woo Hoo! Anyway you've provided quite a bit of insight on running this module, and I think it should benefit anyone wanting to DM the campaign. I'll throw in my 2 cents on the whole permanent Arcane Sight issue as well. If you are reluctant to remove an effect that a PC has spent XP on (which I can totally understand) then there are 2 options: 1) Treat the effect as any other magic item - especially those with charges. They don't last forever, and a PC willing to create such an effect should be fully aware of this. Creating a wand or staff costs XP and at some point that wand or staff will cease to function. Creating a permanent effect on oneself is only going to last until you come up against someone bigger and badder than you were when you cast it. The effect can always be re-applied (if they are willing to re-spend the XP) and this time at a much higher level. 2) Assuming that you don't want to take the hard-line approach, then I would recommend a temporary dispelling. The PC can be hit by a dispell, effectively removing the effect for the rest of the encounter. After the appropriate number of minutes have passed then the effect comes back. I suspect that most mages worth their salt would attempt this as one of their first actions, but it might mitigate some of the problems you are experiencing now, at least somewhat. ![]()
![]() Yeah :D Took the family on vacation last week and my laptop decided to die, so I've been out of it for a while. Need to catch up on some reading. So how many actual players do you have left? Yourself, Ulfgar's player (is he a regular?), Lagaan's player, and the DM (Navan's player from the other thread, right?). What happens after the two characters leave the group? Are you going to replace them with other PC's or will the DM just adjust the power levels of the adventure accordingly? Besides the planned adventure path, I'm really interested in what your characters decide to do on their own. Belessa establishing her own temple, her captured lover, the group getting into drug running, etc... Just out of curiosity, how much time does your group actually spend on these kind of things (basically character driven plots outside the published adventure path)? Do they enjoy that type of thing, or is it mostly just stick to the plot and run through the adventure? ![]()
![]() Moonbeam wrote: Candledark was a large network of mostly vertical caves filled with foul vermin. High in the mountains sat Ember Lake, past the Valley of Madness. In this valley grew many plants with hallucinogenic properties. With greedy smiles, Lagaan and Ulfgar started to formulate plans to harvest those plans and sell them in Sasserine. After a while, I joined them in their plotting: it had some definite lucrative potential! Yay! More criminal activities! This is the kind of thing I was hoping to see from some morally ambiguous PCs. ;) I also have to say that the encounter with the coatl was very intense. So I wonder what will happen now that poor Belessa's secret is out (I'm sure someone told Lavinia). Now that Sparkie has access to teleport, could he not just teleport back to Sassarine and bring back another cleric of Lathander (or whatever good faith) to oppose you? Would he do that? ![]()
![]() "Moonbeam wrote:
Lol! Mr. Spock indeed! I love it. Anyway, so far the dungeon crawl has been a fun read. I really like the idea of Drithnar and Kerista taking on the wrath warriors as "apprentices" as it were. Can't help but think they will cause problems somewhere, but it sounds like the fun kind of problems. And I also agree that once befriended, the wrath warriors would have told them all that they knew about other parts of the complex. It doesn't lessen the adventure any to have them do so. For example, had they tackled Pride before Wrath, in all likelihood, they would have tripped that nasty mirror trap. They didn't though because they found out about it. I'd think of that as a reward for good role playing. Not as quantifiable as normal treasure, but a reward none the less. ![]()
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Spoiler: Yeah, when I wrote that I was basically analyzing the characters only, without bringing any player perspective into it. For what it's worth, I think you did exactly the right thing. It's one of the reasons I so impressed with your ability to DM. Let me tell you, if I didn't get the sense that Navan was leading the show and that Kerista and Drithnar kind of hung in the background, I don't think this journal would be half as interesting for me. ;) If the DM told the story and made all the decisions then it would probably be pretty boring for the player as well... especially when there is only one of them actively playing.
Anyway you bring up another good point about assigning sins to the characters, and it's one that I actually considered when reading through that adventure. Of course the way it's written makes it seem like fun to have a sin assigned to your character, but I could also see this kind of thing going horribly wrong if not handled properly. The bottom line is, if it's going to be a fun part of the game for both DM and players then by all means do it. If there is even a chance that it won't work out, you're better off just brushing over that part of the game. Oh and by the way... I'm an INTJ as well... which usually means I empathize more with Mr. Spock, than I do with Captain Kirk or Bones. Hmmm... that being the case why am I wearing a gold uniform right now instead of a blue one? (hehe, truth be told the reason is that I probably suffer from some of the same defects as poor Navan does. Why settle for number 2 when you can be number 1, right?) ;) ![]()
![]() ok, forgive me. I a post behind, but had to get the following thoughts down before I forget them.
Spoiler: Regarding the assignment of sins: A few things popped up about Navan as soon as I read you were having a dilemma selecting an appropriate sin for him. The attitude that I see Navan having could be one of "Navan knows best"... and in my mind this can very easily be tied to the sin of Pride. I think I would have assigned that sin to him.
Without actually searching through these posts, there are several examples of this Pride that come to mind:
Kerista is a lot harder. I might have chosen Sloth. She lets the boys make all (well most) the decisions for her even when she doesn't agree with them. It might seem weak willed, but I think it's just easier for her to do that. But I don't feel as strongly about Kerista as I do about Navan, so I can see the argument for going with no sin. ![]()
![]() Ditto :D. Eagerly awaiting the next installment (and what you do with Runeforge). Spoiler: Again, this was not one of my favorite modules. It seemed to me to be like a bunch of random encounters thrown together. I know that they are related through the Runelords, but it still seemed like a mishmash of encounters when I read through it - very similar to Jorgunfist. I'm hoping that you can do something to bring this module to life for your players. ![]()
![]() Moonbeam wrote: “OK, OK, fine, here’s your damn money!” said the rogue, and he handed the nine gold to Ulfgar, along with thirteen copper to count as interest. I was almost rolling on the floor when I read this. The fact that Ulfgar actually extracted the 13 coppers interest is just priceless! Moonbeam wrote: "Fool of a Bramblefoot!” I snarled, “Enter the room next time and rid us of your stupidity! :D Sorry to hear about the disappearance of of your fellow players :(. I hope it doesn't stop you and the rest of your group from finishing this campaign out. After reading Guy's account of this adventure, and now yours, I think I'd probably remove the puzzle room altogether. I agree that it just doesn't fit with the rescue mission theme of the adventure. ![]()
![]() Wow! Not what I expected to read. What happened to the other NPCs (Kavan in particular) during this time? Is it possible that they were able to hear the fight and come to the rescue just in the nick of time. That way maybe your players could take over the group of NPCs and actually play out their own rescue. It might be more satisfying for them if they could do that, of course in doing so things could still go horribly wrong. Let us know what happens! ![]()
![]() Guy Humual wrote: Well, if he is to be believed, he can read Tristan's mind . . . which means he knows all about Tristan's familiar. Hop-Toy may also be one of the few creatures on the material plane that can hear him. I'm thinking that corrupting or converting Hop-Toy might suit his needs better. Hmmm... now there's a creepy thought. What happens when the angel and devil on you shoulders start sounding the same? Come to think of it, Hop-Toy might actually enjoy having someone else around (besides Tristan) with whom he can have an intelligent (albeit slightly insane) conversation. Oh, by the way, just curious when Tristan is going to start using her new name? ![]()
![]() Guy Humual wrote:
:D Seriously though, I doubt at this point that Chimpman (the head, not me) even notices Hop-Toy, and if he does he probably considers him beneath said notice. In the future though, who can say... that showdown would definitely be one to remember. ![]()
![]() Moonbeam wrote:
I agree, though like Guy I'm waiting impatiently ;) to see exactly how it turns out. I imagine that after people begin to feel mistreated by Belessa or Manthalay they might flock to Lavinia's side. Manthalay has effectively been running the community since Lavinia's parents left though, so the populace might just be thinking "business as usual". ![]()
![]() Wow! This was truly one of the more enjoyable reads I've had. So many things going on, especially in Farshore. I'm really interested to see how things progress with Meravanchi in charge and Belessa at his side (pulling the strings as Lavinia implied ;) ). She is going to be so very busy. Rescuing her old lover, building a temple, dominating the natives, putting Lavinia in her place, killing Raguhl, and paying back Lagaan. I don't know where she is going to find the time.
On the flip side of things I'm very impressed at how your DM is weaving these stories together. So far he/she has been able to avoid (and modify) some of the more troublesome parts of this adventure path, and I can't wait to see what comes next. ![]()
![]() "" wrote: “Have we forgotten all formality?” he asked, I drew my knife, “I’ll let it slide this time. I’m only asking for acknowledgement. I’d like to think that you don’t simply seem me as another pretty face . . .” hehe... I still got it, baby ;) Guy Humual wrote:
Muuhaahahahaha <hack> <cough> I've been thoroughly enjoying my little cameos by the way. Hmmm... so it seems that there might be a show-down in order. Monkey head verses frog (yes, you heard me... I called him a frog). ![]()
![]() I like what you did with Tsuto as well. I've said it before (possibly in this thread), but one of the things that this AP lacks IMO (and that the one before it had) is a good reoccurring villain. Someone that the PCs can clash with from low levels on up until the very end. I like that idea a lot and I think it really gives the PCs some motivation to see the story through until the end. Vanthus Vanderboren is a perfect example of doing this correctly (in Savage Tide), but still as a DM you have to be careful not to take away the PCs victories by pulling the same bad guy out of the fire over and over again. Anyway, it's a shame that Nualia didn't last longer in this adventure path (really Tsuto didn't either). If you're going to bring someone back (or have someone escape) either of those two are a good choice. ![]()
![]() Ahh... It's very interesting about the alignments of the rest of the group. Actually it fits fairly well with Belessa's descriptions of them in her journal. Ulfgar, yes, that one was easy to see. I guess I was expecting more evil from the other members of Trouble, but never really saw it... this explains why. So 1 down, and 1 to go. And if Lagaan and Raguhl get in your way, take them down too... >:) ![]()
![]() Moonbeam wrote:
Well, seeing where he's coming from I think you're probably right. The adventures only go up in level from here, after all ;). To be honest I have many of the same likes as Navan's player so I completely understand. I wonder if 4E mitigates this problem any, or if we'll just see more of it (having 30 levels instead of 20). I haven't even cracked open a 4E book yet so I have no idea. I'm glad Drithnar's player enjoyed it. I remember reading on these boards a while back some of the Paizo's comments and they said that the purposefully put in some dungeon crawls to appeal to different styles of play. I guess that's a good thing (since your player did enjoy it). Just out of curiosity did D's player enjoy the previous adventure less than this one? My own experience (just reading through the adventures, mind you, since I have neither played through or DM'd them) is that I began to loose interest in the path after this module. I'm not sure if that is because the style of adventures changed, or just because they got to the higher levels (and were more tedious to read with all the extended stat blocks, etc...). My gut reaction is that it was because of the style of play since previous paths (the Dungeon Mag based ones) actually went to higher levels and I didn't seem to loose interest in those as much as I did here. You're actually in a distinct position to test this theory out since you are also playing in the Savage Tide campaign. I'd be interested to know if you see some of the same pitfalls happening in that campaign at higher levels as you do here. ![]()
![]() He tasks me... he tasks me and I shall have him! Now, let's see... First thing is first - I caught quotes from:
As for the rest of the entry, I'm grinning ear to ear. I really loved the showdown between Belessa and Father Catherly. I'm really glad she siezed the moment and cut that arrogant *** down. Which of course I expected her to do at some point. It was icing on the cake that she managed to burn the church down as well. One thing I'm curious about is exactly how evil the rest of the party is. Ulfgar, yes... but the rest of them I'm not so sure about. At least from Belessa's perspective they seem a little on the tame side. Perhaps a tad selfish, but not downright evil (of course the exception being their treatment of Avner, but who can blame them about that!) What kind of goals are the others working toward here on Farshore and how far are they willing to go to achieve them? ![]()
![]() Enjoyable as always :D. What did you (and you players) think of this adventure. I can remember that it was not as enjoyable a read back when I read it for the first time, and wasn't quite sure how it would play out. I think the things that stuck out the most for me was that it read like a bunch of monster filled rooms with little to no connection for one another. Spoiler:
The next adventure reads much the same IIRC - the one where the PCs travel to that pocket plane full of Thassilonians (and their descendants). I'm not sure how that one will play out either. It does look like you pulled it off, but I noticed that the PCs had to "hit refresh" several times and jounrey back to Sandpoint before being able to complete their mission. Was it as fun for your group as the other adventures in the path have been, or did it get too tedious? ![]()
![]() I just finished catching up here as well and had to post, although so much has happened I'm not sure where to start. I do really like how you DM handled the Wyvern's crash and subsequent retrieval. It's different than written, but very appropriate. And Belessa opening up to Lagaan... that's something I thought I would never see. What happened to her, did she eat something that made her temporarily delerious? Oh, and I think I'd have to tell Belessa not to give up on her dream of establishing a Temple to Umberlee in Farshore... that just sounds like too much fun! She definately needs to come up with a few 'accidents' that can befall those other fool priests, or better yet some way to remove the confidence that the townsfolk have in them. ...hmmm yes, that is definately the way to go. Scandalize first, 'accidents' second. And I thought for sure that Penkus was going to get a friend... no skeletal dragon coming up anytime soon? ![]()
![]() Oh man... I finally get caught up on this journal today, and this is where you leave me hanging?!? ;) Honestly I'm glad you kept the journal up because it is a wonderful story. Poor, poor Shalelu and Jarkadros. Moonbeam wrote:
Funny story, but it actually flashed in the back of my mind that you were making a Star Trek VI reference further up when Navan and Drithnar were talking about what to do with the ogres. "Don't believe them, don't trust them. They're animals!" I kept thinking was he, or was it my imagination. Then I stumbled upon the technomage quote and the grin was from ear to ear! B5, by the way, is probably one of the greatest Sci-fi/fantasy stories of all time, and the technomancer scene with Molari is probably one of my favorites from the series. Now, if you can just sneak in a Firefly quote the circle will be complete ;) Moonbeam wrote:
Well as soon as I read Kerista's encounter with the little monster, I thought you might do something exactly like you outlined above :D. But having the little menace meet Black Magga was totally unexpected! So some questions... You mentioned that a friend was going to be taking over Drithnar. Has this happened already (meaning there are now 3 of you in this campaign)? And is this a long term event or will he just play Drithnar for a couple of gaming sessions? Also about the NPCs that went with the PCs to fight the giants, are they all DM controlled or are the other players controlling them? And Navan must be really dense. What is that boy's problem. I was curious to see how his little love triangel would play out, but I guess now it is a moot point :( ![]()
![]() I'm catching up on my reading but had to post once I came to this little gem: Moonbeam wrote:
Lol! I love it. I could warn you, but you would not listen.
Technomage, eat your heart out ;) Edit:
Moonbeam wrote: “Wow…” muttered the young boy. “You look AWESOME!” oops... and here I thought you were leaving a string untied... hehe, guess not... ![]()
![]() Thanks for the kind words Moonbeam. The sad thing is that I haven't had a real live group around since 2005. RL steps in sometimes and just makes things difficult, if you know what I mean. After my group broke up I just didn't have the willpower/energy/desire to get another started and so I've been a little idle on the RPG front. But gosh darn it, I really do enjoy these games and am starting to miss them (and reading your journal, along with some of the others on this board, has really brought that fact to light). The story does have a happy ending though, for lo and behold, when tucking my daughter into bed last night she asked me, "Pa-pa, when am I going to get to play Dungeons and Dragons?" Well, ask and you shall recieve. :D I'm going to be planning a little adventure for her shortly. I have a feeling she'll take to it quickly. We've been playing pirates, or knights, or Jedi and whatnot for her entire life (she's turning 9 next month) just without any specific rule-set applied to it. So I think that the old Keep on the Borderlands, or Isle of Dread modules might once again see the light of day. If and when they do, I'll be sure to post here. ;) ![]()
![]() I really like this adventure. I have to say that as a DM, Journey's End holds so much possibility. I'm a little loath to admit it, but most of the time (after hearing the words "sailing ship" or "sea voyage" or something to that effect) I think to myself, "How boring!" The PCs are just going to be sitting around on a ship for three months waiting for the voyage to end and to finally reach their destination. This adventure showed me exactly how wrong I was! I know that you're a PC on this one and that you've been actively avoiding any spoilers that might be present on these boards, so I won't say anything about what is to come. I am however very interested to how both you and your DM handle the next couple of adventures. May the blessings of Umberlee be upon you... ![]()
![]() Yes! This was the post I was waiting for, and I was not disappointed! Of course I am still on pins and needles waiting to see what they will do with Kaven. Spoiler: Did you switch Xanesia and Lucretia (as I've seen several posts on these sites suggest doing this), or did you combine them somehow into a single entity? I'll have to go back and re-read some of these adventures, but I thought that Xanesia was the snake lamia and Lucretia was the lion lamia. ![]()
![]() Lol! I don't think I've laughed so much in quite some time. The exchanges between her and Lagaan and Sparkie were just priceless. I'm a big fan of this journal, and of Guy's as well and I have to tell you that there is a big difference between the group dynamics here and there. This is truely how an evil campaign should run. If I were the DM in this situation, I would be very proud of myself... ;) Poor, poor Belessa, though. I'm sure the coming storm will teach her a valuable lesson about mercy... don't have it! ![]()
![]() Thanks guys! And congrats to you as well. I'll bee looking for everyone during the raid! I won't give anything away, but now that I know some of Guy's plans, I have to say that I'm just giddy with excitement. <stifles maniacal laughter> Now I just have to contain myself until the special installment comes out. ![]()
![]() Arrggg!!! Just lost a post to a misclicked mouse button. I hate when that happens. Well, I'll try to recap what I said before. First off, I am still impressed (and still sitting on the edge of my seat). I'm sure that Jurien's death will hit the characters hard (especially Mhyssi) but to tell the truth I haven't been able to build up a bond with either Jurian or Daronelle as of yet through these readings. One other thing that I would like to say is that I really love the unique locations you have chosen for your battles. First was the stirge guano inferno cavern, then the acid slime mine chute with stirges and gnouls, and now finally the delver cavern with its columns and cracked floor. Are you pulling any of this material from published products or is this dwarven mine something you have created from whole cloth? If it is something that you have created then perhaps you could share some notes on it with us. I'd especially love to see a map. ![]()
![]() I'll applaud you once again for a suitably grotesque and disturbing description of the heroe's latest escapades. A suggestion for others out there... I wouldn't read the above on say, a lunch break or anything. ;) Not a good idea. I'm still not sure if I can keep my meal down or not. 1) I'm glad those Kreegs are dead. Mammy gave me the creeps
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![]() Likewise. I'm still very impressed, both with your skills and those of your players. At least 3 times during that session I thought to myself, "Well... now they're dead. No way are they getting out of that." And I'm guessing that should the players (and their characters) ever give up hope, you would have little compunction about slaughtering them. :D Bravo. Once again I find myself sitting on edge, waiting for the next installment. I'm sure that by now Agdrenel is quite aware of their presence in her layer (even if she is not aware of their exact location). And like the characters I too am wondering if the vampire is working alone, or with some other powerful necromancer. ![]()
![]() I always liked great uncle Worrin :D Tristan should feel ashamed of the way that she treated him on her return. How much of that is actual role play and how much is "diary only"? It makes me wonder if Tristan wil be bringiing any of her impresionable Lidu cousins back to the Isle of Dread with her (much to the chagrin of poor Worrin). I also love the pink swords (which I'm guessing is something you took the opportunity to fabricate just for James' player ;) ) I hope he likes them. ![]()
![]() Here is my second submission. Being a big Eberron fan I just had to visit Jhonen Olain's Common to Quori translator (appropriate for Tristan and her otherworldly connections). The translator can be found here:
Here is the translation I got: Tristan Lidu = Thashtath Rali Still quite a tongue twister... but perhaps she could simply use her last name. Rali. Simple, easy to say, and I think it sounds quite nice ;) ![]()
![]() Just wanted to say Guy, that i am still following this journal religiously and that I am really enjoying it. Kudos for keeping it up for so long! Now on to the contest!! :D So someone mentioned an Aztec-like name as a possibility, and I agree. The fact that these changes are happening on the Isle of Dread surrounded by an ancient Oman culture is sure to play some influence with Tristan. So I ran a quick Google search (Oman = Olmec in my book) and came up with the following link:
There are several logograms near the bottom of the page:
Taking those bits and pieces and massaging them a bit I came up with Kosu Xitimseuk, which roughly translated could be "the priest of now and then". A suitably bizzare (if not appropriate) title for Tristan, especially given the dreams she has been having of late. Kosu is more of an honorific title and would probably be dropped (except on very formal occasions). As an added benefit, Tristan could sometimes refer to herself as Xiti ("now") or Siuk ("then") depending on her current state of mind. ;) ![]()
![]() Ok, I just wanted to say that this is brilliant stuff!!! :D Poor, poor Naven. I can't wait to see how that family reunion plays out. I really like the idea of getting the PCs to Turtleback and Rannick before the fall of the fortress, so that they can witness events first hand rather than simply being told what happens. Must make things much more personal. I'm wondering if there is a way to work Paradise into the story on the same level. Perhaps some way to set things up so that PCs can experience the sinking up close and personal... ;) Please keep up the journal, it is a trove of ideas and inspiration! ![]()
![]() I'm leaning toward liking this rule, however I still have some questions as to all of its implecations. For example: A LG Cleric (who channels positive energy) takes the feat Turn Outsider(Law). As written it looks like undead would be replaced with lawful outsiders. So this cleric's turn attempt will deal damage to lawful outsiders ...and what else? Does it still heal all non-undead, or all non-lawful outsiders, or all non-outsiders, or all non-lawfuls? Any ideas? I'm leaning toward the idea of removing the "Outsider" prerequsite and having the feat effect creatures with the law, chaos, good, and evil subtypes (regardless of whether or not they ar outsiders - though most will be). Then energy then has the opposite effect on anyone not of that subtype. Same thing goes for the elemental feat. If your turning attempt deals damage to creatures with the Fire subtype, then it will heal all those not of that subtype. ![]()
![]() Hmmm... seeing as how Arcane Bond is a first level wizard feature, and based one the wording "wizards form a powerful bond with an object or a creature", my interpretation is that a wizard must form a bond with either an object, or a creature/familiar. They would not be able to do both. I suppose that a wizard could choose to bind with a creature, but then subsequently never summon a familiar (which can be done currently in 3.5), so effectively they could choose neither option. However if they chose to be bonded with an object it seems like they would always need that object in order to cast spells. It doesn't seem like choosing the familiar and then never summoning it imposes the same kind of penalties. ![]()
![]() Wow, this is getting really exciting! I love how you put the fight with Ironbriar together and especially how you brought Tsuto back into the fray. The one thing that I think this AP has been lacking in is the reocurring villian. Tsuto makes for a great one (if he survives previous engagements). Yes, names are thrown around from adventure to adventure, but to me this AP feels much less personal than say the Savage Tide does (with Vanthus). I also note that you introduced Judge Ironbriar in a previous adventure (and also forshadowed him with the use of a Harrow deck) which makes this reveal much more meaningful. Again, unless the PCs already know the judge, this battle just lacks any emotional ties. I know I've mentioned this before in this thread, but the more I think about it the more I like the idea of presenting players with a list of major people and places to choose from (for background and history) during character creation. The trick would be to include an equal number of villians, heros, and regular folk into the mix. I wouldn't want my players to be betrayed by everyone they ever knew and loved for example, but having a few of those surprises pop up might be fun.
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