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So I'm running Abom Vaults on every other weekend when one of our players can't make the regular game (We're going through Ashes normally, and this gives the GM a chance to play some himself! :D)

Sadly, we're down to 3 players, plus myself, so what I've done is given them an extra level. This seems to balance out pretty well so far, and if this character party sticks around, I'll be running Ruby Phoenix the same way (or even with a new group, I might just do that.)

The group consists of:
Spirit Instinct Barbarian
Forensic Science Investigator
Redeemer of Pharasma Champion

Well, let me type up what's happened since I last updated this. And, it's been....interesting to say the least.

(Chapter 3 Spoilers ahead)

We've only had two sessions in Chapter 3, but they've been pretty packed. The first encounter was with the sole Morlock Ghast who's pretty chill, but the party still takes severe umbrage with the undead, so after a very SHORT conversation, they forcefully put this Morlock to rest. They discover the spy haunt and disable that with a couple of prayers to Pharasma. Once done, they come across the "green ghost" and starts a series of combat turns when they come up to the Mist Stalker, then into the main library filled with ghouls, and ending in the restricted section with a cultist and more ghouls. But, the party of 3 makes quick work of everything (and we learn that Phantom Pain is a REALLY good spell for Persistent Damage!")
The next session rolls around and the group starts looking around for more stuff and investigates more around the library and get the basic stuff that they need to. They decide to retrace their steps and come up to Korlok's chamber. Seeing fiend, they attack immediately, and a series of strong attacks really brought the party to their knees. The Spirit Instinct Barbarian did some major damage in, but took a pretty nasty attack right as Korlok perished. And the Infernal wound caused a bunch of damage, to the point where a series of rolls couldn't align and she sadly perished to bloodloss. The player had a strong desire to play an Automoton from Guns and Gears, so he was going to build up a monk. In the time to fix up the last two characters and do the burial rites for the barbarian, we had an Automoton Monk in the jail. A bit of roleplaying and trips back to town, and we're back in the Vaults. A profanity-ridden Lurker-in-Light died trying to run away, and that's where we sit now. It's been....INTERESTING.

Question regarding the dead Purple Worm in B35. In several of the adjacent rooms the necromantic energies spilling over out of Gauntlight have reanimated the dead monsters inside (the minotaur and Majordomo, for instance).

It seems unlogical that this huge dead worm (or the skeletal duergar inside it, for that matter) remains dead. Especially since it's actually on top of the 'ley line' of necromantic energy (the ribbon).

You certainly could make those undead creatures (the Duergar for sure), but the second level is kinda dangerous already. I'd have the Duergar animate as a normal skeleton, but treat the Purple Worm as a hazard that flails about without any purpose. Say, necromantic energies that aren't working properly because of the nature of the enchantment. So, it could do an attack on anyone in B35, +10 to hit, 1d8 + 6 damage.

You could even treat it as a haunt for anyone with the Ghost Hunter archetype or if someone is daring, the Thaumaturge class with a lantern implement. A Religion check to disrupt the necromantic energies (temporarily, for like a minute or so), and/or an Atheltics check to wrestle the dessciated purple worm down to where it doesn't attack everyone.

Just a few thoughts. :)

So I'm running Abom Vaults on every other weekend when one of our players can't make the regular game (We're going through Ashes normally, and this gives the GM a chance to play some himself! :D)
Sadly, we're down to 3 players, plus myself, so what I've done is given them an extra level. This seems to balance out pretty well so far, and if this character party sticks around, I'll be running Ruby Phoenix the same way (or even with a new group, I might just do that.)

The group consists of:
Spirit Instinct Barbarian
Forensic Science Investigator
Redeemer of Pharasma Champion

The two best moments so far:
Going through the first level and clearing out the Mitflits, one mitflit accepted the Redeemer Reaction ability and aborted his attack. The Redeemer (a Dwarf) immediately said, "Ok, he's the one I'm sparing." Every other mitflit took lethal damage, but the Champion non-lethal'd him down to unconsciousness. The rest of the mitflits, including Boss Skrawng all, perished in combat (Boss got crit by the barbarian and it was not pretty. Didn't even get a chance to surrender. Hahaha!) So, the party continues to clear out the first level and leaves the Scorpion alone.
Then, for whatever reason, the party decided they need an official representative of the tribe to officially declare peace with the village of Otari. So, this poor Mitflit, bound and woozy from the multiple hammer strikes to the forehead, wakes up to see the entire party standing over him, smiling and holding out a piece of paper that he can't read. They speak to him in VERY broken undercommon, and tell him he is the new chief and he can agree to not attack the village. Fearing for his life, again, he agrees to whatever is being said. The party lets him go and congratulates him on becoming king (yes, they changed the title halfway through.)
He then gets the scorpion to not sting him immediately, and rides him off to the sunset...until he comes back because it was dark and the Fens are scary. So every so often, the party comes back to see just a little bit of progress on the lighthouse. Next time, they're gonna see mud "drying" to fill in a particularly nasty part of the wall that's fallen in on itself.

The next part is not nearly as long, but it shows that enemies can be great NPCs if they get the chance.
So, the Morlocks are downstairs and the party fights AROUND the barracks area of the second level and works their way to the back of Graulgust's throne room. Everyone is just as shocked when the party comes barging in, and in the fight, Graulgust is wounded, but not fatally. So, the party immediately captures him and takes him back to Otari as apparently, there are multiple tribes and kingdoms in the Gauntlight (to the point that the Pharasman Champion has joked about taking "Lore: Gauntlight Nobility" get things straight.)
In Otari, good old Longsaddle has a quick chat with the party to please take a bath before coming in all swampy and damp into his garrison, but takes Graulgust as prisoner. A day goes by, and the party gets nothing good out of Graulgust for information, so they head back into the Gauntlight. All the Morlocks have just gone. So they continue to look around until they come up to a hallway with 4 Morlocks and 2 Engineers are literally constructing a ballista to fight the party. A quick call of peace comes out and it comes out that the Lead Engineer was tired of all this "Worshiping of the Blood Ghost" and losing valuable engineers to a random sacrifice, so if he could get proof that Graulgust was dead, he'd let them past without any issues. The party did one better and brought Graulgust to the Engineer. I think the words I used were, "In no civilized land of Golarian would what is happening in front of you be acceptable."
But, because "justice" was done, the Engineer actually helped walk them through the rest of the second level (there was only one fight that they hadn't completed yet, so that was an easy thing to bypass.).

Saturday is the start of Chapter 3. I can't wait to see how this will turn out.

The Archmage 1st Tier ability of Speedy Summons says You must be at least 3rd tier to select this ability. Why is it in the first tier ability section then?