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I see no reason to get caught up in the minor details of crafting. A Pearl of Power (1st) costs 500g to craft. If you want to let your Druid reskin the pearl into an acorn, that’s totally fine. The cost is for game balance, and need not be exactly what the item says it is in the CRB. As long as you and your players understand that and don’t mind just saying it costs 500gp-worth of…”Magic stuff” to imbue that acorn, well, that’s fine. I personally would have my players make skill checks to look for materials, considering you’re cut off from civilization, though. Maybe dropping in a random traveler who happens to have some “magic crafting dust” for sale? Ultimate Wilderness has some decent rules for salvaging magic powder from unwanted magic items that can be repurposed into materials for crafting. Or maybe just replace a certain percent of treasure with crafting materials. Or if that feels like too much work and you don’t think it’ll kill the immersion, just have them spend raw gp and don’t think about it too much.

GM Cthulhu wrote:

The party rogue detected the trap on the door to J7 but totally fluffed his disable device check, so he's now a hand short.

On the note of the Graveknights, I am wondering if I should do something with them to flesh out those fights a bit more. My party has been wrecking shop - Paladin and Swashbuckler do so much damage, Cleric is really well kitted out for undead fights, and between the Wizard's summons and buffs they're a force to be reckoned with whenever they have a spellslot free, so it's all added up to some very quick combats. Which, you know, love that for them, but sometimes you want a fight to have some oomph to it.

So while I probably won't go full "army of undead" I'm considering my options - two at once sounds rough but, who knows, maybe they can handle it. Putting Yhalas into a fight with Tycha or Amaretos maybe? Since she doesn't have any mooks. Or having Gustari swoop back in during another fight after rejuvenating (swooping is bad).

In my game, the PCs used a Wall of Ice to cut off Tycha and one of his minions from the rest of the combat, so instead of going around the long way or waiting patiently for his turn to die, he and and his minion used the back exit to retreat down to the bottom level to warn Amaratos, and then lie in wait with the Gallow Dead (Amaratos remained in his room, but placed an silent Alarm in the mirror room so he has time to buff). It was a grueling fight that killed one of the PCs, but it certainly wasn’t an unfair encounter (Your group seems better specked than mine and would probably do better).

Also, I applied all of the internal hazards listed for Gallowspire in the Dungeons of Golarion book. The reduced healing proved to go beyond tough and flirted with making it less fun, but preserving the hazards for the bottom level only could be a good way to ramp up difficulty without making the entire dungeon a slog (maybe blowing the top off Gallowspire diluted the hazards for the top layers or something). Seeing how long ago you posted this, you’re probably already finished with the dungeon, but just in case, maybe this can help!

Gallowspire Hazards:
- All magical healing halved; all negative energy +50%
- all light radii halved
- ambient whispers/tortured moans add +10 on all Perception check DCs
- Anyone who dies rises as an Undead 24 hours later if not revived (undead type is determined by the creature’s HD; PC HD turns them into Ghosts)

I wrote this up for my group, and figured I’d share it here in case anyone else would be interesting in adding some interesting content to Hammer Rock (I found it very bare bones as written). In my game, Dondun was saved in Book 3 and turned a new leaf, and comes back as Aylunna’s Knight Arcanist in Book 6, to clear up any confusion below:

Tar Baphon has erected two Witchgates since his escape from Gallowspire - one in Vigil, and one in Hammer Rock. These locations mark his most overt displays of dominance over the Knights of Ozem, but as two settlements bordering the southern-most edges of Virlych, he also saw these newest Witchgates as a way to expand the borders of his realm.

Knight Arcanist Dondun is quite right to suspect a teleportation error had befallen Aylunna’s previous team, and is dreadfully on the nose when he suggests that there could even be a new Witchgate in play. By teleporting 10 miles away from Hammer Rock, he successfully lands the party outside of the Witchgate’s ensnaring properties. After taking a minute to orient themselves (noting a forest that is not supposed to be there), Dondun reminds the PCs that he will remain in this area while they move forward with their mission.

This Witchgate reacted strangely with the lingering energies of the Radiant Fire, and with the fickle nature of the nearby First World-spawned forest; unlike most Witchgates, this one does not deposit teleporters to the same location that it is located in. Instead, teleporters are dropped in the middle of Keirodera Forest. Tar Baphon is unaware of this, and left Ptemiazrol, the Wyrmwraith, at Hammer Rock as the Witchgate’s guardian. Though teleporters are not brought to the feet of a Wyrmwraith, it still functions as an effective protector of the Witchgate itself. Just as well, as the teleport deposit location has acquired its own guardian, a Forest Blight. The fate of the original team is largely the same, save that Kwenlyn was able to locate the Hammer Rock Witchgate before perishing. If raised from the dead, or questioned about the Witchgate specifically with Speak with Dead, Kwenlyn can direct the PCs directly to it.

Ever since Tar Baphon set the Radiant Fire upon Hammer Rock, the sky above has been overcast with dark, low-hanging clouds of water vapor and sulfur. This effectively blocks any natural sunlight from touching Hammer Rock, save for an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset. Because of this, Ptemiazrol has almost completely unfettered rein to move about without being exposed to sunlight. However, any spell that alters weather, even temporarily, can sweep away this overcast, returning Hammer Rock to a normal weather rotation.

Two Crypt Dragons have been drawn to Hammer Rock, hearing of the recent gross abuse of Necromancy ever since Tar Baphon escaped Gallowspire, and Hammer Rock was the most recent target of such magics. They’ve heard of Tar Baphon’s Witchgates, and are aware of a ritual that might be able to disarm them, though they’re hesitant to perform this ritual without help.

The two dragons are hunkered down nearby, strategizing on their best approach to Hammer Rock, as they correctly assume the area to be very dangerous. They are unaware of the magical protections of Hammer Rock, and if they end up approaching before the PCs, they automatically trigger the Antipathy Flames trap as they close a proximity of 70’ of the outer walls. Whether they fail their saves or not against the Antipathy effect, they both immediately halt their approach and turn back to strategise more.

If they observe the PCs fighting Undead within the walls of Hammer Rock, they identify the PCs as enemies of Undead, which is good enough for them to approach and assist during the fight. They arrive 1d4 rounds after combat begins.

After combat ends, the dragons will introduce themselves to the PCs and explain that they’re thirsty for some Undead hunting and found this place, in which, they suspect hides a Witchgate. They automatically assume that any random adventurer is dim-witted and only interested in fighting, and the PCs will need to succeed at a DC 30 Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check, combined with a DC 30 Knowledge (Arcana), (Nature), (Planes), or (Religion) check to properly assert themselves and display an adequate base of knowledge before they can be taken seriously.

The Dragons are aware of the PCs’ proficiency in combat so long as they witnessed them fighting any Undead, and so if attacked by the PCs, the dragons keep their distance with their superior Fly speeds and rely on their Breath Weapons to wear them down. If they are both brought to 57hp, or if one is killed and the other brought to 95hp, they attempt to flee.

The tower called the Bronze Wing (B8) was designated as the Hammer Rock Witchgate. Without being directly told where it is, a DC 23 Knowledge (Arcana) check finds it after searching for 1 hour; DC 27 finds it in 1d4x10 minutes; DC 31 finds it in 1d4 minutes; DC 35 finds it intuitively. PCs will need to stand atop the Bronze Wing in order to interact with it. There’s a noticeable shift in the air up here, like when you stand near a cracked-open door that has that heavy breeze from uneven air pressures, but instead of wind, it’s just chills.

When the dragons mention the ritual, PCs can make a DC 25 Knowledge (Acana) check to get some basic info on occult rituals, namely that all rituals come with a Backlash (a price extolled by the ritual that can’t be avoided), and a consequence of failure. The PCs may notice that whether accidentally or conveniently, the dragons have not mentioned this ritual’s Backlash or failure consequence. The Backlash affects all casters, and is 1 Permanent Negative Level. The failure consequence is unknown, for this is always unique to the specific Witch Gate (though it is an Insanity effect (all casters), DC 24 Will negates). The dragons only know about the Backlash; they know that the Ritual’s failure consequence is different for each location, but they don’t know this location’s consequence. They freely explain this to PCs who ask.

The ritual requires incense ground from plants native to the First World. Luckily, Keirodera Forest is itself an extension of the First World, and many plants found within are native to that plane. If the PCs were decent to The Hunt, won their race, and dealt with the Forest Blight, the tokens gifted by The Hunt will suffice for this requisite. Otherwise, spending 1d4 hours in the forest and succeeding at a DC 30 Knowledge (Nature) or Survival check is needed to get them; for each hour spent gathering herbs in Keirodera Forest, there is a 20% chance of a random encounter (roll 1d20+70 on the random encounters table for the First World in Planar Adventures). Regardless of how the PCs get the necessary herbs, it takes 1 hour and a DC 30 Craft (Alchemy) or Knowledge (Nature) check to grind the herbs into burnable incense (failure by less than five instead takes 1d4+1 hours, and failing by 5 or more ruins the plants and requires a new expedition to get more).

The dragons collectively know a cobbled together version of the ritual, and one of them acts as the primary caster, while the other will stand guard. Up to 8 secondary casters can join the ritual (granting a +1 bonus to all checks made for every 4 secondary casters). The ritual requires 9 hours, and 1 Knowledge (Nature), 1 Knowledge (Planes), 3 Perception, 1 Spellcraft, and 3 Sleight of Hand checks, with 5 or more of these Checks succeeding at DC 35. The dragons insist that the PCs do the Sleight of Hand checks (their big claws are ill-suited to such small-folk tasks), but they take the lead in all other checks.

Unfortunately, the dragons’ cobbled knowledge of the ritual is flawed, and instead of Knowledge (Nature), they try to use (Religion), reciting praises to Pharasma in lieu of incantations to steady the ley lines. The PCs can catch this mistake with a DC 35 Knowledge (Arcana), (Nature), (Religion), or Sense Motive check, but they must make a DC 30 Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check to convince them to allow a PC to attempt the Knowledge (Nature) check instead.

If the dragon isn’t corrected, they suffer the effects of failure, even if the ritual is otherwise successful. They must make a DC 24 Will save or suffer from Insanity. If the PCs have no way to cure Insanity on hand, the unaffected Dragon asks for assistance in putting it down. After this, it flies away, never to be seen again. If the dragon is struck insane and is saved, they express their gratitude by fetching a small token from their horde, located about 30 minutes (by dragon flight) East - a fine leather bag containing a porcelain display hand wearing a bracelet adorned with 5 small diamonds worth 200gp each, and wearing a magical ring, which is a Ring of Transposition. The dragon placed the display hand into the leather bag for the trip, but wants the bag back.

If Dondun is informed that there was a Witchgate (“Ha! I KNEW it!”), and that it has been destroyed, he eagerly joins the PCs at Hammer Rock, where he sets up a Secure Shelter. He thereafter can be found in this encampment in Hammer Rock. He forwards this development to Aylunna, who is pleased with the PCs’ initiative and success, and sends two Iomedean priests to join Dondun, with instructions to remain safe, but otherwise help the PCs with any Divine magic they can employ. The priests remain on the surface with Dondun. They venture down to Glerhadring only if the PCs declare the place completely safe.

Once the Dragons leave, Tsomar Trant reveals himself “I thought they’d NEVER leave! Sorry, but with the state I’m in, you can’t make many chances with agents of the Boneyard. I’m Captain Tsomar Trant. I know what you’re looking for, and I can help you. Come find me in the gatehouse and we’ll talk.”

“I saw it - the Radiant Fire. A green flash. Must have been smuggled in with one of the refugees coming into the fort. Nothing I could do but die. Except, I persist! I swore an oath to High Priestess Aylunna Varvatos to protect Hammer Rock, and death is just another hurdle in my way.

“The Whispering Tyrant arrived one day, with a small army of followers. I emerged to defend the castle, but…well, I’m Undead, now. One of his Death Priests took control of me and I was forced to comply. I granted them passage inside the castle, and accompanied them as they went down. There’s something hidden beneath Hammer Rock - an enormous storage facility called Fallowdeep. I didn’t see all of it, but there’s enough corpses and resources down there to raise an army of tens of thousands of Undead! The Whispering Tyrant grabbed what was ready and left with them, but he ordered the foremen to ready the rest of them. I slipped free of my jailor once they started controlling more Undead, and returned here.”

“I can’t accompany you - trust me, the last thing you need is for another necromancer to take control of me and aim me back at you. No, I need to remain up here, where I can be out of your way, and continue guarding Hammer Rock. But I’m not entirely useless - I can offer you the intelligence I gathered during my enslavement.

“To reach Fallowdeep, you need to go through Hammer Rock’s cellar. Tar Baphon brought a bunch of evil giants with him, and he left them there, so you’ll have to watch out for them. He blasted apart the floor in the dungeons on the south side, and there’s a tunnel that leads down. It was hidden - sealed up, and we never knew. We’ve been harboring an Undead factory right under our noses for perhaps the entire history of Lastwall.

“Fallowdeep is made up of three separate wings. Best I can tell, each wing specializes in a different method of reanimation and has its own foreman. From what I gathered, the three foremen don’t get along with each other. Tar Baphon was beside himself with their infighting getting in the way of output. And then there’s the Daughter of Urgathoa - goes by the name Lyanthari. The Foremen were already inside, but she arrived with Tar Baphon. He put her in charge of overseeing production, but she didn’t seem to be his biggest fan. After he left, she just went off about how insufferable he is and how she wants to teach him a lesson. See, they’re all the enemy, and they need to be destroyed, but maybe the easiest path to that goal is to turn some of them against each other.”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this. I know Lastwall is struggling to find any morale these days, but there’s something else. There’s a traitor down there. She was my hero. Now she’s a graveknight. Ceto Malderra.”

“Oh, one more thing. Maybe it’s nothing. I was fleeing for my…well, I was frantic, so maybe I’m mistaken, but if there’s a chance that we have an ally hidden in Tar Baphon’s ranks, I can’t not report this. As I was fleeing Fallowdeep to return here, there was someone already up here. A Winterwight. He knew I had escaped. But, he didn’t attack me, or report me, or try to control me. He just said something about being happy to see me in control of myself, and then he returned down to Fallowdeep. I don’t know, maybe he just knew there was nothing I could do to stop the operation. But it’s stuck with me.”

Tsomar will cast (CL 12th) Heroes’ Feast every day for the PCs (reveling in any jealousy it causes Argenus “It KILLS me to see you so upset, son”). He’ll cast Greater Magic Weapon (+4) and Magic Vestments (+4) for anyone who wants it. He always bids the PCs farewell with a Mass Bull’s Strength spell.

He’s also capable of casting Raise Dead and Restoration, so long as someone else provides the material component, and will acquiesce any Cure requests as long as he has the spell slots to spare.

Don’t forget his +2 Insight

Hey, shameless plug for the Inspired Incompetence podcast. The final confrontation with Tar Baphon began last week, with the series finale dropping this Friday 1/31/25. Some significant details have been changed, but overall it’s been kept largely true to the ending as written. Regardless of the outcome (good ending or bad), I’ll be outlining what I had prepared as the alternate ending once everything’s over. Also, just my humble opinion, our Tar Baphon is 100% more fun than the next leading brand’s Tar Baphon. Not sure if I’m allowed to leave a link here, but you can find our RSS feed on any of your favorite podcast distributors. Cheers!

Just in case anyone else was looking for an answer to this, I did get an answer from the man himself:

Orcs in arcadia had a different history with other people. The orcs of Avistan had their first encounter with the surface after a war with the dwarves undertaking the Quest for Sky. So, they were basically already conditioned to expect conflict and furthered conflict with other ancestries they encountered.

Meanwhile, the orcs of Arcadia had to learn how to work with others. Per Guns & Gears page 210:
"Ages ago after banding together with a group of dwarves to defeat a massive gogiteth threat, the orcs of Arcadia teamed up to assist the dwarves in achieving their quest to find the surface. The two have been on good terms ever since."

Basically, Arcadian orcs had a much better first impression, which made them more amicable when the time came to meet other ancestries.

Mind, Avistani orcs have been becoming friendlier with others as of late, mostly spurred by the threat of the now-returned Tar-Baphon. They've grown to like their independence and the Whispering Tyrant threatens that. Avistani orcs are now in a sort of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation, but so is the rest of the Inner Sea. Orcs are realizing that maybe taking a moment to learn about others before attacking might lead to unforeseen connections and vice versa. While it was probably super rare to find a friendly orc before (maybe like 1 out of 100 orcs), it's becoming a bit more common (maybe like 3 out of 10 or even upwards of 5 out 10 depending on the group of orcs or location). Also, the Matanji orcs of the Mwangi Expanse have generally been on friendly terms with others.

Hope that helps!

Sorry for the confusion. I’m listing the point buy amounts allowed for each of the three categories. “1/4 casters” is shorthand for classes who get a very limited amount of spells, only up to 4th-level spells. This includes Rangers, Paladins, and Blood Ragers. For full-clarity, “3/4 casters” is shorthand for classes who get up to 6th-level spells, such as Bards, Inquisitors, Spiritualists, etc. “full casters” is any class that gets up to 9th-level spells. Full martials is just any class that gets no spellcasting whatsoever.

So, full-martials and 1/4 casters get 22 points to buy their ability scores. 3/4 casters get 18 points, and full casters only get 15 points.

Recently got the urge to envision how I might run a low-magic game. I know there have been a thousand threads exploring this exact topic, but humor me while I put some ideas down. My goal would be to keep all classes in the game, but limit spellcasting in a way that makes it far less objectively better to be a spellcaster, while still keeping casting classes playable for players who want to play them badly enough. I wouldn’t say I have all kinks worked out, but I think this is a pretty solid foundation, pending peer review.

Point Buy:
- No ability scores higher than 16 before racial bonuses
- You can get back up to 3 points from ability scores below 10

Point Budgets:
Full Martials; ¼ casters: 22
¾ casters (includes Alchemists, Investigators, and Mediums): 18
Full casters (includes Kineticists): 15

Burn is a mechanic used by the Kineticist Class, but is now also applied to spellcasting in general with several specific applications:
- Spellcasters can take a number of points of Burn per day equal to 3 plus their casting ability modifier.
- All spellcasters take 1 point of Burn anytime they cast spells in consecutive rounds (0-level spells don’t apply to this rule, nor do spells four or more levels below the highest level spell you can cast).
- Applying a metamagic feat to a spell costs 1 point of Burn per metamagic effect (in addition to the increase in casting time and spell level as normal); Quicken costs 2 points of Burn.
- Kineticists take 1 point of Burn anytime they use Kinetic Blasts in consecutive rounds (Gathering Power can be used to ignore this Burn). Metakinesis costs 1 additional Burn to use.

Other:
- Full martials gain Combat Stamina as a bonus feat at first level (minimum 1 point). Spellcasters (including Rangers and Paladins) can take Combat Stamina as a normal feat.
- 0-level spells cannot be cast at-will. Spellcasters with access to 0-level spells receive the same number of spell slots for 0-level spells as they do for 1st-level spells, and add to this number with bonus spells per day from a high casting stat the same way they would for 1st-level spells per day. A spellcaster can cast a 0-level spell without expending a spell slot by making the casting time 10 minutes.
- Core Rogue banned; Unchained Rogue gets the Inspiration class feature as an Investigator, but the skills that can use Inspiration for free are from the Expanded Inspiration talent, only, and they gain Inspiration points equal to ½ level (minimum 1; can take Logical Inspiration, Unconventional Inspiration, and Underworld Inspiration as Rogue Talents, and Combat Inspiration and Tenacious Inspiration as Advanced Rogue talents).
- Ninjas gain Inspiration as Unchained Rogues, but the skills that can use Inspiration for free are from the Underworld Inspiration talent, only (can take Expanded Inspiration, Logical Inspiration, and Unconventional Inspiration as Ninja Tricks, and Combat Inspiration and Tenacious Inspiration as Advanced Ninja Tricks).
- Mediums can Spirit Surge without losing Influence 1/day, as long as they don’t channel the Archmage or Hierophant Spirits. This benefit increases by +1/day every 6 levels.
- All characters use Automatic Bonus Progression.
- All characters gain 2 Background skill ranks per level.

This is a first draft. Any notes or thoughts are appreciated.

I have been obsessed with the Soot Sea (and the Forgetting Place by proxy) - mentioned in the Vault Gazetteer with other possible area of interests in the Vault of the Onyx Citadel. Such a unique premise with some truly skin-crawling visuals for anyone who accidentally falls in. I wrote up some basic rules for the Soot Sea and figured I’d share them here in case anyone else was interested:

The Soot Sea is a network of caverns and crevices along the east and northeast walls of the Vault of the Onyx Citadel. Instead of water, however, the sea is made up of innumerable petal-soft flakes of soot. Even something as small as a mouse or lizard is too dense to stand or float atop the Soot Sea, and nearly all such subjects instead instantly disappear beneath the surface, never to be seen again.

Floating and Submerging:

For something to rest safely on the surface of the Soot Sea, it would need to have the surface-area-to-weight ratio of a sheet of parchment, or better. This leaves very little that can safely “float” atop the soot. A select few things can break this rule in the Soot Sea - mainly the Bone Ship that guards the Forgetting Place, and the Cutting Smolder, a special sailing ship designed by the Xiomorns that built the Vault. The remains of similar ships can be found along the seafloor - a few rare sites are actually beached on islands within the sea. It is believed that the Bone Ship is made up of the spirits and remains of all creatures who have perished beneath the surface of the sea.

Not many creatures are native to the Soot Sea, let alone those who live beneath the surface. The most well-known exceptions are the Soot Sea Krakens, who have adapted to swim through the soot as well as they might in water. It’s unclear what agendas these bizarre creatures hold, for their intellects are roughly the same as those clever Krakens who dwell in Material Plane oceans.

For non-native creatures, being beneath the surface of the Soot Sea creates a number of hazards. First, traditional visibility is impossible. Scent-based perception is possible, but comes with its own perils (see below). The most reliable methods of visibility are Tremorsense, which functions fully, and Echolocation and other hearing-based perceptions function normally, but have their ranges halved.

Creatures who must breathe to survive must hold their breath beneath the surface or inhale dry soot. This includes creatures who breathe water or air, though creatures with the Earth subtype can breathe normally in the soot. Creatures who breathe in soot are Staggered for 1 round as they aspirate, and starting on their second consecutive round breathing in soot, also take 1d4 Con damage. A Fort save (DC 15 +1 per consecutive check) negates the Staggered Condition and halves the Con damage. Casting spells while under the surface of the Soot Sea requires the same Concentration check as doing so underwater. An Air Bubble spell benefits creatures who breathe air while under the surface, both for breathing, and for casting spells.

Finally, unless a creature wades into the sea at a gradual shore (though most banks are themselves drop offs, and it’s usually impossible to tell, anyway), a creature entering the soot is met with no resistance, and plummets at full speed until they hit the seafloor. The soot offers only the faintest resistance while falling and cushion upon landing, and falling creatures and objects ignore 10’ fallen for every 60’ fallen, but terminal velocity still reaches a crushing 20d6, eventually. The topography of the seafloor is a mystery to nearly anyone who sails it, but there are chance shallows, though there also exist perilous depths. Roll a d% when someone or something falls into the soot, and note the below chart (I didn’t include the chart here). Remember that in a freefall through the soot, a creature or object falls 500’ on the first round, and 1,500’ on the second round. If a creature reaches a depth of 1,200’ before landing, they’re treated as landing in water. If a creature reaches 1,800’ before landing, they take no damage. See below for more details on extreme depths.

The soot cannot be swam or burrowed through, nor can it be climbed. Walking can only be accomplished along the solid rock bottom, and where the seafloor becomes too steep to walk, it can be climbed (though if the climber doesn’t have a means to see, they take a -5 penalty on their checks). Mechanical flight is possible, though all maneuverabilities drop by two steps, and the creature must make a DC 20 Fly check at the start of each round to avoid dropping 1d% feet, and the DC’s of all normal Fly checks increase by 10. Magical flight is easier, but still difficult, dropping all maneuverabilities by one step, requiring the same Fly check to avoid falling each round (though only DC 15), and all normal Fly checks have their DC’s increased by 5 instead of 10. Whether magical or mechanical, all fly speeds are halved. The changes in topography means that creatures flying blind risk ramming into a solid wall from a drop off; taking damage, and risking a plummet. Spells that offer flight through gaseous forms function normally beneath the surface.

Spells like Air Walk and Sky Swim, that allow a creature to walk or swim through the air, do not function beneath the surface of the Soot Sea; it’s unclear why, though most magical scholars have theorized that such spells recognize the surrounding soot to be earth, and therefore fail to activate properly, just as if the subject were fully submerged in dirt, the spell wouldn’t effectively grant a burrow speed. Earthglide remains as the best method of travel, receiving no penalties or hindrances.

Though only a fraction of the density of water, the Soot Sea will slowly build up pressure if you travel deep enough into it, as the soot petals become finer as they are themselves crushed under the weight of their own brethren. At depths greater than 500’, movement is halved (or quartered for fly speeds). At depths greater than 1,200’, creatures begin taking 1d6 nonlethal damage every minute. At depths greater than 1,800’, movement is quartered (flight becomes impossible), and creatures take 1d6 lethal damage and 2d6 nonlethal damage every minute. At depths greater than 2,000’, burrow speeds can be utilized for navigation (at half speed), though without Earthglide, creatures are still subject to the crushing pressure.

Navigation:
The normal light ever-present in the Vault doesn’t fully reach into the crevices and caverns making up the Soot Sea, and so it is perpetually dim light, though some of the banks near crevice openings are still normal light. Though wind seems to flow in from the open Vault and through the walls of the Soot Sea with remarkable ease, the soot itself seems supernaturally resistant to being kicked up by this wind, and the wind rarely penetrates the soot surface. Occasionally, intense wind storms are strong enough to kick up soot and create pockets of soot storms. Creatures caught in these Soot Storms are treated as if they’re beneath the surface of the Soot Sea, though they must also contend with the high wind speeds as normal; the high wind speeds make it much easier to accidentally aspirate soot, which increases the save DC by 2 to avoid being Staggered and halving Con damage.

If a creature is fortunate enough to be aboard the Cutting Smolder, or managed to salvage and repair a destroyed ship, such a ship sails over the soot with the same speed and maneuverability as a sailing ship over water, though oars and other mechanical propulsions do not work, leaving wind power the only reliable form of locomotion. Profession (Sailor) checks can be made as normal for navigation, though creatures unfamiliar with the Soot Sea take a -4 penalty on these checks. Creatures capable of flight can do so over the surface of the Soot Sea without penalty or hindrance.

The Cutting Smolder
The Cutting Smolder is a Sailing Ship that’s been magically outfitted to be buoyant atop the Soot Sea. This ship is a relic from the Xiomorns who once managed the Vault of the Onyx Citadel. The Peches that now sail aboard it aren’t capable of constructing such a vessel or (with the exception of Carbonax) maintain it. The Pech Wizard has accrued just enough magical competence and know-how to keep the Cutting Smolder operating, though the ship is always possibly one major setback away from being unfixable.

The crew of the Cutting Smolder is made up of 12 Peches, total. Seven 3rd-level Unchained Rogues make up the main crew, and usually take lengths to avoid any of the grand dangers present around the Soot Sea. The ship’s officers are much more capable, and consist of three 10th-level Swashbucklers and the First mate is a 10th-level Ranger. Carbonax, a 14th-level Transmuter, as the oldest and most powerful Pech, not to mention the only one with even a rudimentary understanding of how the ship works, acts as the ship’s captain.

The Cutting Smolder facilitates a lucrative, if dangerous, operation that’s kept the crew well paid, so long as they work carefully. The ship has several enemies within the Soot Sea, mainly the Soot Sea Krakens who occasionally venture near the surface, and the Sinister Bone Ship that occasionally acts as a guardian of the Forgetting Place.

Thanks! And bump :)

In a campaign set entirely in the Great Beyond, where new adventures constantly bring the PCs to new Planes, a strong understanding of the many Planes can be an invaluable asset. In a non-planar-focused campaign, the Knowedge (Planes) skill is used to quantify a person’s collective knowledge on all things inter- and extra-planar.

However, when a campaign is set entirely away from the Material Plane, this simplification can do a disservice, considering every plane is infinitely more vast and mysterious than most traditional settings. The standard skills rules assume that any information regarding a Plane is attained with Knowledge (Planes) - creatures, cultures, histories, governments, etc. Meanwhile, in such a default setting, each of these categories receives its own separate Knowledge just for its own local Material address (Local, Geography, History, and Nobility, respectively). And yet, it would also seem perfectly reasonable to disallow Knowledge (History) from representing a person’s collective knowledge of historical lore within all of infinity on over a dozen unique planes of existence. Still, it WOULD be entirely unreasonable to introduce several dozen new skills to represent various categories of knowledge in every single plane (or even one single knowledge skill per plane).

The goal of this alternate Knowledge system is to validate the vastness and mystery of the Great Beyond with an expanded system, but still leave the overall skills rules largely unchanged and not overly complicated. This system is a work in progress, and I'm open to suggestions.

The Knowledge (Planes) skill no longer exists. Knowledge (Local) is now used to identify Outsiders. At each new level, PCs receive 3 Background Skills. In addition to the normal uses of Background Skills, PCs may also allocate these into Planar Foci. Planar Foci are treated in many ways as skills (total ranks per Focus cannot exceed your total HD, they can be modified by the Skill Focus Feat, etc.), but are actually used as modifiers for other skills when used on different Planes. Each Focus is considered a Trained Only skill. A class that receives Knowledge (Planes) as a Class Skill can instead select a single Planar Focus to be treated as a Class Skill. A PC may allocate normal Skill Ranks into Planar Foci, just as he may put normal ranks into any Background Skill.

When making a skill check (usually Knowledge-based) that pertains to a specific Plane or several specific Planes, a PC adds his Planar Focus modifier to the modifier of the skill being used. For example, to identify a Large Fire Elemental, a PC would roll Knowledge (Local), and also add his Elemental Planar Focus modifier. If the PC has no ranks in Knowledge (Local), OR if he has no ranks in Elemental Planar Focus, he is not considered trained, and cannot make the roll. Alternatively, if a PC wanted to know something about the ruling class in the City of Brass, they would roll Knowledge (Nobility), and add their Elemental Planar Focus modifier. If a roll could pertain to more than one Planar Focus, use the highest modifier of all that apply.

Planar Foci:
Upper (Heaven, Nirvana, Elysium)
Middle (Axis, Boneyard, Maelstrom)
Lower (Hell, Abadon, Abyss)
Elemental (Fire, Earth, Water, Air)
Energy (Positive, Negative, First World, Shadow)
Transitive (Ethereal, Astral)

A couple problems I'm already aware of with this system: It enables a PC to max out Knowledge (Local) and Planar Focus (Lower), and become doubly knowledgeable in identifying fiends than someone with the default rules, while the goal of this rules system is to prevent hyper-knowledge in the multiple infinities that is the Great Beyond. Second, a PC could simply put one rank in each Planar Foci, and then allocate ranks into Knowledges as normal, kind of defeating the whole point.

Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I feel like simply doubling all Knowledge (Planes) DCs wouldn't really fix the problem, either. Maybe I'm overthinking this. Any feedback or suggestions are welcome!

>_>

In the home stretch of the regatta, Peppery Longfarthing (sorcerer 8) uses a scroll of Summon Monster VII. The book lists this as a DC 14 caster-level check to cast. This is nonsense, as caster-level checks are only ever used to compare the strength of spells against each other and against spell resistance. The rules here would actually call for a DC 33 Use Magic Device check in order to use a scroll for a spell she cannot cast, which she can repeatedly attempt until she succeeds or rolls a natural 1 (in which case she cannot attempt to activate the scroll for 24 horus). The problem with that is: What's her Use Magic Device skill?

I think I'll skip this bit and simply assume she rolled until she succeeded.

It is a fair bit easier to use a scroll for a spell your class can cast, even if you yourself aren’t a high enough level yet. Here is a very intuitive flow chart for all the different variables that can go into it. Peppery needs to make a DC 15 Caster Level check to activate the scroll (no Use Magic Device check required), giving her a 65% chance to activate it. Not a guarantee, but as this isn’t an in-combat action, and is instead the springboard INTO a combat, it’s usually ok to just assume she does it, like you said, but you can take comfort in knowing that it’s not as unbelievable an accomplishment as making a DC 33 skill check at level 8!

If a creature has reach as well as a way to see enemies on the surface through the ground, can that creature freely attack without penalty? Attacks of Opportunity?

Hi! Any GMs here done anything with the extradimensional stable or prison linked to Castle Overwatch? Both locations were cut off when the Radiant Fire blew up the city. I really like the idea of a prison filled with dangerous criminals and powerful guards trying to figure out what happened and trying to deal with their situation - perhaps some guards snapping and turning control-hungry, and/or prisoners learning the value of working together with both sides for their joint survival. I’d love to hear any ideas or testimonies for that (either the prison OR stable)!

Is travel is a Ravener, which is a template to make a dragon undead. They lose their spells per day, and instead gain a sort of mana pool that is basically soul fuel. They can cast any spell known as long as they can spend the required soul points that the spell level costs. This is a cool system that gives you more flexibility on how to allocate your spells. The template will spell out the specifics better.

Thanks for the ideas, guys! I can definitely extrapolate on these! Additional ideas are still welcome, or course ;)

Hello, 1E chums! I have an encounter idea that sounds very fun to me, but I’m having trouble finding a way to translate it into gameplay, and so I’m here, looking for help from people smarter than me!

In this encounter, the PCs (18th-level) will be pitted against a 20th level, 10th Mythic Tier Wizard. I know, so simple! This Wizard has some more crunch beyond this, and is truly terrifying, indeed. The PCs will be aware of the Wizard’s might, and this encounter is intended to feel like a Monster Movie, where instead of charging into combat, they will likely be inclined to flee (or at least fall back and rally). As monster movies go, I’m reminded of the scene from It (2017), where the kids take their first crack at exploring that creepy old house - lots of getting separated; lots of blindly running away, only to find themselves in some fresh hell; and occasional instances of standing and fighting. The encounter will ultimately end with a proper combat, but only after some change in circumstances.

This encounter will take place on the PCs’ turf, but the Wizard has had all night to prepare his invasion and attack. I understand that with the powers this Wizard possesses, it’s very possible for me to nuke the PCs into oblivion in 1 or 2 rounds, but I obviously don’t want to do that. To that end, though, I also don’t want it to be obvious to the PCs that I’m holding back.

So, with all that in mind, I’m looking for some way to let this Wizard pursue the PCs in a way that will let him be a threat, but not so much of a threat that they can’t retreat. Indeed, I WANT them to retreat. I also need a way to prevent the PCs from retreating in a way that the encounter flat-out ends- (as 18th-level characters, they’ll have access to impressive magic, themselves, and can simply Teleport or even Plane Shift away if they’ll allowed.

As the PCs will be on their own turf, I imagine a lot of the limitations on the Wizard could come from their turf’s own magic - perhaps they’re on a Demi Plane and think themselves safe, but the Wizard can project himself there, but something about the Planar wonkiness limits him in some way? Again, I don’t really know how to make these dots connect. In some ways, I kind of like the idea of making the first half of this encounter work like a Chase, using Pathfinder’s Chase rules, which could let me keep the crunch a bit more abstract, but I would ultimately prefer to keep the encounter grounded with actual mechanics if at all possible.

I know I’m really swinging for the fences with such a complicated encounter style, paired with such powerful combatants, and I’m sure there’s a million ways that certain PC builds could be strong enough to trivialize the encounter altogether, but please, let me worry about that; I’m just looking for help in getting this premise to work.

Thank you for any help!

It never struck me until recently how few Undead are actually featured in the cemetery of Roslar’s Coffer and Roslar’s Tomb. The Book references a “massive uprising of Undead”, and the Loci Spirit tells the PCs that they’ve been holding all the Undead in the cemetery, preventing them from entering the town. However, upon actually counting the number of Undead the PCs must deal with, there are only five. Five! The Bone Golem and Living Walls represent the “spirit” of Undead, and the golem itself likely is meant to account for a fair number of the corpses that had once been buried, but it really feels like the “massive uprising” was more like a light trickle under this scrutiny.

I’d like to add more Undead to this part of the adventure, but I’m also aware of what doing so would mean for the balance and pace of the adventure. I was thinking of adding a couple Haunts to the graveyard, but the bulk of the Undead are reportedly inside the tomb. I was thinking of simply adding a trivial number of Skeletons (CR 1/3) and/or Zombies (CR 1/2) to each encounter inside the tomb - something like 1d3+1 - which wouldn’t increase the CR by much, if at all, but would potentially make them more interesting, and also satisfy the feeling of an entire cemetery-worth of bodies being reanimated.

I’m looking for feedback for this idea, as well as any alternatives that might accomplish the same goal.

Thanks!

Do you have specific examples of what you think is unbalanced?

I think you should just let people have nice things, personally.

Having nice things is great, until every encounter becomes trivialized because PCs have been min-maxed to the point of no return. I don’t want to ban this stuff, but I am cautious of Gishes getting the same tools for the same price that martials were given to remain relevant next to said Gishes.

I was considering just adding +1 to any BAB prerequisites for classes who cast 6th-level spells of higher. My goal is to keep these options as strong as they are for their intended recipients, but not outright ban them from Gishes, while also making them ultimately more valuable for martials.

Would this +1 have the intended result? Would it be too much (remove them as viable options for Gishes)? Would it be not enough? Is this a fool’s errand?

The main focus of these books was to give martial-heavy classes, like Fighter, Rogue, Cavalier, etc. more options and give them more interesting tools, and I both appreciate and approve of this. However, has anyone found these expanded options become unbalanced when utilized by Gish characters, like Magus or Occultist?

If you have players who think hard about the situation and background, be prepared for a rocky road with this module. We are just about finished with it (about to do Deathbower) and have had issues with the following:

(1) Everyone seems shocked over the PCs being alive, like it has never happened before. But there is a party of live humans in the random encounter list, and a recently-alive gnome in one of the dungeons, and food for "visitors who need to eat" in another dungeon. So living people *do* come here. Also the numerous faeries and vermin are alive. It needs to be made much more clear that the psychopomps are reacting to the obols, not to the PCs being alive.

(2) The business with Kishokish's staff violates just about every rule about how that item works: if the PCs know much about shoki psychopomps they will be skeptical of the advice to do this as it is obviously wrong. (The staff kills the being drawn into it, and can only be used by its owner, and has a saving throw. Also, one challenger's glove doesn't work.)

(3) If living creatures in the Boneyard do not eat or drink due to its planar traits, the presence of kitchens and food is peculiar. If they are immune to disease and poison, various attacks are ineffectual. The issue of planar traits *really* needed to be addressed at the start.

(4) My player was really bothered by the decomposing dead esobok. If an outsider's body and soul are one, why is there a body left behind when the soul is slaim?

(6) He was also really bothered by the fairies--how did those get in here? Why are they tolerated? Why are there SO MANY of them?--and by the living vermin, ditto. As a result the PCs wanted to decide they were not in the Boneyard at all but in the First World and everyone was lying to them. We basically had to fiat that they didn't conclude this as it would have derailed the adventure pretty badly (starting with, the PCs go back to the Boneyard to rescue the villagers from the delusion that they are dead).

6) There aren't supposed to be undead, but the specter in the stone is an undead--and what is it doing here? If duplicating tombs duplicated the undead in them, the Boneyard would have big problems! Also, we could not understand how the unfettered phantoms were not undead, even though their creature type says they are not. I mean, it's the soul of your dead ancestor come back because of unfinished business--how is that not an undead?

(7) Both the player and I felt that the module spent a lot of time setting up a theme of "Something is very wrong here in the Boneyard" but with no follow-up or payoff: you can't find out what it is or do anything about it. This is frustrating.

I loved Umble and Thoot. I did not love the constant struggle to get things to make sense.

I also think that if the PCs are going to go from level 1 to 5 with no resupply, it's cruel not to have any arrows or crossbow bolts anywhere

The book addresses pretty much all of your points, here. You may want to try a re-read, and I’d advise the same for the following books to make sure you don’t run into similar issues for the rest of the story. Some of the issues are a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, one-line explanation, which may be how you missed them; it would definitely be nice to have more thorough explanations to some situations, but the writers and editors are limited to a very strict page count, so sometimes the info is squeezed in with as few words as possible.

1: It’s established that Psychopomps (and several other creatures in the adventure) can sense - even visibly see - the Obols in the PCs’ hearts. It’s this that certain NPC’s are surprised about when they meet the PCs, not just the fact that there are living people there.

2: This...is correct, unfortunately. Well, the actual ability states that it can only be used on incorporeal or dying creatures, I believe. If a player calls this out, my advise is to encourage them to roll with this departure from RAW with an open mind - it is a very cool encounter, after all!

3: I agree that the Planar Traits should have been brought up. In their absence, I think the best thing to do is for GMs to also not address them. I personally applied Boneyard traits for parts 1 and 2 of the Book, and removed them once they were transported to the Deadroads. Again, the book doesn’t point out any difference, but I considered the Dead Roads a separate planar body than the Boneyards - not quite its own plane, not quite part of the Boneyard or Material. This allows all creatures on the Dead Roads with Diseases and Poisons to use them.

4: I’m not sure what decomposing Esobok you’re referring to. I believe that checks out, though. Outsiders who die in the Outer Planes break down into Quintessence, which infuses into the fabric of the plane they died on, much in the same way dead bodies on the Material Plane break down and become nutrients within the soil. I’m sorry to hear you had a player who was bothered by this. It is a horror adventure, after all, though; spooky or graphic imagery is part of it.

5: I don’t think Fey in the Boneyard (or Deadroads in this case) is any more indicative to being in the First World than Fey on the Material Plane. The Book actually explains their presence - Salighara’s Dream Gate accidentally opened a breach to the First World before being recalibrated to the Dimension of Dreams.

6: The Unfettered Phantoms do make sense not being Undead. There’s a lot of technical terms and specific circumstances, so I’m not gonna put a whole explanation here, but I recommend you read about Phantoms from the Spiritualist Class. The spirit in the stone admittedly doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I just chalked it up to “weird planar phenomena”.

7: I didn’t get that impression. I will relent that the whole “what are the odds that EVERY Waystation has some huge problem requiring the PCs to fix it??” angle is a bit contrived, but honestly no more than plenty of other scenarios in other modules/APs - I mean, the goal is to give them exp, and you need conflict to do that, so if it feels contrived, that’s because it’s supposed to be?

As for not having shops or other sources of supplies, well, that’s where the Survival part of Survival Horror comes from. It’s supposed to be a scavenger hunt. As the GM, if you see that there’s an important resource required by your group that is not written into the adventure, you’re encouraged to sprinkle them in yourself. The writers can’t possibly account for the needs of every conceivable adventuring group that might ever play through this adventure, after all.

Thanks for the insight! As long as I know I didn’t miss an official reason, I’m perfectly happy using any combination of otherwise plausible answers.

Has anyone had any insight on how the living NPCs at the end of the book (as well as the few dozen nameless survivors) managed to survive the Radiant Fire? I know in the end it doesn’t really matter, but if any PCs do ask them how they survived, it would be nice if I could at least give consistent answers. They likely don’t have enough info to say exactly how, but if the PCs really wanted to try to find a common link based on everyone’s responses, I’d like to be able to give them something with confidence.

Did all the survivors happen to be inside of heavily-fortified structures? Were they near objects of potently holy energy? Is it really just a random occurrence that one in every 500 people manages to be in a chance pocket of diminished effect?

That’s rough; I’m sorry you’re working with such a trigger-happy group. Although, that’s kind of the trend you get in this AP. I personally think the NPCs in this setting are a bit too weak for how likely the PCs are to be violent toward them.

I may have missed it, but what exactly is your character’s code?

As an info-broker in a rough and tumble place like the Shackles, you may just need to accept violence and death as an occupational hazard. If Raffles does get rezzed, you could repay him with some of your groups’ secrets for the trouble. Your party might not like that, but it would be a great way to keep to your character, and could maybe make a decent deterrent for them doing something like this again.

You could also look at it like this: with how powerful your group is, and looking at their political inertia, it’s clear that important things are bound to continue to happen around them. As unsavory as it is to stay with them, you know they’re also your best source for valuable info, which you will need plenty of if you ever hope to grow your fraternity to the heights you envision.

Hey, I’m looking for help with pronunciation. The monster in the back of Book 2 called a Melacage - best I can tell, it’s pronounced “mella- kah - gay”, but I have no reference for if this monster was inspired by a specific culture or otherwise has a real-world country of origin. Can anyone provide some insight?

I'm thinking about opening up the fight in the second floor of the Bastion. After the chaos on the first floor, the idea that the bad guys are just sitting in their rooms is kinda silly.

But really, there's just 4 of them, plus some help, which shouldn't endanger the PCs unless they get in a tough position. I think it might be interesting to use the traps and the jujus to distract the PCs while the bad guys move through the various rooms, making them chase them and trying to outflank them, or pin them so the pudwudgie or valthazar can really lay into them with some damage.

Thoughts?

The more time Valthazar has to stack on his hexes and spells, the tougher that fight will be, so I’d be careful. Also, you’ll be completely removing any opportunity for dialogue between Valthy and the PCs. Plus, the scene of the PCs entering a room and finding themselves, undead, and sitting quaintly at a table is a great one, which you would also lose.

You also seem to be operating under the assumption that the group completely cleared the downstairs already. Having all these tough baddies running around upstairs invites a strong possibility for the group to fall back once or twice. If you’re going to apply the “I heard combat, so I’m going to go looking for trouble” logic to the baddies upstairs, then it seems silly that the baddies downstairs wouldn’t also follow that (at least the intelligent/curious ones). With the possibility of the PCs retreating back downstairs, you’re risking then running into even more trouble at that point.

I appreciate the more realistic and fluid approach to the combats upstairs, but for the sake of pacing and allowing for dialogue, I personally would keep closer to the upstairs as written.

Thank you!

Has anyone considered the possibility of a PC being teleported outside of the Bastion of Light by the Crypt Things and becoming stranded in the fog? Or even weirder, still - outside of the dome altogether? The max distance for the Crypt Things’ Teleportation Burst is 1000’, after all. Have others just limited the possible destinations to within the BoL?

Hey, I’m looking for help on how to pronounce Mictena. Would it be Mick-TEE-na, or Mick-TAY-na? Or even something else?

Pun-Tasticslion over here :)

I had an idea that I ultimately abandoned for some reason, where, while the PCs are recruiting new forces for their growing armada throughout Book 5, they get a tip that there’s a powerful Lich somewhere in the Shackles that could be convinced to ally to their cause, and if they were truly desperate, they could see if Aashaq could lend them some dragons. These alliances would be extremely valuable, but would also be extremely costly. The cost would ultimately come up during Book 6, and require the PCs to have to make a choice of morality.

Also/alternatively, Aashaq makes an ideal “continuing the campaign” choice. I always saw her as being invested in the continued pirate occupation, because they keep more valorous or judicial fellows away. However, this doesn’t stop her from demanding monthly tithes from the Shackles. When she hears about a new Hurricane King taking over, though, she may just decide to raise those tithes so high, it may just be better to launch an attack on her island...

I was re-reading through the final encounter, and noted that TB uses a Gate spell to Call an Obcisidaemon to assist him. An Obscisi is a great thematic ally for TB, and a huge threat in its own right, but I found myself wondering why he didn’t Call an Olethrodaemon instead. An Obcisi is technically outside of TB’s direct control, having 22HD. Meanwhile, an Olethro is under his full control (seems like something he’d prefer), and is a full CR higher. Plus, it’s still a very thematic ally, especially with its Negative Energy AoE Breath Weapon that can simultaneously damage enemies and heal TB for 20d10 every 1d4 rounds. On top of that, the Olethros can then Summon his own Obcisi (which would ironically be in a roundabout way under TB’s full control). I know the reality is that TB’s reputation is such that most outsiders called would just know better than to NOT disobey him, free will or not, but it just seems like his ego would have him prefer to Call the stronger Daemon that is also guaranteed to be 100% subservient. Seems like a no-brainer. It got me wondering, though - would this change make the final encounter TOO difficult? Regardless of any additional allies, I know the combat is still as “simple” as dropping TB to the predetermined hp, where he just novas everything, anyway, but would this make even that too much to hope for the PC’s to handle?

I just want you to know that I’m getting a lot of valuable foresight from these. Greatly appreciated!

I'm looking at the encounter with the Dryad's Grave and I noticed there is no picture for Milksop Morton and his air mephit, Xicorax. I know that they can't have artwork for every NPC or there isn't enough room to place it, but he is the captain of the ship (the satyr variant ship sentinel picture could have been in the AP bestiary). Was there every a picture for Milksop?

You could consider buying the Paizo S&S Paper Minis. There’s one pack for each book, and they include artwork for pretty much every NPC and monster in said book. The artwork isn’t quite as high quality as that found in the books themselves, but I’ve found them to be a great reference for exactly this. I don’t specifically remember if Captain Morton is there for Tempest Rising, but I’d honestly be shocked if he wasn’t. They’re very fairly priced, too.

*Deep Res*
Was there ever an official ruling on this before 2E came out?

My group made a different ruling:
Ally A attacks enemy; receives no benefit. A gets 2 attacks and records the d20 results of both

Ally B attacks the same enemy. B gets 4 attacks. On his first 2 rolls, he takes the higher d20 results between his own attacks and A’s recorded d20 rolls. His third and forth rolls are made normally. B records all 4 of his own d20 results.

Before A goes again, the Bard casts Haste.

On A’s next turn, he gets 3 attacks. He makes his attacks, and uses the higher rolls between his own and B’s first 3 rolls. A records his 3 d20 results.

On B’s next turn, he gets to take the highest between his first three d20 rolls, and A’s. B’s forth attack roll is not affected.

This pattern resets anytime a new target is attacked. A simpler version of this pattern can be applied to the spellcasting version. This pattern can be used regardless of how far separated A and B are from each other in initiative.

The Pragmatic Activator trait is a very nice Trait for Alchemists - you use your Int instead of Cha on Use Magic Device checks. If not that, then another Trait that lets you use your Int for Diplomacy, Bluff, or Intimidate would be a great Trait to have in this campaign. I'd need more info than just Race and Class to give you anymore advice than that.

This is great! I love the minimalist approach, and I think dying to not only halt destruction en mass, but now also to get one serious step closer to permanently slaying TB is a great extra reward.

If I'm ever roped into this AP, I'll just take Leadership and play the Cohort as the main and my "sidekick" can go ahead and stop existing.

You do that. Either way, you'll literally never play them again, so...congratz on being so smart?

Hmm that’s very strange, I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that. There’s nothing listed in the Universal Monster Rules for a Suffocation Ability. The next best thing I guess would be the Environment Rules for Suffocation, and just apply them to anyone occupying the same space as the swarm, but considering a creature would literally need to stay put for like 20 rounds before Anything bad would happen, and 3rd level PC’s would be dead long before that, I don’t really see how that would even be a factor. Barring an actual explanation, I might just say PC’s can’t speak while they’re occupying the same space (which means no spells with verbal components, as well)
Suffocation Rules

I think you are correct. That indeed can become problematic. As of now, my players did all the sewers in one go until the old temple of Arazni with Snapper and decided to sleep there after being allowed by its guardian (I will post about it later). When the explosion will detonate on the surface, I will probably act as if the obols react to the explosion and knock uncounscious the PCs, thus forcing them to take a long rest before starting the 3rd Part. Maybe you can even use Evni's motherly persona to force the PCs to take a rest when they get to the tower, stating that she thinks the PCs are in a really bad shape and need some rest.

The trickiest part will probably be to make the explosion without exposing the teleporting players to it directly, so to not kill them. Again.

Good ideas all around - thanks for the input :)

Re-reading this Book, it strikes me that the state of the city after the Radiant Fire detonates, and the urgency to get citizens to safety would dissuade PC's from resting. In addition, I find it unlikely (but not impossible) that the PC's would like the idea of sleeping in the sewers while tracking down Yosiduin. Finally, after defeating Yosiduin, the PC's could very well rest there in the Redoubt of the Red Crusader, but they could also decide "well, that's mission accomplished, time to Teleport to the surface!", so the GM will probably be predisposed to starting Part 3 shortly after Yosisuin is defeated. Doing this, though, could rightly cause the PC's to immediately Teleport to the surface to see what the source of the quakes is.

What I'm getting at is if things line up above in the worst way, the PC's could be looking at clearing the Dyeworks, the sewers, and the Redoubt of the Red Crusader in one day, then Teleport or otherwise return to the surface without resting, and find themselves in a high-stakes emergency with no chance to rest in sight, which means that after clearing the Dyrworks, sewers, and the Redoubt, they'll need to also help at the Sancta Iomedae, deal with Ceto and the Undead in the Ossuaries of the Fallen, take down the Haunting Dark, and then deal with the multi-wave combat aboard the Golden Dawnrose. On no rests.

Am I missing something? How has the second half of this run for other groups in this regard?

As others have suggested, definitely discuss with your PC's that this part of the adventure is meant to limit their characters' narrative oomf. If they still seem unsatisfied, it might just be better to speed things along - fast-forward through the days, asking for a few charisma-based checks to track their progress of making friends, and slow things back down when it comes time to take the Man's Promise. Being transparent about what you're doing and why could also help illustrate to your players what you're doing for them.

Putting an HP-limit on the Swarms on Bonewrack could help limit their deadliness - say once a Swarm has dealt 20-30hp worth of damage, the swarm flies off, sated for now. This still leaves the Bleed damage they do as a lingering danger even after the fight ends, but maybe adding some First Aid kits (in the Ghouls' tent or Arron's Fort) could help ensure that those Heal checks stop the Bleed (I'd add these before extra Potions of Cure Light Wounds because bonuses on Heal checks is significantly less useful than extra magical healing, though adding a couple extra Potions wouldn't be the worst thing in the world).

Another fix to the Swarm problem is to substitute them for singular giant insects. Adding the Advanced and/or Giant Template to Giant Ticks and Giant Flies will get you the same CR as the Swarms, but onto a creature much more manageable for a group without access to AoE's.

There are some big maps in this book, specifically Fallowdeep and Hammer Rock. Is there anyway to get a more manageable version of these maps to facilitate 5'-movement? Like, a map that's been blown up to fit a smaller grid where each square is only 5' (instead of 10' or 20')?

Looking through the map of Harrigan's Fortress, I'm a bit confused about E2 and E2a. E2 has a small white circle, with the letter C in the circle, located in the center of the room. E2a has the same thing in the center of the room, but the letter is F. Based on the information the book gives me about these rooms, I know that E2 has a hatch door that leads to the roof (E2a). My immediate assumption is that these symbols designate the location of both ends of the same hatch. My confusion, though, is what the letters are supposed to mean. I tried to find some sort of universal map key for Pathfinder maps, but couldn't find anything that addressed these symbols. Am I missing something?

You could incorporate the Chase rules - put in some sort of foreshadowing that the swarms of insects on this island are deadly. Put in a Perception check to come just before the Swarm arrives, where if they get high enough, they can make a Stealth check to hide from the Swarm before it gets to the clearing. The chase itself could otherwise consist of running through the swamp, serpentining around trees, or leaping into water to evade the insects. Could make for some very fun encounters.

Alternatively, I think adding some giant insects of CR 3 would be perfectly fine. Giant Ticks and Flies (with the Advanced and Giant templates) are both perfectly thematic (and mechanically sound) stand ins.

Meirril: 1/day =/= At Will, I think that was all Quixote meant.

Quixote: I like your reasoning of using the price of 2/day based on the fact that 2 castings of this spell at CL 13th would cover you for a full day (I'll even expand on that and say you can concentrate on the elements of the illusion up to twice per day). I think keeping on the Greater version is still the right call, though, because the effect is still following a creature (i.e. the Cloak's wearer) instead of being fixed to a single location. I can also appreciate your point about it being a Cloak (one of the Big 5), so I'll subtract 10% from the final cost.

Base cost of 182,000
2 charges per day brings it down to 72,800
Add two doses of the expensive material components - 73,800
10% deduction - 66,420

Honestly, I did all that without realizing how close I'd be to your total :)

Hi, folks! I'm trying to price out a custom magic item. If an item like this already exists, please let me know!

This item is a cloak that provides the wearer with a constant Greater False Vision effect. Once per day, the wearer can concentrate for 1 minute to change any elements of the illusion. As a Constant 7th-level spell, the custom magic items guidelines has the spell effect priced at 182,000gp (CL 13th * 7th-level spell * 2,000). Greater False Vision has a Material Component costing 500gp, which raises the cost by 50,000gp, for a grand total of 232,000gp, which is just a stupidly high cost. From the way I'm reading Greater False Vision, the only saving throw mentioned is if the target of the spell is unwilling; the Scryer DOESN'T get a save, meaning it always works. Therefor, this would be an incredible magic item to have, but not, I think, something that would cost the entirety of a 15th-level PC's wealth.

I know the custom magic items rules are meant to just be guidelines, but I'm having trouble figuring out what price range it should be regardless. My group is likely to find this item. It's probably just as likely that they'd just sell it as keep it, so I don't want to give them an unreasonable payday.

Any insight on this would be appreciated!

You could have some henchmen of the Ghoul Captain start some trouble, and in taking them out, the PC’s also save an underling of Jolis from a bite-ee fate. The Ghoul captain encounter is kicked into motion, and the PC’s get an audience with Jolis as thanks for saving his man’s life.

If the PC’s already have the Wormwood, does that mean Barnabas Harrigan is out of the story? Are you planning on still having the Chelish element at the end?

Maybe instead of Tessa, the group is given an audience with Jolis Raffles - Pirate Lord of Bag Island, and Halfling champion of antislavery - at the beginning of Book 3. This would satisfy the elements of your antislavery PC’s backstory. Maybe instead of Chelish spies, he’s working on dismantling Bedu Hanji’s slaving operation out of Grinitzahara (if none of these names or places sound familiar, download the Isles of the Shackles, which is an amazing setting book anyone running S&S should have handy).

You could then re-skin a lot of the encounters and locations from the middle third of the book to this new theme. Along the way, as the group gets closer to the evil Alchemist who must be taken out to deny Bedu with the macguffin, they find a clue or two that will get them closer to the Sodden Gob.

Edit: if Harrigan IS out of the story, but you’re still planning on including the Chelish element at the end, Bedu Hanji would be a pretty good fill-in for the role Harrigan plays.

I’m considering replacing the written system for voting and swaying votes with the Verbal Duels system from Ultimate Intrigue. Has anyone tried this? It seems to be a perfect system for this encounter. I would pit the one who did the debating against the listed “champion” or “opponent” for each Issue as a separate Duel. Whichever “champion” or “opponent” was on their side would grant them a number of Edges based on how influential they are and how friendly they are with the PC’s. This would make some Duels incredibly difficult, though, as they’d be Dueling against the Hurricane King probably at least twice, who has a lot mor HD and therefor more Determination. Also, his status as the H King would give him a fair bit of bonus Determination and Edges due to his social advantage. However, on the 2 Issues that matter, the PC’s ally would be Tessa Fairwind, which should give them some much needed help. One thing I’m unsure of, though, is how to adjudicate the vote swaying. Would the winner of the Duel automatically just get enough votes to win the vote? Would each exchange sway one or two votes? I’m looking for some help on this.