Diafanus's page

Hey everyone. I hope someone is still lurking here. I ran KM a long time ago, and I was just looking at an old Necromancer 3rd ed mini-campaign setting I wanted to apply the Kingdom Building rules to. I do have UC the as well.

I am still a bit unclear about Unrest. So the buildings that generate Unrest or negate Unrest only affect 1 turn (month). Those bonuses/penalties go away?

What about Unrest generated from the Turn? Let's say in the Upkeep phase. The first thing you do is roll a Stability check. If you fail by 5 or more, you generate 2 Unrest. Does that carry over to the next Turn?

Thanks.

ZomB wrote:

Has anyone come up with a reasonable street address for Sascha's shop and the alley?

I am planning on using the Korvosa map from Curse of the Crimson Throne Players guide. It would be nice to point to the shop and the alley on the map, and not risk breaking anything.

I think Harborview Boulevard South or Eodred Way would be good options that allow PCs to get a respectable distance into Midland.

Sascha says "There's an old service entrance into the sewers about a quarter mile north of my old shop in Midland;"

A quarter mile is 1320 feet. The scale on the Map of Korvosa is 1000 feet, and broken up into 5 segments, 2.5 segments is 500 feet. Assuming her shop was near Eroden's Walk, this places her shop somewhere just south of the Bookbinder.

Looks like I'm pulling out my old Star Wars D20 maps! And using Star Wars minifigs too!

Is there a Flip Map available for Docking Bay 94, Caught in the Crossfire from Incident at Absolam Station?

If Protection from Normal Missiles or Shield was available in the Spell List, would it protect from Starfinder Lasers or Machine Guns? I know there's Resistant Armor spells and I guess Blasters and Phasers and such are an "energy type" but what about 20th Century and later guns? Surely a bullet is a "normal missile"? So if I allowed Protection from Normal Missiles would it work vs Modern Firearms?

Does The Baroness Devy have any relations in other cities? Anyone know?

Looking at the map of the Banquet room and Ball room, these rooms are hardly large or immense. The Banquet room/ Throne room has room at the table for 8 guests, 2 families at most. Same for the Ball room. How many guests did Baroness Drelev invite? Not many it would seem.

Thank you Darius and Tacticslion. Yeah, one of my adult players is not a heavy combat type, so with that in mind, I didn't want to overwhelm my kids with "your character died!". And since the story as written has Nighttail become an ally, it makes sense if they use the "Allow the Kobolds to leave" option, that they should be able to befriend as many of them (especially ranking ones) as they can!.

Hey all,
I have been running this for my kids (8&10), and they are almost finished with the Kobolds. I allowed them to make some of the Kobolds who were waiting in Ambush sites friendly just by talking them into not fighting, and of course they befriended Nighttail and Hak. My question is about Churgri: Churgri and Nighttail both are outsiders to the Blood Vow tribe, and both want to see Roaghaz dethroned.They seem like natural allies, any reason Churgri, upon seeing the PC's and Nighttail as their ally wouldn't join them as well?

One way to handle it would be the Red Mantis and Urgathoans simply teleported aboard and killed the original crew. Essentially, high jacking so legitimate ship that was expected to arrive to suit their needs.

I like that idea Tels! But it says specifically that Davaulus owns the ship. That's one of the clues (heavy handed, sure) that Davaulus and the Queen are behind the plague.

The adventure assumes that something like two or three months transpire between the adventures. If you want to keep a tight timeline, like I did in my campaign, you might have to find a different solution to explain how the Direption can get to Korvosa in such a short period of time. In that case Veldraine is a good option.

Hey MrVergee. I didn't see where it said a few months transpire. I was taking my cues from dialogue in the adventure intros, summaries, and directly from what the characters say. In this case, in 7days, Trinia says 'Sorry for all the trouble I caused you a few weeks ago.' That indicates it was maybe a month. In the Adventure Background in 7days, it says 'not long after the king's death, the queen contacted them again-'

So going by this, it couldn't be more than a month (less in fact).

I guess Veldrain is my best option.

Hey all,
Where did the Direption sail from exactly? Veldrain seems most obvious. I'm trying to come up with a time line of events for my own reference, and it seems 'a few weeks after the kings death, Ileosa seeks out the Red Mantis to help with the native problem' puts that just a few days after Trinia's execution. But then the Direption (by my reckoning, as in 7Days, Trinia says it was a few weeks ago) set sail almost immediately after the Queen contacted the Red Mantis (giving just a few days for the ship to reach Korvosa).

Thanks,

Hey all,
I posted this in GM reference, but didn't see an answer there. I was reading up on Crown of Fangs and noticed the only way into the dungeon level appeared to be the secret stair in A6 from A24. The intro to Edge of Anarchy said that Ileosa stole the key to the dungeon/treasury from Neolandus. Is there another way in that's not obvious from the map?

Hey all. I am looking at the map of Castle Korvosa, and I don't see a way into the Dungeon level other than the secret door, A6, from the wood storage in A24. The introduction in Edge of Anarchy said that Ileosa stole the key to the dungeon level from Neolandus. Is there another way into the dungeon level I am not seeing?

So today we finished up the Dead Warrens. I started to run the Execution of Trinia as written, as a cut scene, but after reading multiple DM's advice (especially MrVergee's) on how to handle this AP, I started with the announcement of the 'capture of Trinia Sabador' (the PC's had found and hidden the real Trinia) and 1 week till the execution, the PC's started to investigate.
First they got Kroft to get them access to Castle Korvosa's dungeon, where they found the 'fake Trinia' unresponsive and under two different spells (but they couldn't figure out what). Then they decided to figure out when the 'trial' was and who presided over it. For that, they went to Ambassador Amprei; Figuring he owed them one after recovering his letters. He inquired on their behalf and discovered only the Queen, her body guard and the new Seneschal presided over the 'trial'. They are putting so much effort into rescuing the 'fake Trinia' at this point I decided to pick up next week, and run it as part of the adventure instead of a cut scene as described in the AP! Instead of a scroll of Identify from Dead Warrens, I gave them a Scroll of Dimension Door. It's higher level than their spellcasters can cast right now, but it may be worth the risk for them when they rescue 'fake Trinia'. I will update next week!

Warpriests would be way more common for Abadar than paladins (since warpriests can be LN, and thus mainstream Abadarians), but still rarer than actual clerics.

And if the player is looking at Milani, then Abadar's probably the almost-opposite of what the player is interested in.

I don't think a Hellknight of the Nail would work well (especially considering "A History of Ashes" is about making peace with the Shoanti and the Order of the Nail views the Shoanti as mortal enemies), but a Hellknight of another order could work.

For example, I could see a Hellknight of the Scourge becoming firmly opposed to the Queen after Seven Days to the Grave or learning about the regicide in Escape from Old Korvosa.

Thanks Zhangar! He chose Milani when the Advanced Class or Player's guide was available on Hero Lab. I don't think it was much of a conscious choice, despite the character being made for Crimson Throne.

Since Milani is the CG deity of hope, devotion and uprisings, she is a perfect fit for PCs in this AP: she is the goddess of freedom fighters after all. As such her priests would be quite far removed from priests of Abadar, or even other major Korvosan deities like Pharasma or Asmodeus. Sarenrae or Shelyn, the other two gods who have their own temple in Korvosa, are closer to Milani in spirit, although they do not encompass the thought of freedom fighters. So I'd be inclined to have my player stay with Milani.

Any faith could have warpriests, I guess, they'd just be the church's faith militant branch. Of course, gods who actively fight for their causes, would be a better fit for the idea of a warpriest, so Sarenrae who stands for peace or Abadar who promotes law and civilization would probably be less inclined to have such warrior-priests in their ranks. Again Milani seems like a better patron diety for warpriests than any of the gods in Korvosa.

Hellknights are lawful and allow any lawful alignment in their ranks: LG, LN or LE. The order of the Nail holds members of all these alignments, although LN and LE are definitely represented more than LG. As far as divine Hellknights go, any lawful god will do. The Hellknights will just play up the lawful aspect and tune down the good or evil side of their alignment. Having a Hellknight PC is a possibilty, as several GMs have allowed it, but it is difficult to juggle. The PCs will 'fight the power' in this AP, which tends to conflict rather heavily with Hellknight rules.

Thanks again! You are a font of wisdom and knowledge. Yeah I thought his choice was a good one, and the section in 7Days about Abadar does say Paladins were rare, so I figured the same for warpriests. But it does sound right up a Hellknight's ally, except they verge on evil.

Hey all,
One of my players is playing a Warpriest of Milani. I was thinking of asking him to switch to Abadar. Would Abadar have warpriests? And on that note, do the Hellknights allow clerics of any faith, or do they have to be of a certain faith?
Thanks!

So, my players are heading into the Dead Warrens at the end of EoA. They are about to meet what Rolth has been working on. I like that some of the DM's here have posted about making an effort to connect some of the badguys together. So taking some inspiration from that, since in my game Devargo lived, I decided he's the one who is paying Rolth for Rolth's current project, in order to loose it upon the PC's as a form of revenge!

Being the cunning man that he is, Rolth will probably know a secret way into the Gray District, some long-forgotten tunnel that only he knows about. He also knows some of the body carters and has a few of them on his payroll. They bring him the corpses of loners and beggars who died and have no one left to bury them. If he goes into the city, he can buy things and have one of these deliver the goods to him. Apart from that, he also knows dimension door.

In my campaign Rolth set himself up as an early recurring villain to the PCs, when he bought one of the PCs’ sister in the prelude adventure, in which the PCs were young teens in Lamm’s lambs. In the five years she spent under his tutelage, he thoroughly brainwashed her to become his obedient servant and bodyguard.

When the PCs started the AP, they immediately went looking for Rolth, so I had them hear a report that he had left the city by boat. He joined up with Lady Andaisin to help her create the plague, aiding her in her alchemical experiments and delivering a dozen young girls he bought from Lamm to experiment...

Thanks for the good ideas, because my players may just decide to wait for him after they're done with his lab, Vreeg and Cabbagehead. They waited for him the night before going into the mausoleum looking for any signs of activity. I don't mind reward good planning and thinking but I also don't want to ruin the adventure for them!

Just make sure your players don't focus too much on who the 'assassin' was, because normally they won't find out until book 6 of the AP. If the PCs do not hand in Trinia, the adventure will tell you what to do, so I suppose you're going that way now, are you?

Well, I asked them last session what exactly are they telling Kroft, and they told her of their suspicions and that it would be better to keep Trinia hidden even from her. When she asked what she was supposed to tell the Queen, they responded "The Truth. That you don't have her and are still looking." So yes, I'll be going with the Trinia-double for the execution.

If you use the 'official' guidelines, you'll find yourself falling short when trying to create a city that offers enough to challenge your party from level 1 to the top tiers. Also keep in mind that Korvosa is more than a city, it also includes all the hinterlands and is basically a small kingdom. This might give you some reasons to enhance its citizens somewhat.

In my campaign, I have the following breakdown of soldiers and clergy. I actually used the guidelines to work out the churches, but I slightly went over them to keep things interesting.

This is awesome. I was just starting to work out this sort of thing my self. Thanks for the assist, I am definitely going to borrow this! It's not so much that this kind of detail is coming up with my players, but having it certainly helps.

Diafanus wrote:

AS far as house Arkona, don't forget they have human families who could pick up for the house after Glorio falls.

Are there any titles for the great houses? Dukes, Marquis, Earls? I know the Korvosan monarch doesn't have or grant titles, but these houses have titles from Cheliax, don't they?

All Chelish titles remain in the hands of (distant) relatives in Cheliax, such as the famous count Varian Jeggare. Thus the Korvosan nobles bear no titles, other than 'lord'.

As far as the Arkona's go, they are probably the only noble house that doesn't have a lot of members to draw from. In the AP as written, the Korvosa Arkona's have been replaced by you-know-what, and according to resources, they don't have family in Cheliax left.

Ah, I missed the part the said they don't have titles. I thought the Guide to Korvosa suggested they held titles from Cheliax that they brought with them.

And page 59 in the Secrets section of the guide said that the Arkona's do have more family in Korvosa. I'll have to read into Escape to find out how that goes, however.

AS far as house Arkona, don't forget they have human families who could pick up for the house after Glorio falls.

Are there any titles for the great houses? Dukes, Marquis, Earls? I know the Korvosan monarch doesn't have or grant titles, but these houses have titles from Cheliax, don't they?

So I am almost done with EoA, and as my characters entered the Dead Warrens I realized: When was Eodred's Funeral? Wouldn't it have been Yuge?

I am running Edge of Anarchy now, and it says that Rolf will seek out the PC's and find out who they are when he returns to find his lab destroyed. It is possible they will encounter him before Seven Days. Similar if he survives Seven Days.
In a different question, how does he get all his supplies into the Gray district? EoA says Rolf is out replacing equipment destroyed by a golem gone berserk in the Dead Warrens, and it will take him all day. He's not using zombies to help him (at least not in public view). Also there only appears to be one way into the Gray district (as seen on the map where roads lead to one tower at the north point just outside of Highbridge) and the Clerics of Pharasm guard closely against necormancers, so I would imagine it should be a guarded gate at night at least, and patrolled by clerics at night. So how is Rolf getting a cart load of supplies into the Dead Warrens?

Hey everyone.
Since CotCT was written before Pathfinder, and it used D&D3.5 rules, it references in Seven Days that the number of clerics in a Large city that can cast certain spells are limited to a very small number. But then in the Pathfinder Module Academy of Secrets, it lists 8 Deans of the schools of magic in the Academae at about 9-12th levels, and an auditorium that can hold 333 students! Then of course there are the 10th level opponents in the module for the PC's to face, all students. This skews the population of the number of wizards incredibly high. That being said, then with the Temples of Abadar, Asmodeus, Pharasm, and Sarenrae, plus the Temple of Many, are the numbers for Clerics equally as skewed? And the back of the Guide to Korvosa suggests the average Sable Co. Marine is 6th level. Well great but there should only be 6 of them. How many Marines are there? Using the 3.5 rules, there are only about 189 city guard (with 900+ conscripts/militia available if drafted). So just how many wizards, clerics, marines and guard are running around?

So in our session yesterday, I asked the players what they were telling Kroft about keeping Trinia hidden. They responded that they suspect that Trinia is not the real assassin, and they want to find the real one. Kroft asked them what is she supposed to tell the Queen, and they tell her to tell the truth. That she (Kroft) doesn't have her (Trinia) and she is still looking. So Kroft is going along with this, so now the Queen will go with the look-a-like.

The Raktavarna is not actually a sword (or whatever). So the Wizard attempts the bond, it fails, and the Raktavarna has to decide whether or not the gig is up. It's like a player stating they lean against the wall which happens to be illusory- they've found something out through chance.

So the attempt to bond will reveal it's not what it appears to be, but not what it actually is either. Good to know. Thanks.

You have several options on how to proceed:

- Kroft wants to do her duty. Since she knows the PCs have Trinia, she has them followed to find out where they are hiding the girl. When the PCs are absent, she has the girl extracted.
- Kroft plays along with the PCs, but Ileosa 'mind controls' her into telling the truth and has her own people locate and extract Trinia.
- Kroft plays along with the PCs and Ileosa remains in the dark. In this case the queen introduces a lookalike of Trinia, to have that girl be executed.
- Trinia has trouble laying low and gets herself arrested when she gets out of the hideout.
- I've left another suggestion in your Devargo post.

I saw the Devargo suggestion, thank you. The third Kroft option above is straight from the book. The first option seems more likely as Kroft wants to maintain goodwill with the PC's but must do her duty. I am going to role-play this out and see where my players want to go with this. They'll have to give Kroft a good reason not to turn Trinia over.

If you want to keep using Devargo, you'll definitely have to give him a level boost. I'd have him look for revenge by going after allies, friends or family instead of the PCs themselves. You already have one perfect opportunity with Trinia. Devargo has the PCs followed to Zellara's shop and ransacks the place when they are absent. He discovers Trinia and delivers her to the queen, gaining some kind of favor in the process (maybe she gives him an old naval ship to replace the one he lost).

By having Devargo go after people the PCs care about, you'll feed their hatred of the man, fueling his impact as a recurring villain.

Ooh, that's a good one. Thanks! They were worried about being followed by Devargo, and figured it wouldn't take him long to find out who they were.

Hey all,
One of my players, a Rogue who decided to multi-class wizard, had the idea to use the Raktavarna they took from Verik in all the World's Meat and use it as his Focus. I was thinking of letting him do that, as I don't want him to know that they've been spied on by the Arkona's until Escape from Old Korvosa, but then that intimate of a bonding should allow him to detect the Raktavarna's true nature. Any advice?

Just make sure your players don't focus too much on who the 'assassin' was, because normally they won't find out until book 6 of the AP. If the PCs do not hand in Trinia, the adventure will tell you what to do, so I suppose you're going that way now, are you?

Well, I saw some threads that said other players took Trinia to Harse on their own (without Vencarlo or Kroft's advice). Since next they're going on the Thousand Bones quest, and then returning to Trinia's execution and escape, I really don't know what my players will do at this point. But what I am really trying to figure out if how Kroft and the Queen should react. Kroft knows the PC's have Trinia, and Kroft wants to question her before turning her over to the Queen. Kroft has to tell the Queen something in regard to Trinia's capture, but what, especially if the Queen demands Trinia's transfer to the castle?

That is actually a really nice development. You definitely created an interesting recurring villain here. Some people even use Devargo to replace the emperor in part 3. Something you might want to consider.

Absolutely. That was where I was going with this. Trying to figure out if he gets a new ship (he lost his special cohort). I think he needs to figure prominently though, somehow.

Well, my players decided to try and get a meeting with Devargo by suggesting that they've heard that Devargo deals in black-mail by letters, and that they have letters themselves. They gained audience with him, and rolled well enough for him to be entertained by them and admit he does have letters, but they laid it on so thick with how they have letters that he finally called them on the bluff. When they couldn't answer whose letters, or when they got them etc, he decided they were sent by the ambassador to retrieve the letters and told them to tell the ambassador it will now cost twice as much for the last two letters.
So they left, and decided to try and break in the next night. The climbed up the back of the ship after throwing some alchemist's fire mid-ship near the middle mast. They broke into the lower deck where Chittersnap is, and after being attacked by the spiders, and getting trapped by a noose-trap, they set the place on fire. So now there were two fires raging on the ship. They go up on the dock and pretend to be helping the bucket brigade, hoping to see Devargo carry out the letters or any other valuables they could steal. So I played up the visual of an imposing man carrying a chest through the fire, placing the chest on the dock and turning to watch his ship burn while giving orders to fight the fire. While one character went and got their row-boat ready, the other picked up the chest, said "Zoink." at a surprised Devargo, and ran to the boat. I let them get away as the guards were confused about fighting the fire, pushing the ship out into the river, and chasing the PC's. But again, I played up the visual as they rowed away, of Devargo silhouetted by the fire, standing on the dock watching them and swearing revenge! So, he lives, they got the letters and they burned just his ship. The rest of Eel's End survived. He definitely is coming back later in the AP.

We just ran the Queen's Scapegoat last night. My players figured out immediately that the Queen was using Trinia, and that she was not the real assassin. They've actually assumed from the introduction of the AP that the Queen was responsible for the King's death. So they captured her on the shingles, and took her to Zellara's house (they've been using Zellara's as a HQ while maintaining separate living places around the city). They reported to Kroft that they have her, but didn't turn her in. She's in a 'safe-house' they reported (they kept Zellara's residence a secret). Next, they decided they need to find out who the king's real assassins are (i.e. whom did the Queen hire?). They heard rumors of the Red Mantis, but that they do not do regicide.

I think you have this in the wrong section you posted it in the online games recruiting. I flagged this to hopefully have an admin move it to the Gamer Connection forum for you for finding real life players.

You're right. I placed this on the message boards, and then got an pop-up that asked me if I wanted this to be "active" so I hit "Yes" and it got moved here.

Since Devargo is in Old Korvosa, I too decided he is under the control of the Arkona's. I plan on running this part soon, and the players will notice that Devargo has an ornamental knife similar to the one they took from Verik in all the world's meat!

I added a staircase just before the boat on the dock.

You guys understand the question, I assume. ;)

Ours was "Olberria," since they found an Owlbear and made it a mascot. yeah. You know the one.

My players named it after the party leader Bryar: Brylandia and the Stag Lord's fort and resulting town/city became Bryartown and later Bryarton. As the annexed other locations they became named after the other players.

I am getting ready to run my players through Part 4 Welcome to the Guard, and was reading about the Cow Hammer Boys. If their clients are mostly poor who they hand free meat out to, then who are they charging 50 Gold Pieces to 'beat-up' people? That's more like minor noble's amount of gold. 50 gold to anyone else is like a year's pay! BTW I looked up the old NPC Hireling pay per day in the old D&D3.5 DM guide, and there's no way on those wages can anyone afford to live in even a apartment suite, or studio in West Dock, much less anywhere else. Any thoughts?

Hello,
I am an experienced Dungeon Master and am looking for new players to join my group. I am in the upper Westchester area of New York. I am looking to run an Adventure Path from start to finish. Would prefer adult only, but as my 16yo Step son joins occasionally I am open to High School level and on. Please let me know if you are interested.

Hello,
I am an experienced Dungeon Master and am looking for new players to join my group. I am in the upper Westchester area of New York. I am looking to run an Adventure Path from start to finish. Would prefer adult only, but as my 16yo Step son joins occasionally I am open to High School level and on. Please let me know if you are interested.

Thank you. What are the Cascade events?

So I am new to PaizoCon, this will be my first. Do I have to pick events, or can I just show up to any of them? I realize there's limited seating, but there's just so many to pick from and not enough space in all of them.

Joe

My group fell in numbers from 5 to 2 (sometimes 3). So only 2 for going after Gaedren. They decided it had been about 10 years or more since they escaped from Gaegren, so how would he recognize them as adults? They met Yargin (who it says, was only working for Gaedren for 9 years) and got hired as additional labor with the children. Because of that, they were able to get Hookshanks alone and kill him, but that made Yagrin and Gaedren suspicious (when Hookshanks disappeared), so that triggered the final attack. It was a hard battle with just 2 PC's. I held back the animals attacking, and they depended on their Harrow Points (good thing they had them).

This may have already been covered and I missed it, but bear with me.

When the PCs first "meet" Zellara, she tells them how Gaedren stole her Harrow deck, and how her son died trying to get them back.

While shuffling the cards.

Asking if the PCs would like a free reading.

And saying that "her cards tell her more than they tell most" if PCs ask how she knows so much about them.

I've learned through years, players tend to pick up on the small things a GM can overlook.. fortunately I saw this one. How exactly does she have her cards and read for the PCs, if said cards are still presumably in Gaedren's possession?

I mean, obviously, -I- know; it's the illusion, etc. But how do I avoid Zellara being caught in this loophole if a PC asks?

My players watched her home all day, so when they went in and she comes in after, they asked her where she had been. Who she'd seen and what she had been doing. And yeah, what about the cards. I finally said she just stopped answer their questions and asking if they wanted revenge on Gaedren or not.

Abbreviated Guide to Korvosa.

Midland District

Slope Ward:
M1. Bookmaker: Korvosa’s largest bookstore. Proprietor of the store Costa Serminus (N male half-elf expert/rogue 4/2).

*Zellara’s Home: Covered in Pathfinder #7 Edge of Anarchy.

*Trinia’s Flat: Covered in Pathfinder #7 Edge of Anarchy.

*Girrigz’s Den: Covered in Pathfinder #8: Seven Days to the Grave.

West Dock Ward:
M2. Bailer’s Retreat: Tavern. (marked as M12 on map)

*The Old Fishery: Covered in Pathfinder #7: Edge of Anarchy.

*Hospice of the Blessed Maiden: Covered in Pathfinder #8: Seven Days to the Grave.

So, you're placing Zellara's Home in the Slopes, when on the map it is in the same city block as the Bailer's Retreat. Where in the slopes?

In the Edge of Anarchy, on the map, Zellara's "home" looks like it is the southern most part of West Dock, but then in the Guide to Korvosa the Bailiff's Relief Tavern is in the same spot on that map. So where does she live exactly? In West Dock, in High Bridge, or in Slope? It says there are no residences in West Dock, but there are Apartment suites available for rent there. So was she on the bottom floor of an apartment suite for 30 years in West Dock?

Joe