Fafhrd's page

I was hoping to get my order much sooner, but it is still in pending status. Please cancel my order.

Due to recent tightening of the pursestrings, I'll need to have this order and my subscriptions cancelled until further notice. I plan to subscribe again sometime soon, though. Thanks.

I received a message that the payment method was declined, and while looking over the account, noticed that the amount included the items from my previous package. Is there any way those can be taken off the current order and the charge tried again?

Thank you!

and

Crud!

I'd like for the following three items in my current pending order to be delayed until next month's shipment if possible:

CotCT Map Folio
Second Darkness AP #1
and the Second Darkness Companion

If you can, please do.

I'd also like to know if I purchase the Beta playtest right now if it would appear on this shipment. I thought I might be able to get it a GenCon but life has gotten in the way. So I'll settle for purchasing it this way. :(

I got the alert email saying order #944565 is about to ship, but my delayed order of the Gazeteer is not included in the item list. Will it still be included in the package when everything is sent?

I noticed the same thing as Arnwyn and rolled my eyes at the "always wondered" comment.

I can't think of where at the moment, but I had read an interview where he says the Forgotten Realms title came from OUR point of view. We here on Earth forgot about these magical lands.

But for the life of me, I don't remember where I read that.

Oh OK.

Whew. I was worried I'd have to put some more books in my stack. I haven't gotten to even look over CotCT 2 yet; adding another book would've made me feel pretty bad for not catching up quicker.

I just read on another thread that no Pathfinder AP items are to be shipped in May after #9, which I just received notice of. However, will the next in the Planet Stories line, "The Samarkand Solution" be shipping in May? If so, could my shipment of AP #9 be delayed until this book is released?

Flippin' great! This is what I wanted from you guys. You just got yourselves another subscriber!

I just got the notification of the shipment of Northwest of Earth. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the other books. I'm dropping this note as I was told to in order to have the two previous books packed with this new one.

Sucks though. Someone out there is reading (or has read) my copies of Elak of Atlantis and Secret of Sinharat.

Of course, according to the Mayan calendar, 2012 is the end of the world. So, if WotC wants to profit off 5e, the company had better push for a 2011 release.

December 2012 is the end of the world. We'd have a few months of playing 5e if they release at GenCon of that year.

If no one likes it, WotC doesn't have to worry about putting up with too many complaints.

Thanks! I'll keep an eye out and some fingers crossed.

Status shows that this was sent on December 27th, the day after the others in my Planet Stories order. I received that first package promptly, but the second part has not yet arrived. I'd like to know if there's any reason to this. Could the holiday rush have delayed one package and not another? And delayed it for a couple of weeks?

Please help me, I was actually looking forward to reading Elak of Atlantis!

Thanks Talion09, I've been thinking of the prisoner idea despite my reservations. Maybe if I combine two ideas?

The new PCs are hired by the church of Heironeous (or Wee Jas) to recover the OPCs (original PCs), but were perhaps captured by cultists outside of the mine (with the help of the Faceless One?).

Hmmm. Opinions?

I'm about to run my umpteenth session of Three Faces of Evil and need to come up with a way to bring in the 3 new PCs who are replacing those who died last game (near TPK!). But I've run out of ideas! I've used these so far:

Gelch Tilgast, who mentioned bringing down Smenk to original PCs, hires a elven rogue to keep an eye on the group as they infiltrate Dourstone's mine. Player stayed two games.

Original PCs enter mine, but Capt Trask is pressured by the Lord Mayor to bring the 4 back, as Smenk and Filge are accusing them of attempted murder. Three enter with militia man who dies almost immediately. PCs died 3 sessions later.

Now I need 3 more stories, but don't know which to use. General ideas (not class or race based) would be nice. As would ideas involving bringing these PCs into the AoW plot. Any help?

Thanks for all the advice everyone!

The town wouldn't know that they had taken up there if the naive elf hadn't said so to Tyrol Ebberly, who blabbed it to the rest of Diamond Lake within the day.

The dwarf in the group (a ranger with undead as his favored enemy) tossed the zombies in the dining room from the sides of the bluff and will get the group in trouble for littering, at the least. :)

I plan for Smenk and Filge to hide behind the law (assault for Smenk and attempted murder for Filge) to get the group in some legal issues. The observatory may be a point of contention in the case. Bribery of the Lord Mayor could actually come in handy.

Thanks again!

I’m now entering my second session of TFoE and am happy to use the PCs time spent in the caverns trying to come up with an answer to my question:

What happens now that they have set up house in the Old Observatory?

It’s only a day after they decided to move in, but the group has announced to much of the town their intentions of ownership. They also feel they should have it for free. I’m of a different mind and believe that Mayor Neff wouldn’t take too kindly to rough folk moving in and would charge them a tax for doing so. But what is an appropriate amount?

It’s acknowledged that the place was once a site for priests of Celestian, and I think that would be a factor in the pricing. I also want it to be something fairly heavy so the gold-laden PCs feel the dent in their accounts, so I’m thinking of placing it at around 300 gp yearly.

Has anyone else had a similar problem or any advice on the question?

Brocklin, I pretty much agree with you on teaching the guys a lesson, but what happens when they need the talisman? They might keep the Tomb in mind for later in the game, when someone can go ethereal, but I wouldn't count on it.

I dunno, maybe I should tackle it as it comes along.

I have a question about the doorway to the True Tomb:

Would it close behind any characters as they enter or leave the room?

This is pretty important because my group is close to reaching the room, but don’t have any information on the Wind Dukes, like the name used to open the coffin. This will probably prompt them to visit Allustan, forcing them to leave the room, which may seal itself behind them.The info in the adventure implies it would close, but that would be...bad.

I’m thinking of having the door stick at about halfway up allowing them entrance and exit from the room, but with some effort (ducking under). Does that sound viable?

Last time we played several months ago, I was at four also. The worst was the 1 rolled by the half-minotaur against the traps behind the tapestry at the entrance of level 2.

Please post the session as soon as you can after you play. I'm about to start running CoC in a couple of months and would love to see how a ummm, professional group takes on the wonderful, wonderful (I'm a little sadistic) game.

I'm currently running "The Whispering Cairn" (after a 3 month interlude) and am preparing each session with details of the upcoming adventures. Just recently, rumors began spreading of Smenk's involvement with Dourstone.

Now, the party's cleric works for Dourstone under duress (her family being indentured and all) and I am looking to completely describe Smenk's life. In the opening of "The Three Faces of Evil," it is mentioned that Smenk's right-hand man is killed as a warning to the mine manager, but who is this guy? Is he written about elsewhere? Did I overlook him in the Overload?

Boy, do I know about making cool little preparations for my group that then get thrown to the wind by their choices, Urko.
I guess I could give Saern's advice a try. Especially since after WC it should be easier to lower or substitute ELs.

It's not really the dangerousness of the encounter I want to keep intact, just the appearance of weird monsters that the players haven't seen before. You know, what weaker monster acts (or looks similar to) the lurking strangler? What provides a strange visual?

I'm about to begin running the AoW for a group of 3 players, and am confident in my ability to work out the new ELs. But I'm worried I won't be able to keep the same elements of the original write-up. For instance, with what do I replace the tomb mote? or the lurking strangler? And still have the "freaky little creatures" moments?

Any suggestions will be appreciated and evaluated

I'm about to run AoW within a couple of weeks and am still deciding on the rules for PC creation. The biggest dilemma I'm having comes with my desire to use the awesome Greyhawk regional feats, but don't know how to make them viable for players. I was thinking of making them free at first level, but am afraid it could throw off the power level of the game (or else have to add them to all PCs).

Has anyone else used them in their campaign and how so?

I've been running my players through this fantastic adventure as an introduction to the WoG after years of generic or home-brewed worlds. It was supposed to get them used to the world and its geography and important characters (I've been referencing topics constantly) before running RttToEE. Of course, it seems the following game will now be the AoW path.

Anyway, they tackled the first two levels fairly quickly, but have now begun to slowly take on Kerzit's Fane. With only a week of game time passing for both the Great Hall and Tomorast's Hold, it's been two weeks for less than half the Fane.

Now, I'm wondering if there are any logical ways for the remaining enemies to react. Yug-Anark, Aldest and Nemill are all dead, along with every one of the Seeker guards. Could Eli contact someone to recruit more Seekers? How do the gnolls act after the death of their leader- the only person keeping them near the humans? Could any of the dead be replaced, at all.

I want some rationale behind the dungeon and activity around the characters, and have done some of this myself, but would like more input from other players. And as it seems that my players will be taking more time between encounters and fewer encounters per day, any reactive tactics on the part of the dungeon's denizens would be appreciated

Boy howdy, 40! How long would it take RJK to write these levels? And what about the one per year thing Erik mentioned in an earlier post? The poor man is about 50, so unless he lives a healthy, cautious life, he might not make it to 95.

I’d like to know the depth of each level of the dungeon. I assume both Kerzit's Fane and The Statuary are of the same depth, since there’s no mention of a slope in the description of area 87, but how deep is the slope to level 1, and how far down do the stairs from areas 12, 27 and 45 go?

I wasn’t too upset with the use of dragons in the AP, especially since I was able to tailor the encounters to work with my version of the story. Gottrod, Dhorlot and Hookface were all knitted fairly well (I think, at least).
I had already started a myth of red dragon rulers that held sway over the volcanic mountain range nearly a millennia ago, until they were forced out by growing magical influences (the spellweavers). Hookface had been mentioned in local rumors as being the last in the line of “old ones.”
Once the group arrived at Crazy Jared’s, the red dragon menace had been played up very ominously and nearly everyone was surprised to see a young red attacking the imaginary monarch. As the attack escalated, Jared would scream that the fabled Flame was trying to once again destroy the kingdom of Anduria.
At the start of that adventure, we had a couple of new players join, one choosing to be a half-minotaur (Dragon 313) dwarf from up north, where a rash of half-dragons had been seen.
He connected Dhorlot with the children found in Bhal-hamatugn and his northern home and took great pleasure in assisting the kill. And to later be faced with another of Dhorlot’s kin, who hoped to exact revenge on a fellow minotaur-blooded freak?! Everyone enjoyed that battle.
I had been planning to use “Old Embers Never Die” from very early on, adapting it for use as a trip to Sasserine adventure. Needing better equipment and to sell everything they had acquired, they took a job to investigate kobold raiders in the mountains surrounding Sasserine. Here they faced the reptilian worshippers of the skeleton of an ancient red dragon. This would have led to the second part of the adventure, but they took the quest so lightly that the kobolds had enough time to prepare and more than half the team was slaughtered. (Here’s where two players thought I had it out for them, despite the fact they positioned themselves between the foes in the final chamber.)
Too bad they never had a chance to fight Hookface, as the fiendish morkoth took them down much to easily. All it took was some work and use of foreshadowing and the “random” dragon encounters became something bigger. Someday soon I’ll tally the deaths from the final chapters we played (Soul Pillars, LoO, FoF).

Gee, it wasn't until I started thinking about it that I realized the game has been pretty deadly.

Life's Bazaar- No kills, but the druid's wolf companion took down Prickles.

Flood Season- TPK!!! Tongueeater and his cronies were a little tough, even for the bugbear and werewolf in the group.

Zenith Trajectory- Two deaths. One death as the party's sorcerer acted as Crazy Jared's shield against Gottrod's breath . Another as the party's cleric investigated the three gricks hiding in an alcove on the way to Bhal-hamatugn.

Demonskar Legacy- Three deaths as Nabthatoron's attacks brought down an unarmed Alek and focused on the party's fighters. (Conrad "Dragonslayer" was so paranoid of the possibility of Alek attacking again, he took his sword.)

Test of the Smoking Eye- One real death. Conrad died from the lich's touch. The ninja believing the other three were dead after Kaurophon cast blasphemy, she dived into the gusher.

Secrets of the Soul Pillars- Vittriss Bale + paralyzing gaze = TPK.

It's been a pretty frustrating game for both me and the players. They for trying to survive, me for trying to actually keep them alive.