I like the look of the new playtest characters so wanted to see if we could make a viable party using just them. I am running a group of four through a recent high level PFS scenario, In Glorious Battle. Beware, there will be spoilers. I am also running a PFS repeatable online for just playtest characters and will report on that separately.
For this test we have four level 10 characters. Both Animists are Chaneller's as the ability to swop between powerful Vessel spells is simply too good and Sage gets very little in comparison. One is built mostly as support, blasting and spellcasting main, the other is melee but still with full spellcasting. The two Exemplars are ranged and melee. Both have the rogue dedication as Exemplar skills are awful and both have an Int of 8.
Introduction:
Our heroes receive their call and make their way to Belkzen through the Maze of the Open Road. They meet Mahja Firehair and the other NPC’s and get filled in on the situation. They crush the initial Recall Knowledge checks, learning much about Wights, Sulphur Zombies and Freedom Town.
Encounter A:
Our heroes join the army and start the march to Freedom Town. The group takes point. The army is travelling at full speed which prevents most exploration activities. Sissarak and Coryn both have Swift Sneak so get to Avoid Notice.
The group trigger the undead ambush!
Initiative
39 Ingvarr
34 Coryn
31 Helga
30 Red Zombie
25 Sissarak
23 Skull Swarm
17 Blue Zombie
16 Orange Zombie
15 Green Zombie
Sissarak and Coryn both start with their Immanence invested in their body Ikons for +1 fortitude saves.
Spoiler:
Turn Order Round 1
Ingvarr The enemies are all a considerable distance away. Ingvarr starts with invoking the Embodiment of Battle, giving him a substantial attack and damage bonus as well as opportunity attack and follows up with shield and moves forward.
Coryn At the start of the turn Coryn shifts his immanence into his bow. He takes two actions to shoot the nearest zombie with binding serpents but misses with a 3 (its in the second range increment as well). His Immanence forcibly shifts and he moves it to his Victors Wreath and shoots again, also missing. An inauspicious start!
Helga moves forward and launches some Needle Darts at a zombie, dealing 22 damage
Red Zombie shambles straight at Ingvarr, provoking, taking 21 damage for its trouble
Sissarak s!*%s her Immanence to her weapon as she rolls initiative. Interestingly it seems this would prevent other rolling initiative free actions like Battle Cry. She advances on the zombie and hits twice for 55 damage.
Skull Swarm is too far away to do much. If uses its entire turn flying forward, which provokes from Sissarak who deals 12 damage. The whole group however is now in its aura.
Blue Zombie moves twice
Orange Zombie moves twice
Green Zombie moves twice
Combat status
Ingvarr, EoB [SU], Shield
Coryn
Helga
Sissarak
Skull Swarm, 12 damage
Blue Zombie
Orange Zombie
Green Zombie
Red Zombie, 98 damage
Spoiler:
Turn Order Round 2
Ingvarr Fails against the confusing aura but gets a pass due to incapacitation. He has a swarm on top of him and two zombies in his face. He uses sustaining dance to step away and maintain his battle spell and then grudge strikes the injured red zombie, hitting for 27 damage
Coryn saves against the aura, getting a crit due to resolve. He shifts his immanence back to his bow and again tries to pin down Red with binding serpents. He hits for 19, leaving it on 1HP and it saves and so is not immobilised. He shifts to his Wreath and fires again, missing.
Helga saves against the aura. She enters her Channelling Stance and then disrupts red. He dies and then explodes, hitting everyone except Coryn. It deals 12 B and 10 F. Blue and Green save, taking 6, orange crit passes for nothing. The swarm passes, taking 11 due to its weakness. Helga fails, Ingvarr passes, Sissarak crit passes.
Sissarak fails the swarm save but passes due to incapacitation. She moves away and strikes the swarm twice for 27 damage total. It is highly resistant.
Skull Swarm moves to get the group into a 30’ cone. This provokes from Ingvarr and Sissarak, who both swing on it. Ingvarr misses but Sissarak hits for another 14. It then screams, hitting the entire group. Everyone saves, this group has strong will saves.
Blue Zombie moves up to Ingvarr and hits for 19 damage and sets him on fire. He saves against the smoke.
Orange Zombie advances on Helga and hits her for 14 damage and sets her on fire. She saves against the smoke.
Skull Swarm, 64 damage
Blue Zombie, 6 damage
Orange Zombie
Green Zombie, 6 damage
Red Zombie, Dead
Spoiler:
Turn Order Round 3
Ingvarr is next to a pair of zombies and the swarm. He swings at the swarm with a grudge strike and then leaps away, sustaining his battle spell at the same time, meaning the zombies will only get one attack if they come after him. Unfortunately it resists most of his damage and he only manages 6 vitality damage. He burns for 3 and then goes out.
Coryn No-one is in range to benefit from his wreath save ability so he s&#!s back to his weapon and again tries to immobilise a zombie, this time hitting blue. He crits for 41 damage and 10 electricity to green but it makes the save, these zombies are nimble! His immanence shifts back to his wreath.
Helga unleashes a 5th level, 3 action heal. She heals everyone for 27 damage due to her stance and damages all of the enemy for 22 vitality. The swarm fails, blue and orange pass, green crit passes. The area damage weakness means the swarm is destroyed. She then burns for 2 and is still on fire.
Sissarak sees an opportunity and moves around the zombies. She Wounds the Earth, hitting all three of them for 9 damage and knocking blue and green prone! Her Ikon shifts to her Wreath.
Blue Zombie stands up and advances on Ingvarr, provoking, who crits it for 24
Orange Zombie hits Helga once for 14
Green Zombie stands and advances on Sissarak, also provoking, who also crits for 33
Skull Swarm, Dead
Blue Zombie, 96 damage
Orange Zombie 25 damage
Green Zombie, 58 damage
Red Zombie, Dead
Spoiler:
Turn Order Round 4
Ingvarr has a zombie in his face. He leaps away, again sustaining his battle spell and grudge strikes it, hitting for 30 damage on blue.
Coryn again shifts his Immanence to his weapon and tries to pin down blue with magic snake arrows as it looks badly damaged. He hits for 15 and immobilises it! His immanence shifts again to his Wreath.
Helga uses Disrupt Undead on Green who saves, taking 19 damage. She then backs off behind Ingvarr.
Sissarak shifts her Immanence back to her weapon, strikes Green (missing with a 1) and then moves away.
Blue Zombie Escapes with a 20 and moves to engage Coryn.
Orange Zombie moves on Ingvarr provoking from Ingvarr and Sissarak, Ingvarr hits for 16. Its attack goes well wide.
Green Zombie advances on Sissarak, critting but for a mere 18 damage.
Skull Swarm, Dead
Blue Zombie, 141 damage
Orange Zombie 41 damage
Green Zombie, 77 damage
Red Zombie, Dead
Spoiler:
Turn Order Round 5
Ingvarr Decides to start making two attacks rather than grudge striking. He crits orange for 52 damage, hits for 30 and then leaps away, sustaining his battle spell.
Coryn has blue zombie in his face. He uses One Moment to Glory, giving Helga a new save against the ongoing fire damage. It is unclear what the DC would be or even which save would apply, I assume a DC based on the zombies level and that it is reflex. She passes and goes out! He then shoots blue, critting, killing it and causing it to explode. It does 18B and 11 Fire. Sissarak saves, taking 14 damage, the rest of the party crit passes. Orange and Green pass taking 9. At this point I totally remember that the swarm should have also exploded but I am not going to try and retcon things at this point, He takes a second shot at green, hitting for 13.
Helga doesnt see much value in expending resources at this stage so she disrupts Orange, who fails, taking 29 damage and also explodes! He deals 6B and 6 Fire. Sissarak fails, Helga and Ingvarr pass, Coryn crit passes. Green passes.
Sissarak strikes at Green twice and then plans to move, forcing it to provoke assuming ti survives. It doest and it promptly explodes. I dont bother resolving it as it cannot possibly kill anyone and there is no healing time pressure.
The group restore themselves to full health in no time. Both Exemplars can heal themselves for 5d8HP every turn and both Animists can use the Garden vessel spell if they need to.
The Kineticist has been out for a little while now and has had a generally positive reception. I think it is an excellent class and can be built in many different ways. As such I decided to give it a spin to see how an all Kineticist party might work out at high level. I set the level to 20 and set up an adventure for them, trying to make it similar to what you might find in the last Chapter of Part 6 of an AP. As such it will involve a mix of Combat, Exploration and Investigation challenges. This means you cannot build solely for combat and hopefully makes each character a bit more realistic. I wanted to test a range of Gate combinations so three of the PCs are dual Gate and one has taken all six. I wanted to see how the Kineticist class works so I have generally avoided using archetypes.
Our adventure is set in the Tian Xia nation of Wanshou. Our heroes have come together to liberate the people from the monstrous rule of Zhannagar, the Lord of Storms and Bogs. Our heroes have begun an assault on his Winter Palace to finally bring down the tyrant. The palace is a massive, sprawling edifice set amongst the swamps and marshes of a large island off the coast. Obviously it is warded against attempts to simply teleport inside and much of it is underground so our heroes must force a way in through the front gate.
Our four heroes are:
Genzin, Lord of Fire - a Jinin Half Elf who has mastered the powers of Earth and Fire. He often engages foes in close combat, bringing powerful explosions and emitting a dangerous aura. Out of combat he is quite literally terrifying as well as being the groups lead on all matters dealing with Nature and lifting heavy objects.
Kyoku, Lady of Storms - a former slave of the many Boggard tribes which now rules over Wanshou, Kyoku came into her power during one of the many magical storms unleashed across the area by Zhannagar. She embodies air and water and provides a variety of movement and control options for the group as well as being their primary scout, trap finder and disabler. .
General Massamoto - the oldest member of the group, Massamoto was a human general in the armies of Zhannagar. Forced to serve under threat of the death of everyone he loved, the rest of the group freed his family and allowed him to turn on the Tyrant. Embodying wood and metal, he provides a mix of control, healing, and battlefield manipulation. Outside of combat he is the group's primary medic as well as being immensely knowledgeable about the local terrain.
Shu Zhen of the Many Gates - Shu Zhen is the youngest member of the group, and grew up in a hidden monastery where she was trained in all of the ancient mystical arts. Legend has it that she is destined to defeat Zhannagar but in this Age of Lost Omens prophecy is an unreliable thing. She has a range of support, control and attacking powers and is the groups primary knowledge character.
The groups standard exploration activities are:
Genzin: Search
Kyoku: Search and Avoid Notice (Legendary Stealth)
Massamoto: Defend
Shu-Zhen: Search
All of them have Incredible Initiative so no-one needs to Scout.
ENCOUNTER 1: THE PALACE GATES
Our heroes have snuck onto the island and are approaching the Palace. They can all fly (Kyoku and Shu-Zhen both have Cyclonic Ascent), Genzin has Burning Jet if he needs to and Massamoto has Soaring Wings. I could have skipped the last two but I generally like my high level PCs to have their own independent means of flight.
For this encounter however Genzin, Kyoku and Shu-Zhen are following the Expert to Avoid Notice behind Kyoku to avoid alerting the enemy. The guards are fairly lax, who would come to this depressing place? As such the group can get fairly close before making their assault.
The gate is set into a thick, high wall. The wall is 30’ high, two 40’ tall towers flank the gate. It has a significant force guarding it. Four grippli border guards keep watch from the top of the two watch towers and a corrupted star archon commander hovers over the central gate. Behind the wall, screened from the PCs view at the start, waits an enormous clockwork dragon. This is a 120xp severe encounter.
Opposition:
4 Border Guards [Level 18 - reskinned Elite Scarlet Triad Bosses]
1 Corrupted Star Archon [Level 19 - as regular Star Archon just swopping evil for good and removing Retributive Strike]
1 Clockwork Dragon [Level 16]
Our group attack from stealth, bursting out of the trees close to the wall!
Initiative Round 1
Kyoku
Archon
Orange
Blue
Red
Genzin
Dragon
Green
Shu-Zhen
Massamoto
Kyoku strikes first. She creates a massive hurricane on the top of one of the watchtowers hitting red and green. Red is torn into the air and then dropped over the edge of the battlements (crit fail for 36B plus 50 falling damage and prone]. Green manages to hold himself together (pass for 9B). She then channels the elements, activating her Sea Glass Guardians. All of our heroes have Kinetic Pinnacle as the group has no reliable means of getting level 7 Haste.
◆◆◆ Rising Hurricane
◆ Channel Elements - Sea Glass Guardians
Archon Seeing the palace under attack (and recognising the group - they are obviously very famous at this point), he wastes no time in unleashing his most potent abilities. Flying forward he hits the entire group with a massive Sunburst! Its rare to get to use such abilities given the massive radius but the area in front of the Gate is wide open. Shu-Zhen instantly recognises the spell (she has Recognise and Quick Recognition) and warns her allies. Genzin fails but is immune to fire and so ignores it. Kyoku critically fails. While she is immune to fire she isnt immune to becoming permanently blind and so uses her hero point. She passes and avoids that fate. Massamato fails taking 53 damage and Shu Zhen saves taking nothing due to Evasion.
Orange can feint targets within 30’ but the group are well beyond that. He simply unleashes three attacks at Kyku but all of them miss. I should probably have switched their short bows for long bows.
Blue is in much the same position as Orange. He moves closer on top of the Watchtower and shoots twice. His aim is better and both connect for 40 damage.
Red is on the ground. He hops to his feet, darts forward, tries to feint Kyoku and shoot her! His feint fails and his arrow goes wide.
Genzin unleashes a hellish firestorm onto the two towers which catches all three Guards still up there. It deals 67 fire damage. Orange fails (67), blue passes (33) and green critically fails (134). He then channels elements and earth blasts red, critting him for 44 B.
◆◆◆ All Shall End in Flames
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Dragon With a roar the dragon takes to wing, flying over the wall and landing in front of the group. It opens its massive jaws and engulfs them all in flaming oil. Again, Genzin and Kyoku are immune. The others both pass, taking nothing due to evasion.
Green launches three attacks at Kyoku. Only one connects for 23 damage.
Shu-Zhen drops a mass of rocks on the dragon, archon and red for 58B damage. The archon evades the entire effect but red critically fails (116) as does the dragon (101). She then throws a rock at red, missing with a 1.
◆◆◆ Shattered Mountain Weeps
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Massamoto decides to layer on the pain. He fills a large section of the battlefield with razor sharp metal, hitting red and the archon. It deals 61 P damage. The archon saves (30) but red fails (61P and Immobilised). He then throws a bolt of electricity at the dragon, figuring that if its made of metal it might be vulnerable. He crits it for 40 damage.
Kyoku unleashes another hurricane at the two distant guards still on the Watchtower. It deals 18B, Orange critically fails (36B +50 falling), Blue fails (18B +50 falling). She then re-establishes her fishy companions.
◆◆◆ Rising Hurricane
◆ Channel Elements and Sea Glass Guardians
Archon flies out of the hail of rocks and metal (he takes no damage, he is just at the edge). He unleashes a prismatic spray, hitting all four.
Genzin is hit by Green [Poison] and critically fails. He hero points into a critical success.
Kyoku is hit by Red [Fire] and ignores it as she is immune.
Massmaoto is hit by Yellow [Electricity] and also ignores it as he is Immune.
Shu-Zen is hit by Blue [Petrify] and Violet [Slow]. She critically passes the Petrification and passes the Slow.
Overall not a great turn for him.
Orange stands up, moves, and takes a shot at Kyoku, hitting for 26.
Blue does the same, hitting for 20
Red escapes from the needles, moves, tries to feint Kyoku (crit pass) and shoots but misses.
Genzin is faced with fairly spread out enemies. However, All Shall End in Flames is a massive burst and he catches the Dragon, Orange and Blue in it for 64 damage. The dragon fails (74 as he is in Genzins aura), Orange and Blue pass (32). He then launches a rock at Red, missing with a 1.
◆◆◆ All Shall End in Flames
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Dragon As the group has yet to move the dragon has them in a perfect formation for its tail spike. It flies around the group and tries to spear Massmaoto, Shu Zen and Genzin. It crits with a natural 20 for 82 damage! Genzin reacts, leaping away and doing the dragon fire damage (27)
Green Seeing that Massmaoto is injured, takes three shots at him but his aim is terrible.
Shu-Zhen Drops another mountain, this time on orange and blue for 69 damage. Orange critically fails (138) but blue saves (34) and then electrocutes the dragon, hitting for 32 damage and destroying it. It begins to tick ominously.
◆◆◆ Shattered Mountain Weeps
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Massamoto drops another Hell onto orange and blue for 58P. Orange passes but is overcome, blue fails and is immobilised (58). He then channels and blasts the archon as the only thing in range, critting for 52 electricity.
◆◆◆ Hell of 1M Needles
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Kyoku moves up to red, transforms herself into a bolt of lightning which crackles through him and the archon for 43 damage. Red passes (21) but the archon fails (43). She then sends a blast of cold at red, hitting for 19.
◆ Move
◆◆ Lightning Dash
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Archon Decides to stop messing about with spells and unleashes their multi starknife attack. The first strike hits Kyoku for 27 (she is immune to the fire) but then he misses. He then closes on Kyoku.
Blue Staggers out of the metal spikes (taking 14 damage) and then slowly out of the falling rocks. He manages to feint Massamoto and shoots, critting for 65!
Red Seeing an opportunity moves and feints Massamoto, shoots him for 33 and then misses.
Genzin is out of his Gate having used an overpower reaction. At the start of his turn he aligns himself automatically with Final Gate and blasts red, killing him. He launches another conflagration of flame at green and blue for 68 damage. Blue fails (68), Green crit fails (136). Ouch He channels again with his quickened action and blasts blue for another 20!
◇ Final Gate Channel Elements and Blast
◆◆◆ All Shall End in Flames
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Dragon At this point the ominously ticking dragon explodes! It hits everyone except green. All of the group save, taking no damage! The archon and blue save but take 33.
Green is badly injured but sees a chance to take down Massamoto and so unleashes on him. He hits once for 17.
Shu-Zhen Conjures a timber sentinel next to herself and Massamoto and then blasts twice. First she forms her blast into a bow which crits for 48, killing him. Her second blast flies over the head of the archon.
◆◆ Timber Sentinel
◇ Weapon Infusion
◆ Blast
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Massamoto is badly injured but most of the enemy are down. Green remains stubbornly alive so he conjures a mighty ballista to shoot him, hitting for 59 damage which kills him and gaining some temp HP in the process. He only has 30’ range blasts and no stance so he simply realigns his gate.
Archon, 235/400. Resist 15 fire, weakness 15 good
Red, Dead
Blue, Dead
Green, Dead
Orange, Dead
Dragon, Dead
Initiative Round 4
Kyoku with only the archon left to contend with Kyoku hits him with a melee blast for 17 acid, transforms herself into a bolt of lightning and shoots through him for another 47 electricity (he fails) and then channels and sends a ranged air blast for 18 cold.
◆ Melee Blast
◆◆ Lightning Dash
◆ Channel Elements and Blast
Archon Seeing the writing on the wall the Archon flees (it escapes given its 75’ flight speed and at will dimension door)
I give the group one 10 minute rest to recover. If they take longer it is clear that the palace will become aware of the attack and that will make it much harder to get in.
Massamoto is a Legendary Medic with ward medic and assurance. He auto passes the DC30 and heals everyone for 36 damage. He dashes some herbs on a quick restorative meal of fresh produce, giving everyone 119 back. This gets everyone back to full except for him so Kyoku hits him with an Oceans Balm for another 51. They live with Massamoto having a little damage on him and press on to try and break into the Winter Palace.
Using an Overflow impulse switches off your Kinetic aura and therefore turns off any aura effects gained from Junction. All Overflow says is that it switches off your aura when you use an Overflow impulse.
It doesnt say what the timing of this is. If it happens as you activate then your Overflow Impulse cannot benefit from aura effects (such as the fire Impulse Junction or Gate Aura Junction). If it happens after the Impulse is resolved then it can.
The natural language of "use" would suggest the former but that feels really poor. How are people interpreting this?
Rage of Elements is now out and sanctioned. It contains an updated Ability Glossary and, in particular, changes to how the Grab and Knockdown monster abilities work. When running PFS games which version of these abilities should we be using?
The five of you have been spending the last few days lounging around the Grand lodge, in between missions. As you are swopping tall tales in the Lounge a harassed looking Ambrus Valsin barges in. You lot! he barks, I have a job for you. Grab your gear, you're off to the Five Kings Mountains.
With that he shoves a letter into Eadie's hands along with a small silver disc. This explains everything. If you need a guide from Larrat ask around for Gurda Ironboot, she can get you to where you need to be. If you cant manage your own magical transportation then head to the kitchens. Captain Caleban Gallonica can get you there but you will probably have to taste his latest "creation" first!
Any questions? No, good. Get going.
Feel free to introduce yourselves and decide how you are getting to your destination as well as dealing with any preparations. If you plan to use long duration buff spells please make sure they are listed at the top of your character profile so I can see them easily. The letter is in the Handouts folder on Roll20.
Hello all, Discussion Thread is now open. One thing to note, I will generally roll things like Initiative, Saves or other Reactive rolls in order to keep things moving quickly. Please make sure your numbers on your sheet are correct as I take these from there. For key things I will often pause to give people a chance to use a reroll if you have one.
I am recruiting for this scenario as a bit of a memorial for Silbeg who passed away recently. Recruitment will be up for the next week or until such time as we have a decent looking team.
I will not be taking first come first served. This is a complex and potentially quite difficult seeker tier scenario. I will be looking to put together a team clearly within a particular sub tier. I will take up to six players but may not take six as such tables often result in a lot of delay.
Posting expectation is one post per day during the week, less frequent at the weekend. If you cannot commit to that then please dont sign up.
When registering interest please make sure you have a complete character profile. If you are using anything particularly unusual or complex then make sure it is explained.
Note this scenario also has a specific Hard Mode. Hard Mode brings wit it no additional reward, it is designed for players who are looking for a greater challenge. Please indicate if you would like to play on hard mode. The decision to play on Hard Mode must be unanimous.
Hello all, I am looking to recruit 4 players for the brand new 2E Stolen Fate AP. This is a three part AP which starts at level 11 and goes all the way up to level 20. Only the first part of it is currently out. A few considerations before applying:
1. This is an AP and is therefore a lengthy time commitment. Each part could easily take 9-12 months to complete, depending on how active people are. Please make sure you can commit to at least the first part before applying.
2. The AP starts at level 11 and so you need to be fairly comfortable with how high level 2E characters work. This is really not a game for someone new to the system.
3. Given the timescales involved please be able to commit to posting at least once per day. Obviously this wont always be possible, life comes first, but games like this require momentum or there is the risk they fall apart.
4. I have run a lot of PbP games but not much over the last couple of years. This AP has reinvigorated my interest.
5. I generally use Roll20 to host maps and handouts as I find it easier to do so than on something like Google slides. You will need a roll20 account but they are free and you dont have to use it for anything else. All game play, dice rolls, RP etc will occur here on the forums.
OK, with the basics out of the way here are the character creation rules:
1. You start at level 11. All common ancestries are available, all classes are available but no evil alignments (and therefore no evil champions). If you want an uncommon or rare ancestry ask and I will consider it.
2. You start with the following equipment:
• One 10th-level item
• Two 9th-level items
• One 8th-level item
• Two 7th-level items
• 500 gp to spend on consumable items of 10th level or lower, or permanent items of 6th level or lower, as you see fit.
3. You may start with up to three uncommon items, spells or rituals of your choice that you can afford. If there is something which is rare that you want let me know.
4. We will use the Free Archetype rules but only for the following archetypes:
• Harrower
• Archaeologist
• Blessed One
• Horizon Walker
• Linguist
• Loremaster
• Scout
• Pathfinder Agent
Your free archetype class feats can only be used to take feats from your chosen free archetype. You cannot use them to take regular class feats or dedication or archetype feats from other archetypes.
Applications
I am taking a maximum of four players. Please let me know a little about your level of experience with 2E and PbP and your likely posting rate. I dont need a fully fleshed out character sheet at this stage (although I will before we start) but I do want a couple of paragraphs about who your character is and why The Harrow and Fate would have taken an interest in them.
My starting assumption is that you will all know each other, will have travelled together for some time and, preferably are all part of the same group. You might be a team of pathfinders, researchers from the Academae or Magambaya, agents of Sorshen or whatever. We will hammer that out once we have the characters.
Character applications will remain open for the next week or so or until I get enough good looking applications to make a solid team. PF2 really does emphasise teamwork and PbP works best when everyone is working together and interacting well. Please no brooding loners.
So, this AP gives the PCs a home base which comes populated with a variety of NPCs which the AP leaves us to create. Which NPCs are you planning to introduce as they develop their personal demiplane?
I shall be starting off with:
Baines wrote:
Baines is an elderly gentleman, always impeccably dressed in faded black trousers, frock coat and cravat. He normally arrives with a slight covering of cobwebs as he is the Castles caretaker, butler and occasional factotum. Ever since Mrs Baines left he has also been responsible for the cleaning which he deeply resents. His deep sunk eyes narrow whenever he is asked to take on additional duties and his answer to most questions is a sullen, "Very well sir". He has an almost magical ability to never be around when he is actually needed. At such times he can generally be found passed out in the wine cellar.
I am looking to see if there is interest in a Core run of the various Seeker Tier adventures. This would be a run from level 12 up to level 19, ending most likely with the two-part Passing the Torch series.
At the moment I am just looking to gauge if there is interest and if so get an idea of how many seeker tier core characters are out there. If I start with Eyes of the Ten then I will only take 4 players.
As a reminder, if we start with Eyes then you must be exactly level 12 with 33xp. If we start with some of the other stuff then the level requirements are more lax.
The run is likely to cover the three part All for Immortality arc, the standalones Breaking the Bones and Unleashing the Untouchable as well as some Modules and/or AP segments to fill in the level gaps.
If you are interested let me know which character(s) you have in tier and which of the seeker tier adventures you are eligible to play.
Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, fans of all ages, genders, races, philosophies and states of existence. Please get ready, the inaugural Arena of Blood will be starting soon. You still have time though, so put in that last bag of popcorn, pop the kettle on and brew up some coffee and get all the family round ready to watch the first exiting battle of the ages.
It has been a while since I ran any 1E and I have decided to dive right back in with a bit of silly Mythic arena battles.
The concept is a simple one. A mad God known to all as the Controller dwells in a massive sealed demiplane called the City that Never Sleeps. There he has collected a population of loyal followers, retainers, and crafters, all of them experts in their field from across the multiverse. Such a population however requires entertainment. That is where you come in. The Controller designs and builds arenas across the multiverse and then goes out and kidnaps heroes and villains, gods and demons and makes them battle one another, each time in a new and dangerous locale. Naturally there are rules, hazards, traps, rogue competitors and worse within. Each victor is granted a prize, losers get restored so that they may battle for the entertainment of the masses again and again.
This game will continue with rolling recruitment. Once I have three complete applicants I will run the first arena battle. As we gain more applicants I will add more or larger arena battles. Competitors may seek out temporary alliances to aid them in a fight but at the end of each battle there can be only one victor. There will also be a downtime period between each competition to encourage the use of skills as well as murderous combat. During downtime competitors can engage in research, do some retraining, craft items, spy on potential rivals, try and learn something about the next match or whatever else strikes their fancy.
So, if you are interested here are the character creation rules:
1. Sources
All published Paizo materials with some exceptions (see below).
2. Starting Level
Level 20, lets go crazy!
3. You said Mythic?
I did, each of you begins with 10 Mythic ranks.
4. Starting Stats
25 point buy, you are living legends!
5. Races
Any common, featured or uncommon race with the exception of those that get an excess of stats (mostly Drow Noble and Duergar Tyrant). If in doubt ask.
6. Gold?
Two options:
a) You start with the standard 880,000gp for a level 20 character. If you have any crafting feats the you may craft any gear you start with which qualifies. You must however demonstrate that you can reliably hit any crafting DCs on a Take 10 so make sure to invest in Spellcraft.
b) If you dont want to mess about buying stuff then you can use AUTOMATIC BONUS PROGRESSION. You use the no magic items variant and so count as level 22 for the modifiers (giving you the full 23 points of legendary gifts). You begin with 120,000gp that you can use to purchase potions, scrolls, wands and other charged items. You can never use any permanent magical item of any kind under any circumstances, they simply do not work for you.
You may purchase spellcasting services with a maximum caster level of 20 if, for example, you want to buy permanent spells.
7. Variant rules
The answer to the most common questions on variant rules is pretty much always going to be NO given how many options you already have. So that includes:
No third party
No elephant in the room
No feat tax rules
No Spheres of Power
No variant multiclassing
No Gestalt
8. Houserules
You are Gods amongst men, elves and goblins. As such you do get some extra benefits.
Each competitor can chose one of the following options:
a) The advanced template plus one of celestial, fiendish, resolute, entropic or counterpoised.
b) Half-Celestial, Half-Fiend or Half-Dragon
c) Lich, Psychic Lich, Mummy Lord, Vampire or Graveknight
d) Nightmare Lord or Unknown
e) Commando Construct or Enlightened Construct
You must meet the requirements for the template you take, including alignment (unless you have Beyond Morality).
In addition you gain the following:
a) if you chose regular gear you gain the Divine Source Mythic Path ability once for free using the regular rules.
b) if you chose Automatic Bonus Progression you gain the Divine Source Mythic Path Ability three times for free and you may use each level of SLA 3 times per day. If you are a prepared caster you may prepare the spells on your Domain lists as if they were on your spell list. If you are a spontaneous caster add all spells from your Domain list to your spells known as additional spells to your regular ones.
9. Banned List
The following options are not permitted.
a) Blood Money
b) Simulacrum
c) If you have Wish or Miracle accessible for free (such as via an SLA) it may not be used to increase your stats. You may use it for any of its other options although you must pay the component cost of any duplicated spells.
d) Polymorph spells and effects may not be used to take the form of Unique or extremely powerful entities. No taking the form of Great Old Ones, Green Men or Grendel. Likewise, such entities cannot be summoned or Gated into an arena. If in doubt, ask.
d) Leadership
e) Sacred Geometry
f) You may not take "monster" feats from the Bestiaries unless something lets you do so.
Others may be added to the list over time. The Controller has no interest in putting on a dull show full of "I Win" options as such experiences do not entertain the masses. Note, the threshold for being counted as an “I Win” option is pretty damn high, it largely has to deny people any chance to resist and be unavoidable. So, for example, using Wish or Miracle with Channel Power to ignore SR and Geas people to avoid the long casting time is not permitted. Casting ridiculously high DC save or suck spells or charge pouncing people for 2k damage is totally fine and wholly expected at this level.
10. Companions
The Controller is interested in seeing how the competitors perform and not their menagerie. As such each competitor may arrive in the arena with only a single companion whether that is an animal companion, eidolon, phantom, familiar or planar bound minion. There is no limit on your ability to summon additional aid during the battle.
Character submissions can be made on this thread or by PM to me if you prefer to keep things private and not tip off your opposition. I have a stable of characters ready to throw in who I may add in to spice things up and make up the numbers. Obviously high level characters like this take some time to build so I am not expecting to start immediately.
Arena Rules
Each battle will take place in a different location. The arena can be anywhere in the multiverse and you can expect each location to contain a variety of environmental and other hazards. You should be prepared to deal with more than just your opponents. Arenas may also contain a range of dangerous monsters which might well get in the way. I will be using Roll20 to stage the battles but all dice rolling and discussion will take place here.
The Controller is uninterested in seeing competitors arrive to each battle bristling with precast buffs. As such the following rules apply to each battle:
1. Competitors may enter each arena with spells precast if those spells are permanent or have a duration of 1 day/level or greater.
2. Just prior to entering the arena competitors may cast spells which have a duration of at least 1 hour/level.
3. All other spells or effects on a competitor are dispelled before they enter the arena.
All competitors will be teleported into the arena at the same time. On arrival each competitor will be sealed in a transparent sphere of force which they cannot leave or affect in any way, shape or form. Competitors will roll initiative and all spheres will drop at the beginning of round 2. This gives everyone a single round to prepare and to view the battlefield and ensures that no-one is flat footed once battle begins.
The Controller expects all competitors to actively engage the enemy. The crowds have no interest in watching people stand around buffing themselves before doing anything. If a competitor fails to engage an enemy for two consecutive rounds or for three rounds in total they are disqualified. No playing sneaky druids earth gliding out of sight to cast a bunch of buff spells while their enemies kill each other. Engaging a competitor means that you took some form of hostile action against at least one of them. If you are unable to do so (you are paralysed or cannot perceive any other competitors for example) then provided you do something to try and engage a competitor then that round does not count towards the disqualification timer.
Competitors cannot voluntarily leave the arena under any circumstances. They can be removed by an opponent's ability, for example you can Plane Shift people away or Wish them into the Sun. A competitor who is forcibly ejected from the arena has three rounds to return following which they will be disqualified.
Victory
Victorious competitors receive one point of Legendary Gift. This grants a single point of inherent stat bonus which stacks with any others you have (maximum of +5). They also receive a prize fund of 25,000gp. Defeated competitors receive a 5,000gp participation prize. The Controller will restore all competitors to fighting fitness at the end of any match. All conditions, curses, maladies and other effects are removed. Any competitor who is killed, disintegrated, turned into a ravening undead or similar will be returned to their regular form. The Controller will not restore any expended items, charges, broken gear or dispelled spells, including permanent spells.
If you have any questions please feel free to ask here or to PM me.
The Roll20 table I will be using for Maps can be found HERE
I am busy preparing this to run at Gencon. The scenario has the Repeatable tag in the PDF but doesnt seem to have any variable elements. Am I missing something?
I played this today and have nearly finished prepping it. Two issues have jumped out at me so far.
The tactics for Perizia call for her to throw her trident at the PCs twice per round. Unfortunately, in neither tier does she have a returning weapon.
It is quite possible that your group will be literally incapable of dealing with the Melody. Both of the skills that allow you to disable it require someone to be an expert and that is far from guaranteed. The hazard has no other means of dealing with it. I suppose the group could run away but that does feel rather unheroic. On the plus side it does only last for a minute so I suppose you could run away and hope it stops. You may then of course have to deal with it coming out of the building.
I am getting back into Starfinder with some of the new high level scenarios after taking a break for about the last year during Covid.
I am looking to update a couple of characters in the level 8-12 range. What new gear, augmentations, magic items, spells or other equipment should I be keeping a look out for? I am less interested in weapons and armour, its more the laundry list of other stuff you can pick up that I am interested in.
Currently updating an Overlord Mystic, Ghost Operative and Technomancer.
With the level 16 standalone adventure Night of the Gray Death coming out later this year I have been thinking around what character I would play it with. My preference is sorcerer and that lead me to thinking about spell selection. High level spontaneous spell selection is complicated due to spells existing at multiple levels and the impact of signature spells so I thought I would seek some advice.
The current spell list looks like this:
Arcane Known Spells DC 37, attack +27
8th Mind Blank, Chain Lightning (H+2) (Signature), Confusion (H+4), Maze (B), Illusory Scene (H+3)
7th Magnificent Mansion, Fireball (H+4) (Signature), Crushing Despair (H+2), Resist Energy (H+5), Prismatic Spray (B)
6th Slow (H+3), Collective Transposition, Teleport, Feeblemind, Disintegrate (Signature) (B)
5th Synesthesia, Cone of Cold (Signature), Tongues, Command (H+4), Prying Eye (B)
4th Freedom of Movement, Phantasmal Killer (Signature), Fly, Invisibility (H+2), Dimension Door (B)
3rd Fear (H+2), Invisibility Sphere, Illusory Disguise (H+2), Earthbind, Haste (Signature) (B)
2nd Glitterdust, Mirror Image, Hideous Laughter, Knock, Dispel Magic (Signature) (B)
1st Summon Animal (Signature), Feather Fall, Grease, Shockwave, Magic Missile (B)
Cantrips Electric Arc, Ray of Frost, Telekinetic Projectile, Shield, Detect Magic
The character is an Imperial Bloodline sorcerer with Arcane Evolution (extra spell not included) and Greater Mental Evolution (bonus spells included). A few spells are in their for flavour (level 8 Illusory Scene, duration permanent, Magnificent Mansion) but otherwise I have tried to cover a range of different bases. I lack a decent fortitude or will save aoe damaging spell but can otherwise target both saves (slow does fortitude, crushing despair, command and confusion do will). I grabbed Synesthesia with Crossblooded Evolution.
I am looking to see if there is anything I have overlooked or a way in which the spell selection could be ordered more effectively. I have not included True Strike as he is using a Major Staff of Divination. Summon Animal is there for something to do to Golems after Hasting the party.
Hello all, welcome back to another high level combat test. As in previous exercises this is designed primarily as a test of combat abilities. You can find previous 2E tests HERE and HERE.
This is a white room test of how different classes manage to handle standard AP style encounters. It isn't intended as a scientific study but perhaps provides a few data points along the way. This time I am looking at how some of the classes often considered to be weaker perform against a standard Paizo AP.
We are once again returning to Age of Ashes, Part 6. I would have preferred to use either Agents of Edgewatch or Extinction Curse but I am currently playing both of them and didn't want to spoil them. In looking at so-called “weaker” classes I have gone with the APG classes. We have a Tempest Oracle (admittedly probably the best curse but still generally considered weaker than the Cleric, particularly for healing), Gymnast Swashbuckler (definitely weaker than the fighter and arguably the worst subclass), Rune Witch (arcane prepared classes are often held to be on the low end of the power scale) and Alchemical Science Investigator (again, arguably a poor man's rogue. So, let's get to know the diminutive atheistic god squad, sent from Heaven to stop the plans of the avatar of an apocalyptic dragon god.
Willow, agender Aasimar Leshy Swashbuckler 20. Willow is a classic swashbuckler, bouncing around the battlefield, stabbing things in the face, taking ripostes when enemies miss and getting a freebie reaction to do so on every enemy's turn. Overall the potential for a lot of damage but AC isn't great at 46. Legendary acrobatics, athletics, medicine and stealth.
Gerty, female Aasimar Halfling Witch 20. Gerty is the youngest and keenest member of the group. She has always wanted to meet a friendly dragon. She has a wide range of magic available to her having also trained as a wizard. She is very squishy, with low HP (226) and AC (42), making her a prime target for enemies. Legendary Arcana, Dragon Lore, Medicine and Occultism.
Mungo, male Aasimar Shoony Oracle 20. Mungo is the very best boy, he knows this because his friends always tell him so. Like Gerty he also loves dragons, so much so that he has woken the blood of dragons in himself! Mungo has full draconic sorcerer spellcasting. Legendary Arcana, Diplomacy and Intimidation.
Miles, male Aasimar, Halfling Investigator. The oldest and most laid back member of the group. Little can phase Miles, he has seen it all before and now he thinks of himself as being responsible for the rest of the group. He has delved into magic with full witch based spellcasting along with the basic eldritch archer dedication. Legendary in Arcana, Crafting, Medicine, Occultism, Society and Stealth.
A few things to note about the characters. Each of them is an Aasimar. Partly this was to give the group a theme, partly because I wanted all of them to have persistent flight. Three of them have heavily multiclassed, this is largely due to the class feats for Oracle, Witch and Investigator being quite underwhelming. The counterpoint to that is that the base class chassis for them is quite strong.
If you want to view the full stat blocks or follow along as the various encounters develop I am running this via a roll20 table which can be found HERE.
INTRODUCTION:
For our test we will assume that the group has allied with Mengkare and have joined him in order to conduct the attunement ritual for Alsetta’s Ring. Both Gerty and Miles are more than capable of leading the ritual but they leave that to Mengkare as neither want to be forced to remain behind. Mungo casts a level 6 heroism on all three to help them complete the ritual, with a plan of waiting until the following day so the spell slots are restored.
They crush the completion of the ritual, Mengkare getting a 58 versus DC45. Both Miles and Gerty easily pass their checks, Gerty getting a crit. Both could have just used Arcana instead of Occultism or Religion as both have the Unified Theory feat.
Having critically succeeded the group gain resistance 10 to all damage and a +4 status bonus to saves against effects created by evil creatures. Their Strikes gain the effects of the ghost touch rune and deal an additional 1d10 good damage. They are immune to the soul-draining effect within Alseta’s Landing.
The group prepare themselves to step through the portal into Alsetta’s Ring. They have little idea what to expect on the other side and so make a variety of preparations.
Exploration Activities
Willow has legendary sneak and is therefore always avoiding notice. They are also alert to danger and are searching.
Gerty is quite squishy and so she enters the portal defending with her spellguard shield raised. She turns herself invisible using her armour rune and casts mind blank and false life along with longstrider (2), see invisibility (5) and endure elements (5) cast from her wands.
Mungo is the best boy and is also defending using his spellguard shield. He has longstrider (2) and see invisibility (5) active from wands and glibness from his ring. He casts mind blank and false life before they set off.
Miles is a legendary sneak so is always avoiding notice. He has trap finder so is always alert for hazards (with legendary perception to boot) and he normally scouts for the group as well. Before leaving he takes major anti plague and antitoxins, and a greater darkvision elixir and casts longstrider (wand), false life and mind blank
They step through the portal and find themselves in a massive chamber with three large, insect like creatures clinging to the walls. Battle is immediately joined, assuming any of the insects manage to see them!
ENCOUNTER 1 ALSETA'S LANDING :
Notes: Moderate 20, enemies are climbing the walls at a height of 20’
Creatures:
3 Vazgorlu (Creature 20)
Initiative
Willow
Green
Miles
Gerty
Blue
Red
Mungo
ROUND 1
Pre-Initiative: No enemy is close enough for Mungo to Battle Cry sadly.
Willow is the first to react. They drop into duelling stance and swoop northwards, tumbling through red with relative ease (needs a 4). They then try to bleeding finish it, hitting because it is flat footed due to tumble through. It inflicts 45 damage and 6d6 bleed. I dont allow it to use its juxtaposition as it very much was not expecting this and so does not have its reaction as yet.
Green has spotted Miles and can see Willow. It cannot see either invisible character. It scuttles forward, striding on the air, and shoots its webbing at Willow, critting him for 46 damage and holding him in place. It shoots a second back at Milo, also immobilising him and dealing 16 damage.
Miles generally arms himself with his shortbow most of the time. He is immoblised which is annoying but hardly fatal for an archer. Wanting to learn what these are he devises a stratagem on red. He gets an 8 and his 46 just manages to identify the creatures (they are rare level 20 making the DC45). He learns of their dimensional manipulation abilities, including their reaction. Taking the 8 he fires at red but it just goes wide. A second shot also goes wide.
Gerty is concerned that their initial strike against the enemy hasn't had that much effect. While the enemy are all spread out they are within 60’ of her. Drawing on her innate powers she extends a powerful slow spell, hitting all three of them. DC45 fortitude saves are required, rolling at +30. Red and green save but blue critically fails.
Blue is pretty much crippled. It spits at Gerty, hitting for 16 damage and immobilising her.
Red turns on Willow. It tries to bite but misses, triggering riposte, which also misses. It then scurries away to take advantage of the fact that they are immobilised but this triggers opportunity attack (Willow gets a bonus reaction on each enemy turn to riposte). The creature tries to uses its juxtaposition to swop places with Miles but he saves. It takes 22 damage and scurries away. It takes 28 bleed but then it stops.
Mungo has some difficulty. The enemy is too far apart for most of his more powerful spells. He applies reach spell to a level 3 fear spell and also avoids using a spell slot by advancing his curse. DC45 will saves at +36. Red and Green fail but blue succeeds.
END OF ROUND 1
Miles 263/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider, immobilised
Gerty 223/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, immoblised
Mungo 279/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, minor curse
Willow 262/308, Duelling stance (+2AC), immobilsed
Red 285/380, slowed 1 (expired), frightened 2
Blue 380/380, slowed 2 (1 minute), frightened 1
Green 380/380, slowed 1 (1 round), frightened 2
ROUND 2
Willow is immoblised. They try to escape and manages to slip the sticky ropes. and pursue red, tumbling through him and again making him flat footed. They stabs out with a bleeding finisher but misses even with flat footed and frightened.
Green is slowed which is annoying. It spits at Mungo, hitting him for 14 damage and then scurries forward and down to ground level to feed on its trapped meal.
Miles is immobilised still. He devises a stratagem against red again, getting a 5 but learning of their resistances. Knowing he wont hit anything with a 5 he electric arcs red and green. Both fail taking 34 damage.
Gerty is immobilised which means she cannot quite get all 3 of them into a weird. Instead she applies reach spell to a level 9 chain lightning, reaching all 3 enemies. It deals 88 damage. Red and Green pass but Blue fails.
Blue remains crippled. It spits at Gerty again hitting for 8 damage.
Red turns on Willow again, annoyed that they managed to escape. Its first bite hits for 28 damage (the resist 10 all is helping a lot), the second misses, triggering riposte again! A hit for 31 damage and it again tries to swop places with Miles but to no avail. It bites again, thinking they cannot possibly do that again but it is wrong! Willow uses a regular reaction to stab the creature with riposte as its attack misses. A crit it for 81 damage, making it frightened 2 and flat footed until the end of his next turn.
Mungo These enemies are proving to be more durable than expected. Mungo barks loudly, trying to scare green to death. He rolls poorly and has no effect. He follows up with a synethsesia on red, again advancing his curse to avoid using a spell slot. It fails and is now not long for this world.
END OF ROUND 2
Miles 263/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider, immobilised
Gerty 215/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, immoblised
Mungo 265/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, moderate curse, immobilised
Willow 234/308, Duelling stance (+2AC)
Red 95/380, frightened 2, flat footed (end Willow round 3), synethsesia (clumsy 3+, 1 minute)
Blue 292/380, slowed 2 (1 minute)
Green 303/380, frightened 1
ROUND 3
Willow again tumbles through to gain panache. They try to trip the creature, succeeding and then tries a bleeding finisher. It is flat footed and clumsy 3 but rolling a 3 misses again! They spends a hero point, turning the miss into a hit and dealing 50 damage and 6d6 bleed. It tries to switch places with Gerty this time but she resists.
Green is right in Mungos face and starts trying to tear him apart. It hits for 29, 35 and a miss
Miles thinks that Willow is likely to deal with Red. He devises a stratagem against Green, getting a 4! With a sigh he electric arcs Red and Green again. Red saves, green fails and it deals 30 damage.
Gerty with two enemies nearby Gerty draws on the shard of pure ice at the heart of her being. She tries to freeze green and red in place, splitting the curse of the glacial heart. DC45 fortitude saves are needed. Red fails but green succeeds. It deals 33 cold damage and both are slowed 1. Unfortunately they also learn they are cold resistant.
Blue continues to spit ineffectually at Gerty, hitting for 17 damage
Red is prone, slowed, clumsy and bleeding. It isnt having a good day and decides to get out of there. It casts dimension door, which provokes. Willow crits and it fails to swop places yet again. The cirt kills it and then some.
Mungo with only Green as much of a threat, and with it looming over him, he reaches out and touches it with his tempest finger. It fails and takes 45 damage. He follows up with a Synethsesia, again avoiding using a spell slot but taking him to his extreme curse. It fails and is screwed.
END OF ROUND 3
Miles 263/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider, immobilised
Gerty 198/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, immoblised, curse to maintain, FP 2/3
Mungo 201/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, extreme curse (doomed 2), immobilised
Willow 234/308, Duelling stance (+2AC), 0HP
Red Dead
Blue 247/380, slowed 2 (1 minute)
Green 272/380, slowed 1 (1 round, Gerty round 4), synethsesia (1 minute)
ROUND 4
Willow flies down and tumbles through green with ease, stabbing it with a regular attack, hitting for 26. Green tries to swop with Miles but it fails. They follow up with bleeding finisher for 58 damage and 6d6 bleed.
Green is very angry but is also slowed and bleeding and all of its senses have gone haywire. It bites out at Willow, hitting for 28 damage. It bites them again, critting for 68. Synesthesia concealment does not save them,. It takes 17 bleed which then stops.
Miles again trees to devise a stratagem, getting a 6! He decides to chance it, given the clumsy 3 green is suffering. It hits for 35 damage. A second arrow connects for 26!
Gerty does not need to maintain her curse as the only creature that failed is dead. She casts true strike from her staff and hurls a piece of debris at it with telekinetic projectile. She rolls a 1 and it goes flying off into the distance.
Blue continues to spit at Gerty, this time it crits for 64 damage!
Mungo tries to finish off Green given the number of crits that have been flying around. He tries to demoralise him first before following it up with a level 9 spirit blast. He critically succeeds the demoralise but it isnt fleeing as they are the same level. It makes its save with a 19 (with frightened it needed a 17) and takes 40 force damage.
END OF ROUND 4
Miles 263/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider, immobilised
Gerty 134/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, immoblised, FP 2|3, Staff 9/10
Mungo 201/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, extreme curse, FP2|3, immobilised
Willow 176/308, Duelling stance (+2AC), 0HP
Red Dead
Blue 247/380, slowed 2 (1 minute)
Green 70/380, synesthesia (1 minute), frightened 2
ROUND 5
Willow decides to take no chances. They tumble through to gain panache, passing easily. Willow then stabs green normally, hitting for 26 and Gerty resists the teleportation. Then bleeding finisher hits it for 40 damage and 6d6 bleed.
Green can see its death fast approaching. It cannot escape and so decides to try and finish off one of the group. It steps over Gerty and bites down, hitting for 25. It then crits her for 82 damage! Again synesthesia miss chances don't help. The bleed damage then kills it.
Miles reaches over and battle medicines Gerty. He goes for the DC40 and gets a crit, restoring 80hp. He then devises a stratagem on blue, finally getting a good roll (an 18) and fires, hitting for 31 damage.
Gerty employs reach spell into curse of death on blue. It saves taking 34 negative damage and is fatigued.
Blue spits back at Gerty for having cursed it. It connects for 8 damage.
Mungo Not wanting to waste resources Mungo reach spells an electric arc into it. It fails the save and takes 25 damage.
END OF ROUND 5
Miles 263/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider, immobilised
Gerty 99/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, immoblised, FP ⅔, Staff 9/10, maintain curse of death
Mungo 201/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, extreme curse, FP 2/3
Willow 176/308, Duelling stance (+2AC), 0HP
Red Dead
Blue 157/380, slowed 2 (1 minute), fatigued, curse of death
Green Dead
ROUND 6
Willow flies forward, tumbles through blue and then stabs it. A 3 misses but it takes 4 damage from eternal confidence.
Miles is determined to do better. He strategies again (getting a 17) and fires! It hits for 25. A second shot connects for another 20!
Gerty sustains her hex but he saves with a 16 and it ends. She follows up by battle medicine herself, critting the DC40 and getting 70hp back. She then raises her shield.
Blue is stuck in melee with Willow. It tries to bite them, critting for 66 damage!
Mungo reach spells another electric arc, expecting Willow to finish it off. It crit fails and takes 60 damage.
END OF ROUND 6
Miles 263/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider, immobilised
Gerty 169/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, immoblised, FP1|3, Staff 9/10, shield raised
Mungo 201/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, extreme curse, FP 2/3
Willow 110/308, Duelling stance (+2AC), 0HP
Red Dead
Blue 48/380, slowed 2 (1 minute)
Green Dead
ROUND 7
The encounter is virtually over at this point but it might get one last attack so we will see what happens.
Willow in what has become familiar tumbles for panache, just passing. A trip follows, easily succeeding followed by a bleeding finisher which misses doing nothing!
Miles is the hero now. He devises (a nat 1, sigh), loses the arrow which misses and then hits with a second dealing 16 damage.
Gerty launches another reach telekinetic projectile. This fight is all over bar the shouting. She hits for 28 damage but it is still alive.
Blue is still stuck in melee with Willow but is also prone. It tries to bite them, missing and it takes his riposte, killing it stone dead.
END OF ROUND 6
Miles 263/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider, immobilised
Gerty 169/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, immoblised, FP1|3, Staff 9/10, shield raised
Mungo 201/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, extreme curse, FP 2/3
Willow 110/308, Duelling stance (+2AC), 0HP
Red Dead
Blue Dead
Green Dead
END OF COMBAT
The group pull themselves together, extract themselves from sticky goo and sort out healing. After Mungo has refocused he can spam 3 level 5 heals every 10 minutes for free. Miles can treat wounds everyone at once, automatically hitting the DC30 for 2d8+40 every 10 minutes so getting back into fighting shape is no problem. They decide to wait out the hour Godless Healing cooldown before exploring further.
STATUS
Miles 266/266, Mind blank, antitoxin, antiplague, longstrider
Gerty 226/226, Mind blank, longstrider, see invis, endure elements, Staff 9/10
Mungo 266/266, Mind blank, false life, longstrider, see invis, glibness, minor curse
Willow 308/308, Duelling stance (+2AC), 0HP
Overall this was a long fight but not necessarily a very difficult one. The resist 10 all from the ritual helped a lot as did the failure on the slow and synethesia spells. The groups overall damage isnt great, especially against enemies which are spread apart and Miles rolled terribly for devise a stratgem. However, they came through with no losses and having used up only a small number of resources.
I have finished prepping this to run in a few days time and have a few queries/comments.
1. Initial recall knowledge, the lore DC is higher than the society DC which seems backwards.
2. Scorched earth orc bows dont have range listed, I assume it is 60', or maybe 100' depending on what type of bow they are supposed to be.
3. Shortbows dont have the volley trait and normally do d6's of damage. Looks like these were supposed to be longbows?
4. Scorched earth orcs dont have a listed fist attack, relevant for archers attack of opportunity.
5. Damage reference in high tier scorched earth orc special ability is wrong (refers to low tier damage).
6. The map for the last encounter has a marker for spare charges on it but there is no reference to these anywhere in the scenario.
Those are the only things that jumped out as errors. I do think that the skill DC's throughout the scenrio seem to be very low, especially at high tier. The chase looks unlikely to challenge anyone although I would have liked to see more varied skills available for it (no nature for the sparrows?).
The combat challenge also looks rather weak. You get help in encounter 1 and the high tier basilisks are largely no threat due to the effect of incapacitation. The last encounter might pose a challenge if the PCs get distracted.
On that, it says it is a two action activity to put out the charges with no skill listed,, I assume anyone can just do it if they take the actions?
I have played this once at high tier and have completed prepping it to run later this week. Preparing it has flagged up two issues, one minor, one more significant.
Firstly, how many swim fins does Meleeka provide the group? The boxed text says "There are enough potions and fins for each of you" but the instructions say "Meleeka also unpacks A pair of swim fins" So is it one pair or one each?
Secondly, and more importantly, the scenario suggests that Baron Utomo rides into battle on the back of his ally.
Page 18 wrote:
Baron Utomo has come in person to strike a decisive blow and end the siege, riding atop his loyal saddleback bunyip steed
Unfortunately it doesnt seem that the bunyip is any sort of companion creature for the Baronand he doesnt seem to have any particular ability to direct it so if he is mounted then he can only get it to do stuff if he can succeed at a command an animal check. He isnt trained in nature so is using his basic wis mod (+3 versus DC16). We might assume it is helpful so he gets a bump in success but its still a good chance to go nowhere each turn. As he is mounted he also has to use his actions to give it actions. This all seems like a lot of faff and that he really should have some sort of ability to ride his mount if that is the plan.
Other than that this looks like a great adventure. It has a fair amount of variation, enough to make it a decent replayable with a nice mix of combat and roleplaying in an interesting environment. What suspect will mmake or break this is the amount of warning GMs give their players about where they are going, at least for the first run.
I have recently finished prepping this and I have two issues that cropped up:
1. The encounter with Aojimitsu is great and has loads of roleplaying potential. It uses the influence mechanic which is fine but it doesnt provide the rules for how that mechanic works, rather just pointing people to the GMG. It would have been far more helpful to provide the basics for how it works in the scenario. The rules are not lengthy or complicated so a simple bit in the appendix could easily have been added and save a lot of page flipping.
2. The Malevolent Winds have the same HP at both low and high tier which I assume is not intended?
I am prepping this currently and wanted to check a few issues:
1. The platform hazard in encounter 1 is level 3 and low tier and level 5 at high. However, the DC on its effect is the same across both tiers, is this intended? The disable DCs increase as you would expect.
2. The description of the hazard suggests the whole platform gets dragged into the air. When does it come back down? If it doesnt what is the monster supposed to do?
3. Likewise the organs sonic blast has the same DC and damage across both tiers.
4. The haunt in C1 triggers when someone moves within 10' of an area of the floor from which the choir can rise but no area for the haunt is marked.
I picked this up this morning and will be prepping it today. A few things caught my eye on an initial run through.
1. This doesnt feel terribly repeatable. While there are a limited number of alternate options in the social elements of the scenario and some changes to combat encounters based on PC decision making there is no variation in the combat encounters (save for the order in one). Compared to the 1E repatables like Tome of Righteous Repose or even 2E's Lost on the Spirit Road this is quite disappointing. It feels more like a regular scenario than a repeatable.
2. A significant part of the astrology encounter is based on positioning in the room next to a elevant constealltion. However, no key is provided as to which random squiggle on the mao is supposed to relate to which constelation and I certainly cannot tell which is which from the ma.
3. That encounter provides an option for the players to choose a more dangerous form of the encounter but there is no more reference to it than a small bullet point at the bottom of the table. I would have expected something to call out how our first 2E "hard mode" was supposed to work.
4. While its a minor point I found the use of a starfinder map in the scenario vey jarring.
I am recruiting people for the PF2E tier 3-6 Perennial Crown adventure. I plan to run Part 2 after this is finished and if you are accepted into Part 1 you will get a spot into Part 2.
Please make sure that you have a complete character profile available when applying for a spot. I plan to start on May 1st. Please provide you character information HERE
I will be looking to take a group which is solidly in one tier or the other rather than first come first served.
Second edition has been out now for about 10 months and I have played and run a lot of it, most of it PFS. I ran a test at level 20 some time back. One of the things I regularly hear suggested is that in combat healing is far more necessary in 2e than 1e. That has been my experience playing PFS games as well although they have all been low level (1-6) so far.
A recent game shifted my opinion on that a little. I played the Iolite Squad Alpha scenario with two barbarians, two rogues and a wizard (I was the wizard). We completed it with full rewards and, while it was difficult in places, we didn’t need the in combat healing. We had several people with medicine for out of combat healing and a couple of people with battle medicine.
I decided to see if this would continue to be the case in the middle levels and so we have this test. Like the level 20 test this is mostly a test of combat capabilities although the characters are built with more than just combat in mind. I picked Part 3 of Age of Ashes as it fits the level range I wanted to test. The PCs start at level 10 in Chapter Two. Obviously this thread will contain many spoilers for Age of Ashes. If you want to avoid them please do not read on.
Our cast of PCs are as follows:
Jaxira, a half elven rogue and a terrifying charmer. A bold, brash and brazen thief, Jaxira is a master of acrobatics, diplomacy, intimidate and stealth. She can provide her own flat footed condition with dread striker (combined with battle cry and terrified retreat for good measure), precise debilitation or has easier flanking options with gang up. Mobility lets her get around more safely and she makes a strong face, especially with her greater cloak of repute.
Korella is a doughty dwarven fighter with a penchant for hitting people with her dwarven war axe. Sudden charge gives her plenty of mobility, power attack and furious focus let her inflict plenty of damage or she can go the improved knockdown route to help set up people for Jaxira. She has a very large HP pool and leads the group in survival and athletics based challenges.
Ando is a well built, unassuming champion of Sarenrae. He has rather neglected charisma in favour of other stats and as such has avoided a lot of champion attack focus spells. He has taken the traditional shield fighter route while employing the flick mace for one handed reach abilities. This helps him with opportunity attack and also retributive strike and he gets an extra reaction every round to use shield block. Ando has dipped into fighter training for sudden charge and has the clever improviser feat allowing him a good chance to aid on any task, especially combined with his co-operative nature. He has the only significant in combat healing, one use of lay on hands for 60hp.
Archibald is an unusual character, a Halfling Wizard. A devotee of Chaldira, the halfling goddess of luck, he is highly educated in the arcane and religious arts. Archibald can turn failure into success with his Halfling Luck, Guiding Luck and can share some of that with his companions. Archibald specialises in evocation magic and has a range of different elemental powers at his disposal. He has also dabbled in roguery for some extra skills, armour and the mobility feat.
PART 1: SUNSET IMPORTS:
Our heroes arrive in Kintargo, their only clue about the local operations of the Scarlet Triad being a warehouse owned and operated by Sunset Imports. They decide to do a little asking around, to see what can be learned about them before heading over.
Jaxira and Ando head into town to see what can be found. Jaxira has the Hobnobber feat so it only takes an hour, Ando is there to assist by standing around looking pretty. Archibald consults his records and makes some enquiries with Society while Korella gets in the coffee and bagels for breakfast, skills are really not her thing. Gathering together for breakfast they discuss what they have learned. The business is run by the Vashnartill family, they used to be close to the Thrunes but with the change in regime in Kintargo they have fallen on hard times. This provokes speculation about whether they are willing conspirators (they supported the Thrunes!) or under economic pressure to work with the Triad. Whichever it is, they won't learn the truth without visiting and so they pack up and head over.
They head to the warehouse and choose the front entrance. They are met by Sedranni and she is snooty at them. All of them realise that something isn't right, Korella notices the woman seems to be terrified. She gives Jaxira a nudge and she coerces the woman into cooperating by slyly suggesting they know about her connection with the Triad and their despicable business practices.
Sedranni collapses into tears and tells the group everything she knows about the Triad. She is clearly very frightened and thinks something horrible is happening in the back of the warehouse. She has heard screaming in there quite recently! The group offer to investigate and decide to take the hallway to get to the rear area.
Exploration Mode Activities
Korella is searching
Ando is defending
Archibald is detecting magic
Jaxira is avoiding notice and checking for traps with her trapfinder ability
Ando spots the Emerald Grasshopper but fails to identify it (Nat 1, a 24 passes the DC for a level 5 item but the nat 1 drops it to a fail. Ando has quick identify and master level arcana so it only takes him 1 round). They head on, carefully opening the end door. Unfortunately this puts them directly in sight of a pair of Triad agents busily torturing a halfling. On the plus side this means they don't fight two encounters together!
Pre Fight: Jaxira growls at Krawn but he is unfazed by her (fails to intimidate, rolled a 3)
Round 1
Krawn reacts first. Seeing heavily armed strangers entering its lair it casts a spell on itself. Archibald recognises it as Haste. It then growls back at Jaxira, startling her (demoralise success, Jaxira is frightened 1)
Ando spots the monstrous looking Kalavakus and decides it looks like a worthy foe. He raises his shield and ruses forward (sudden charge). His blow goes well wide and he learns about the Kalavakus ability to try and disarm those who miss it! Fortunately he keeps a hold of his weapon.
Archibald wracks his mind for what he might know about these demons. He gets a crit success and learns of their weakness to cold iron and good (not much use for this group although Ando can do a small amount of persistent good damage with retributive strike) and about their enslave soul ability. Warning the group he casts haste on Korella.
Korella takes advantage of the Haste using its bonus stride to get into melee with the demon. She tries smashing it with power attack, hitting for 35 damage. Furious focus means it only counts as one attack for MAP so she swings again but the blow goes wide.
Jaxira darts forward, she stabs the Kalavakus which is flat footed to her because of gang up. Her blow is well wide (a 4!) and she ducks back out of the way again to avoid being a target. The Kalavakus does have opportunity attack but it had already used its reaction and Mobility would have prevented it.
Lurb grabs his club and rushes forward up to Korella. His clubs cracks her for 26 damage but Andos reaction takes it down to 14. Retribution catches Lurb for 13 damage and he hisses as the power of goodness begins to eat into him. .He then kicks Korella in the stomach for another 18 damage. He manages to shake off the persistent good damage.
Krawn growls and brings its mind to bear upon Korella, seeking to enslave her soul! Korella fails (with a 4!) and Archibald extends his halfling luck to help her out. She rerolls into another 4 and is now enfeebled 2. At least it wasn't a critical fail .It then tears into her with its horns and claws for another 46 damage.
Ando takes a step forward to put himself directly into the fray. He has reach so didn't need to but wants to try and draw some of the attacks onto himself. He raises his shield and strikes at the demon, hitting for 16 damage.
Archibald looks to buy the group some time and forms a sphere of force around Lurb to delay him a bit. He fails the save and is trapped, for now!
Korella growls and hurls herself at the demon, seeking to knock it to the ground (with improved knockdown). She swings wide, but corrects herself just in time and smashes it in the knee, sending it tumbling. (Rolled a 3, used a hero point, got a 20). Krawn takes 34 damage from the crit, 10 damage from the knockdown but the sphere blows the axe crit special. She strikes again, missing, and he again tries to disarm her but fails. Having drawn out his reaction she battle medicines herself, critting for 26HP.
Jaxira takes the chance to move in on the Kalavakus, moving around to set up potential flanks. She stabs the prone demon for 20 damage and leaving him open to more damage from her attacks for a round. She then tries to cut him with her dagger but gets tangled up in her bandoliers (nat 1).
Lurb is trapped inside the sphere. He tries to break his way out. His first swing with his club misses! He clearly isn't sure where the boundaries of the sphere are (nat 1). His kick connects but does little damage (5). Two more club swings follow, dealing significant damage to the sphere (32) but it still holds, just!
Thinking back on this the nat 1 still hit as it was a crit, reduced down to a hit. It would not have made that much of a difference in the end.
Krawn rises to his feet, doing so he provokes from both Korella and Ando Korella misses due to enfeeblement and he again tries, and fails, to disarm her. Ando holds off, hoping to use retributive strike instead. He gets his chance as, again, Krawn goes for Korella. His horns attack misses as do both claw attacks.
Ando raises his shield and lashes out at Krawn. His first blow connects for a measly 12 damage but it triggers Jaxira’s opportune backstab but she is still tangled up in her bandoliers (another nat 1). His second strike however is a critical for 36 damage which sends him tumbling to the ground again (due to divine weapon bond)
Archibald, seeing the demon badly injured and thinking his companions are likely to kill it simply waits. He is delaying.
Korella, taking advantage of the demon being prone tries pounding on it with power attack. She still cannot connect (a 4, 10 and 11, enfeebled 2 is very annoying).
Jaxira sighs and tries to end the demon before it can do more damage. He rapier goes wide but the dagger hits something vital for 34 damage (crit, maintain bonus 2d6 damage). He is still up so she tries a final speculative dagger strike which also crits for 58 damage and that was the end of him! With the demon dead Korella is also no longer enfeebled!
Lurb smashes his way out of the sphere and then crits Korella with his club for 42 damage. Ando reduces it to 30 and hits him with retributive strike, critting for 26, knocking him prone and inflicting 1 persistent good damage. This triggers Jaxiras opportunistic backstab which crits for 54 damage, makes him flat footed until the start of her next turn and she applies the +2d6 damage debilitate effect. He uses his last action to get back on his feet, provoking from Korella who hits him for another 30 damage.
Archibald, seeing that the group has the situation handled settles for drawing upon the power of his staff to cast true strike and shooting a ray of frost at Lurb. It hits him for 17 cold damage. He is just out of range of his other offensive cantrips.
Status
Ando 148/148
Archibald 116/116, halfling luck used, Staff (4|5)
Korella 88/170, hasted, BM (self)
Jaxira 118/118
Lurb 48/180, +2d6 debilitate, flat footed until start of Jaxiras turn, 1 per good
Krawn DEAD
Round 4
Lurb remains flat footed due to Jaxira’s crit so Ando lashes out at him twice and raises his shield. He crits for 22 damage, knocking him prone again and then misses.
Korella looks to finish things with a power attack. She cirts him for 74 damage and that is the end of that!
Aftermath
Ando lays hands on Korella for 60HP and then spends 10 minutes bandaging her for an extra 21. Ward Medic, Continual Recovery and Master level medicine lets him treat four people every 10 minutes out of combat with a near certainty of getting 2d8+10 per check.
They also free Hunclay and learn his story about the Bellflower Network. They quickly agree to help him and head out of the Warehouse. Unfortunately, going through the warehouse they encounter the Stone Golem which takes exception to their presence!
If you want to see what the characters are like then you can find their details on the roll20 table I am using to run things HERE
Hello all, welcome to the 12-13 Champion Tier table for th Special.
First off a few admin issues. Please let me have your character details HERE
This scenario uses aid tokens rather differently. The rules are provided below but, in short, you can each bring along three aid characters who generate aid tokens. Those characters can also take part in aid missions during the scenario. Please providde details of your chosen aid charactefs HERE. Currently I just need to know their name, PFS number, level and chosen aid role (see below).
CHAMPION LEVEL DIFFICULTY
This game is advertised as being run at Champion level difficulty. Champion is this scenario’s “hard mode,” with increased challenge throughout. As usual for scenarios with increased difficulty, all players at the table must agree to that difficulty. Players who begin in Champion Mode who find the challenges too great can choose to switch to Soldier Mode. ou cannot switch back to Champion mode thereafter. A section of the Special is only available to Champion mode tables. If you do not wish to play on Champion level difficulty please delist yourrself and apply to a Soldier difficulty table.
AID CHARACTERS
There are two kinds of character you can play during the special: a Primary Character (the PC who personally faces the scenario’s encounters and earns a Chronicle sheet at the end of the scenario), and an Aid Character, who helps with tasks and generates an aid token at the start of the scenario.
A player can designate up to 3 of their PCs of 5th level or higher as Aid Characters. Aid Characters must be different PCs from the Primary Character (the character playing the special). The player does not need all of their Chronicle sheets for their Aid Characters—they only need the Aid Character’s most recently earned Chronicle sheet. The only information from this sheet that is relevant is the Aid Character’s name, number, and level. The Chronicle sheet is also a place to record whether anything bad happens to the Aid Character in the course of the scenario. Note that all risks Aid Characters take are opt-in. Aid Characters have two functions in this scenario: to generate Aid Tokens, and to provide support in Aid Missions that occur during the adventure.
When the player designates a character as an Aid Character, the player chooses one of the following roles and assigns the character to that role. Each table may assign up to 5 Aid Characters to each role. This restriction represents the expedition’s need for agent to take on a balanced variety of roles, and also helps to ensure that there are enough Aid Characters of each type to succeed at Aid Missions.
Your Aid Characters cannot participate in other Pathfinder Society adventures while in the Siege, and risks death.
A character’s class and character build does not dictate what roles he can take, though players are likely to want to pick roles that fit with their characters’ themes. If a player does not have 3 Aid Characters available, she can fill any remaining slots with generic 4th-level NPC Pathfinders of any role. These 4th-level NPCs are less likely to succeed than PC Aid Characters at all tasks, but they give all players a way to participate in this scenario’s mechanics. The descriptions below give some examples of the types of routine tasks that Aid Characters in each role perform during the mission, but these characters also perform heroic actions when they grant Aid Tokens or attempt Aid Missions.
Guard: The combat encounters detailed in this scenario are handled by the Primary Characters, but there is still plenty of danger to deal with. A character assigned to this role helps provide security for the expedition. Characters in this role drive off minor threats that crop up, protect the rear of the expedition, and generally ensure the mission can continue unhindered.
Medic: Most of the healing resources in the expedition are wielded by the Primary Characters for the benefit of further advancing the mission, but the Aid Characters are likely to need healing too. An Aid Character assigned to this role treats wounds, cares for the bodies of the fallen, and dispenses medical supplies.
Muscle: Moving what is effectively a small army into hostile terrain is a challenging task. A character assigned to this role helps move heavy objects, clears passageways, and transports equipment.
Scout: Little is known about the Gallowgarden and the areas below Gallowspire, and what information does exist is often inaccurate. A character assigned to this role roams ahead of the main expedition, learning what threats are present and giving advice on how best to navigate them.
Spellcaster: The sheer number of Pathfinders on this mission presents a heavy demand for spellcasting, particularly spells that can protect agents from harm or remove conditions that they incur. Spellcasters meet up with Pathfinder agents between battles, helping prepare them for the dangers ahead. They may have their own innate spellcasting ability, or they might carry an arsenal of magic items for this purpose.
AID TOKENS
In this scenario, Aid Tokens work a bit differently from in past scenarios. Instead of having generic Aid Tokens that PCs can improve with their skills, each Aid Token represents the efforts of a specific Aid Character.
Each Aid Character role is associated with a specific benefit that Aid Character in that role can provide. Table GMs should also distribute 3 Aid Tokens to each player, corresponding to their Aid Characters’ roles (see above). The player can then write in each of their Aid Characters’ names on the Aid Tokens. For the 4th-level NPC Pathfinders, players can invent names, or just write “Pathfinder.” The aid token benefits are available HERE
At this time, each player has the opportunity to commit any number of their PC Aid Characters to a more challenging, heroic task. This task provides greater benefits, but it also introduces a risk that the Aid Character may come to harm and therefore be unable to help out during later opportunities in this scenario.
Tasks are particularly difficult for lower-level Aid Characters, who are likely to be injured in the process. The 4th-level NPC Pathfinders are unwilling to attempt the heroic tasks.
This thread is for the 12-13 Champion Mode Siege of Gallowspire table running during Outpost 3. Please sign up on the Player Sign Up sheet and then post to this thread with your character alias you plan to use.
I am prepping this at the moment and have a few questions/comments:
1. The sickened effect in the kitchen lacks a value. This seems to be trying to use the old 1E sickened rules. What is the DC to get rid of this (does it use the illusion DC?) and what should the value be? I assume 1.
2. No method is given to disable the kitchen hazard or even to ID it. It isnt likely to be that relevant but still if you are going to list it as a hazard it shuld probably use the hazard rules.
3. The combat with the plotergeist(s) has potential TPK written all over it. Means of overcoming invisibility are harder to come by in 2E and you get one round of visibility before it is pelting you to death from invisibility as only the frigten ability makes them visible.
4. It is good to see the issue of large groups of low level players being addressed in the scaling but this really deserves highlighting. If I calculate my group is high tier I may not even look at the low tier encounter.
5. Quite a lot of the treasure in this scenario requires you to actually rob the trading post. This includes quite literally stealing a dead mans boots. I can imagine a number of characters having a bit of an issue with this.
Hello all, this is my recruitment thread for the seeker level scenario Tomb of the Iron Medusa. This gamme is being run for PFS credit and so you need a PFS legal character of levels 13-15. I will only be taking 4 characters and will generally give priority to people at levels 13 and 14.
High level games can take quite some time to resolve. There is quite a lot of combat in this one and high level combats can run for multiple rounds. This effect is magnified in PbP. As such I will be looking for at least one post per day if not more to keep things running.
I will be asking for full character details before I accept anyone into the game. You should have a complete profile linked to an alias here on the boards with a completed tagline.
You should be aware that I will run initiative in blocks and resolve actions in post order unless you specify that you are waiting for something (the Bard to start inspire, someone to cast haste etc). I also tend to roll reactive rolls such as saves, spellcraft checks etc to keep things moving,
If you are interested please post in the thread using your completed alias you want to be considered.
The group of you have been summoned to the Starrise Lodge in Nerosyan, capital of Mendev. While the Worlwound has been closed something is clearly up to bring such experienced Pathfinders to town. Rumour has it that Venture Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury himself is handling things and you are waiting to see him.
Go ahead and introduce yourselves, I will kick things off this weekend
We will begin once we have confirmed players. Once you have a spot confirmed please make sure you provide your character infomation on the google spreadsheet. Your character profile also needs to be complete and up to date.
I am recruiting players for The Rasping Rebirth, one of the Season 10 Seeker Tier adventures. This is a tier 12-15 game. I will not be taking first come, first served. Instead I will look to put together a reasonably balanced party solidly in one tier.
High level games can take quite some time to resolve. There is quite a lot of combat in this one and high level combats can run for multiple rounds. This effect is magnified in PbP. As such I will be looking for at least one post per day if not more to keep things running.
I will be asking for full character details before I accept anyone into the game. You should have a complete profile linked to an alias here on the boards with a completed tagline.
Having said all of that the goal is to enjoy ourselves and this scenario does look like a doozy. It brings a resolution to the conflict with a major enemy of the Society who has appeared over multiple previous scenarios.
If you are interested in playing please fill in your details using the link below.
I thought I would test out the new APG classes at the mid levels using one of the Playtest scenario's, the Frozen Oath. I built a level 10 character for each Playtest class and converted the module to the actual rules. DC's generally went up a little throughout, monster stats changed slightly but most monster levels remained the same.
I have only completed the first combat encounter so far. This is a white room test to see how the classs play out. They all ended up humans with the free rogue dedication as their level 9 ancestry feat as it is so handy. Otherwise I avoided multiclassing as I wanted to see how the characters did on their own merit.
First up, out characters. I only list relevant equipment, I assume they have pretty much whatever mundane stuff they want:
Investigator:
Ancestry: Human
Heritage: Skilled (Medicine)
Background: Detective
Class: Investigator 10
Str 16; Dex 18; Con 16; Int 18; Wis 16; Cha 10
Pereption (M) +21 (+2 for init); Speed 30
AC 28; HP 128; Fort (E) +18; Reflex (E) +19; Will (E) +18
CLASS ABILITIES: Take the Case, Clue In Method (Alchemist), Study Suspect, Studied Strike (3d6), Weapon Specialisation, Quick Tincture (6/day), Surprise Attack
Eye of the Eagle (+2 Perception), +1 Resilient Leather Armour +1 striking flaming Rapier, Boots of Bounding , Choker of Elocution (Draconic), Spellguard Shield, Bag of Holding Type 1, Wand of longstrider (2nd)
Revelation Spells:
Incendiary Aura, Fire Ray, Whirling Flames, Flaming Fusilade
Minor Curse: Creatures more than 30' away are concealed
Moderate Curse: I am concealed from all creatures, all creatures are concealed from me, my fire spells do not require a flat check within 30', all my senses are imprecise beyond 30'
ATTACKS:
Staff: +10, 1d4
Produce Flame: +19, 5d4+5
EQUIPMENT
Greater Ventriloquists Ring, +1 Resilient Leather Armour, Greater Staff of Healing, Wand (3rd, Water Breathing), Ring of Fire Resistance 5, Ring of the Ram, Bag of Holding, Demon Mask, 5 Holy Water
FOCUS SPELLS (Focus Pool 3)
Evil Eye, Beguile, Elemental Betrayal
EQUIPMENT:
Greater Hat of the Magi, +1 Resilient Leather Armour, Greater Staff of Fire, Wand (Earthbind), Ring of the Ram, Ring of Fire Resistance, Bag of Holding, Wand of Longstrider (2nd)
Scrolls:
1st: Grease (3), Magic Weapon, Pest Form 20gp
2nd: Comprehend Languages (2), Glitterdust, Mirror Image, Spiderclimb 60gp
This post is designed to provide a test of how high level encounters work in PF2. It is explicitly a combat test and not really much of a test of the rest of the system although it will touch on exploration and hazards. It it not looking at downtime at all.
One of the selling points of 2E was that the game would be easier to play and run at higher levels, that you gained extra breadth of options without adding as much extra complexity and that speed of play would not be reduced by as much as happens with 1E. This looks to see how true that likely is.
I have chosen level 20 as that should be the pinnacle of 2E complexity. I have put together a party of six heroes and constructed a set of challenges for them to face. I built a simple roll20 table for them to speed things up and automate my rolling. I decided to avoid trivial and low encounters as they tend to play into an attrition model of adventuring I don’t have much interest in. Instead we see if our heroes can face a mix of moderate, severe and extreme encounters. I plan to make liberal use of the various terrain rules as well as the elite adjustment as there simply are not enough high level enemies to do this without it becoming very samey.
To give a bit of background and context I set up a typical scenario for a high level game. The PC’s homeland has come under assault, blood raining from the sky, the dead rising from graveyards, the sun failing to rise, that sort of thing. The sort of portents which suggest that something big is in the offing. Our heroes answer the call to action to find out what is going on and put a stop to it. They are:
Seelah: A Human Champion (Paladin) of Sarenrae, a paladin of the old school, shield and stupid flickmace. Heavily invested into fighter for mobility (sudden charge) and threat (attack of opportunity and combat reflexes). She flies all the time and protects her allies. She has a fair amount of personal healing and is legendary with athletics, intimidate and medicine.
Kyra: A Human Cloistered Cleric of Erastil. Mistress of three different schools of magic with full casting abilities from sorcerer and druid as well as cleric. She has all of the spells and is handy with the longbow. She is legendary in nature, stealth and survival. She has spent time with the elves and gained the elf step ancestral ability.
Amiri: A Human Barbarian of the Black Dragon instinct. She is multiclassed into Rogue to improve her skills and get easier access to more skill feats. She can turn into a dragon when she gets angry, you don’t want to make her angry. Legendary in athletics, intimidate and stealth.
Lem: A Human Bard. A master diplomat, spy and changeling. Lem has also invested in the rogue multiclass, it certainly seems if you want to be good at skills it helps an enormous amount. He is the groups main knowledge provider with Unified Theory and is Legendary in arcana, performance and society. He has trained with the goblins to pick up very very sneaky and he whistles a jaunty tune at all times, maintaining inspire defence with eternal composition.
Seoni: A Human Sorceress of the Imperial Bloodline. Seoni is a mystery, she changes her appearance as others change their clothes and can go unnoticed by almost anyone. She seems to command both arcane and healing magic but her multiclass is again heavily into Rogue for extra skills. She is Legendary in arcana, deception and intimidate, While only a master of stealth she has also trained with the goblins to gain their very very sneaky talent. She has her own Unified Theory. I imagine she and Lem argue about whose theory is more true.
Merisiel: A Human Rogue of the thief persuasion. A master of the thieving arts but also in command of powerful wizardry having taken the full Wizard multiclass. Her magic supplements her extensive mundane skills, many of which certainly approach or exceed mundane limits. She has also trained with the elves to pick up elf step and is legendary in acrobatics, deception, intimidate, stealth and thievery.
INTRODUCTION
Our group gather together and teleport to the northernmost settlement of their homeland. They buy extensive supplies which they store in various bags of holding and set off into the trackless wastes of the northern mountains. They have learned that somewhere up there are the ruins of an ancient empire, the source of the terrible events plaguing their homes is somewhere beneath the ancient capital city. They must make their way through the mountains in the dead of winter, find the entrance to the caverns below and stop whatever menace is seeking to bring down civilisation. Their research suggests that they have but three days before whoever is doing this will unleash The Annihilation Orb on their capital (a variant of the Armageddon Orb which does negative damage and raises those killed as free willed undead monstrosities). The journey into the mountains will take two of these, leaving them little to no time to rest or recover. What they bring with them is all they have.
THE MOUNTAINS (Exploration)
Heading into the mountains most of the group can take on several tasks given their various class and skill feats. However, they are in a hurry and so cannot afford to move at half speed. The mountains are difficult to cross and exceptionally cold. They are subject to rock slides, avalanches and blizzards and are full of wandering monsters. Our group has various ways to deal with these issues. Most of the group have picked up a Wand of Endure Elements (5th), this gives you immunity to extreme heat and cold for 24 hours. It is a great high level pick and not that expensive. Lem knows Magnificent Mansion so their nightly rest is not disturbed. I set the travel through the mountains as a very hard survival check requiring Master level proficiency (DC40). Three checks are needed to get to the city, each fail means some sort of extreme environmental hazard. I don’t bother with wandering monsters.
Seelah is the most limited on skills, she has no tactic she can use and so is just travelling normally, what my group has dubbed “Tourist Mode”.
Kyra is a Legendary Survivalist and Sneak. She takes point using the Avoid Notice tactic. She will lead the group in any survival rolls. She could use a second tactic but it would force the group to move at half speed.
Amiri is also a Legendary Sneak but also comes with Master Survival. She will be Avoiding Notice whilst also assisting Kyra with any survival checks. With +30 survival the worst result she can get on an assist is a success (31 is a crit versus DC20, a 1 takes that down to a success). Amiri also has the Expeditious Search feat so she will also be Searching as they go.
Lem would normally use the Investigate tactic while travelling to make use of his Unified Theory feat but it forces you to move at half speed and there doesn’t seem to be a way to reduce that currently. Lem hums a jaunty tune as he travels in Tourist Mode, giving his allies +1AC and Saves in case they do get ambushed.
Seoni also has Swift Sneak but not Legendary stealth. She is Avoiding Notice moving at full speed. Like Lem she might also prefer to Investigate but doesn’t want to take the speed penalty.
Merisiel is the Master of Skills. With Legendary Stealth, Legendary Perception, Swift Sneak, Trapfinder and Expeditious Search she is able to Avoid Notice and Search while moving at full speed. She would use another tactic but again getting slowed down is something to avoid.
With Amiri’s help Kyra easily leads the group through the mountains, getting two critical success (her base survival is 37, +3 from aid from a master). Her lowest roll was a 45 so even if I had set the DC to a hard legendary task she would have passed but that seemed a bit much for navigating the mountains in the middle of winter.
THE CLIFFS (Exploration)
The group reach the sprawling ruins of the ancient capital of a lost empire. They rise high into the mountains and they will need to climb much further up, in howling winds, to get there. This is a test of athletics or it may force some of the group to employ magic. I set the difficulty as a hard task at master level difficulty (DC35). Failure will mean some sort of mishap or condition, probbaly fatigued. I have yet to find a way to remove fatigued other than rest. While the last exploration was a group activity (don’t get lost) this one is individual. I set the climb as likely to take several hours meaning if people want to bypass it with magic low level flight won’t cut it. The distance is over 1000’ so level 4 dimension door won’t do it either.
Seelah can fly permanently (thank you level 18 class feat), has Legendary athletics and a climb speed. She takes the lead for the group, others may well Follow her Lead gaining a +4 bonus and adding their level if they are untrained. She chooses the Search tactic while climbing so she can spot potential dangers.
Kyra is trained in Athletics and will be Following the Leader. She continues to Avoid Notice while doing so as she can do it for free.
Amiri also has Legendary athletics and a climb speed. She makes her way easily upwards. She can continue to Avoid Notice and Search for free. She also begins to Scout ahead.
Lem is not a fan of the great outdoors and while he is also trained in athletics he has no wish to risk his physical safety or fine clothing by doing anything as mundane as climbing. He casts a level 7 fly spell (it is one of his heightened spell choices) and just flies up. He continues to hum a jaunty tune but as they are travelling at half speed anyway he also starts to Investigate.
Seoni is also trained in athletics but is more protective of her spells than Lem. She could fly up but instead chooses to Follow the Leader and climb. This prevents her from also avoiding notice.
Merisiel is also Legendary in athletics and has a climb speed. She easily makes her way up the cliffs whilst also Avoiding Notice and Searching. A Amiri is Scouting ahead and there is limited benefit for having two Scouts Merisiel begins to check for magical energies, Detecting Magic as she climbs.
Both Kyra and Seoni manage to make it to the top of the cliffs, although not without help in Kyra’s case (she got a 36 including the +4 assist). Continuous inspire competence from Lem would be really useful in exploration but he doesn’t have the Cantrip. His class feats were in high demand.
THE CITY (Exploration)
Having reached the ancient ruins the group now need to find the entrance to the catacombs below. There is no doubt that they will find them, if they don’t then the adventure is over and we are all very bored. I have set our first encounter here so this is more about whether the group has a chance to detect and disarm the Hazard element of that encounter or if they have to deal with it whilst the fight is ongoing. This is a Severe encounter and the Hazard is Level 19 so removing it will be a significant benefit.
Seelah switches to the defend tactic, they have entered a hazardous area and are likely to be in danger, she wants to be ready.
Kyra slips into the shadows, Avoiding Notice. Her perception is decent so she could be searching but she prefers to strike from surprise should things kick off.
Amiri also returns to the shadows Avoiding Notice but she is also Searching due to Expeditious Search. Unfortunately the Hazard they are facing requires Legendary perception to spot and she only has Master.
Lem is intrigued by the architecture on display in the ancient ruins. He is Investigating as they travel, commenting on the choices of style, materials, craftmanship and cultural relevance of various choices.
Seoni could also be Investigating but Lem has that covered. Given this is a dangerous place and she is arguably a squishy arcane type she sticks to the shadows Avoiding Notice.
Merisiel takes point, Avoiding Notice is second nature to her as is Searching for traps. As the group has slowed down she also starts to Scout. Only she has a chance of detecting the Hazard before it activates.
As the group make their way carefully through the ruins the weather grows worse. The wind picks up and it begins to snow heavily. The ground, already broken and slick with ice becomes more treacherous. The entire area becomes difficult terrain, sections of it are greater difficult terrain as well as uneven ground, the snow will make all creatures concealed and the strong winds force DC30 maneuver in air checks as well as making all flight difficult terrain.
The Hazard is an Elite Banshee Trap with a DC42 Perception to spot it. I increase the DC by 5 to account for the weather conditions. Merisiel still spots it with a 51 (her perception is +33, +3 for visual perception). Holding her hand up she points out the mummified form of a long dead inhabitant encased in ice in a city square filled with rubble. The group huddle together to decide what to do. They could try and go round although that will cost them even more time. They could try and disable it but it looks rather fiendish. Merisiel has Legendary thievery. Amongst the rest of the group Kyra, Amiri and Lem are trained, Seelah could help if needed due to Clever Improviser and Seoni is a Master. They decide that Merisiel will try and disable it and Seoni will try to aid. I have set the proficiency level to disable before it activates to Master, only Legendary thievery will work if it activates.
The Hazard DC is 44 and it requires three passes to disable. Seoni fails her first assist but passes the next two. Merisiel starts off trying to disable the trap but her fingers are stiff from all the climbing and she fumbles about with her tools (first fail). Blowing on her hands to warm them she hunkers down and quickly inserts a pair of thin needles into the throat of the mummified corpse, neatly slicing its vocal cords and preventing it from screaming (two crit successes). Merisiel has +35 thievery with +1 for her picks. Even with a +3 aid from Seoni she can still critically fail, although only on a 1. Even if I had added a circumstance penalty for the conditions I would have to make it Incredibly hard to push a critial fail to anything other than a 1 if Seoni managed to aid.
As she stretches her arms to relieve the tension above the group comes a hideous shrieking. Something is attacking them from out of the storm! I decide that as Merisiel and Seoni have been working on the trap they cannot use stealth for initiative, both are out in the open and will have to use perception. Seelah and Lem will also use perception while Kyra and Amiri remain potentially hidden. Merisiels scout activity will still give them all +1.
I thought I had seen somewhere a suggestion that the Oragnised Play team were more involved in the development process and that therefore sanctioning of material would happen at around the same time of release. I had thought that would also apply to adventures and modules. I was looking for chronicle information for the new AP and the Fall of Plaguestone but there is nothing there.
Is there a plan for AP's and Modules for 2E to be sanctioned? If so is that a priority or do they sit behind the outstanding sanctioning for 1E AP's?
