Search Posts
Other things that I’m considering to add: - Side treks to Greyhawk locations such as the Olman city of Xanaclan in the Amedio Jungle, Cauldron, the Mist Kingdom, the Hold of the Sea Princes, and the Scarlet Brotherhood nation on the Tilvanot Peninsula. - The introduction of the Yuan-Ti as à behind-the-scenes enemy with spies amongst the humans - Some new playable races such as the Dakon and Rakasta
I have been running it for the last few years and this forum is still the best place yes. A few people's ST campaigns can be found on the web which contain some information, but I don't recall anyone doing a detailed conversion to 4E or 5E. Lots of Pathfinder 1E conversion material here, though I have stuck with 3.5. I’m not too worried about converting. 5E certainly isn’t perfect and so far I think my monster stat blocks more closely resemble 4E than 5E. My primary goal of using these forums is finding out what people did to improve the campaign. Did anyone use any of the classic adventures Isle of Dread or Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan? What about the Torrents of Dread adventure from Dungeon #114? What about other additions or changes? I’ve read about how important it is for the PC’s to care about Lavinia and hate Vanthus. I’ve also read about the dangers of the PC’s dying if they cannot swim. I’ve read about some groups losing interest about halfway through the campaign, and how some foreshadowing goes a long way to avert that. Admittedly, I’m more worried about the 2nd half of the campaign. I believe that every combat encounter needs to be interesting and I’m planning on borrowing several mechanics from 4E for that. Even Demogorgon’s 4E stats seem like a blast to run (with modifications). For the rest, I figure I might add some changes to make the campaign feel a bit less railroady for my players. I’m a big Greyhawk fan, so I might try to add some other things such as the Scarlet Brotherhood attempting to take over Sasserine.
I converted the bonus feats to 5E: Water Rat
Arena Blood
Steadfast Loyalty
Suspicious Eye
Merchant's Tongue
Academy Graduate
Knack for Magic
Child of the Shadow
Student of Nature
Starting to work on this campaign, converting to D&D 5E. I was hoping to find more info online, but there doesn't appear to be that much. This forum still appears to be the best place to post and get advice. Does anyone know if their is a best of board thread for Savage Tide? I looked but have yet to find anything.
Many thanks!
I am rather certain that the rules refer to landmarks with icons on the map. Getting a +1 Loyalty bonus for the Statue of Erastil makes sense. Getting +1 for the rickety bridge does not. If the reverse were true, then hex descriptions would include other designations such as resource and lair, which they do not. The landmark designation is only for exploration purposes, wherein landmarks are automatically discovered.
I noticed that the "Collect Taxes" rule was modified in Ultimate Campaign. A kingdom now generates a number of BP's equal to the ecomony check divided by 3 (instead of 5) and the line mentioning that a failed check provides nothing has been removed. Does this mean that the new rules allow BP's to be generated even on a failed check?
Now that the kingdom rules have been updated in Ultimate Campaign, is there another thread to post questions regarding kingdom building rules or is this thread the best place to come? In any case, I noticed that the "Collect Taxes" rule was modified in Ultimate Campaign. The kingdom now generates a number of BP's equal to the ecomony check divided by 3 (instead of 5) and the line mentioning that a failed check provides nothing has been removed. Does this mean that the new rules allow BP's to be generated even on a failed check?
I was thinking of implementing the following rule changes for an oligarchy: The lack of a ruler allows the ruling council to apply an automatic +4 bonus to a kingdom stat. Upon becoming a duchy, the council can apply a +6 bonus to 2 kingdom stats. And becoming a kingdom would allow a +8 bonus to all three stats. This gives an oligarchy pretty decent bonuses, on par with most kingdoms that have 2 rulers, but not as good as a kingdom with very charismatic rulers. However, the lack of a centralised government and leadership has its drawbacks, reflected in an increase of 10% in all BP costs, to represent monies wasted because of corruption and decision making.
-Apocalyptic AP featuring the Tarrasque as the final villain. - Orcs of Belkzen invasion with mass combat - Ruins of Azlant featuring aboleths - Urban campaign with PC's working for Thieves' guild. - Campaign with PC's sent to explore & colonise new continent using kingdom rules - Campaign set in Geb
I was given a PFS card for my first Pathfinder event at GenCon even though I already had a number from the website. Having run through 3 events so far, I would like to change my membership number but seem unable to do so in "My Account". I have no interest in starting over and have so far ignored any opportunities to try other scenarios since I fear that it will be for naught. I sent 2 e-mails to customer service back in August and was told someone would get back to me. Hopefully this will be taken care of eventually so I can start playing PFS scenarios again. Thank-you. - Pascal Guerin
I also thought Shukak could use some work. Here's the version I used: Spoiler: Shukak CR 9
I would assume the length of the sentence matches the debt. Assuming a miner makes 1 sp per day (DMG, page 105), it could take years to pay off 200 gp. Take a look at the Criminal Code of Greyhawk, found on page 67 of Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins. For major crimes such as manslaughter and burglary, criminals are sent to the mines when the fine imposed surpasses the individual's worth. Sentences vary from 1 to 20 years, sometimes for life. For minor crimes such as smuggling, criminals can be sentenced with up to 2 years of hard labour.
Here's the reason I originally came up with the Kyuss knght template. Hopefully this will come of use in the final adventure. Loris Raknian, Apostle of Kyuss CR 19
Kardic the Shadow Worm
Markath the Mage-Slayer
Barnos Indarna, Dreamer of the Green
Here are my modified stat blocks for the four Kyuss knights in the Spire of Long Shadows. Keep in mind that I calculate hp's differently, giving my monsters the same advantages that my players get: Max hp at level 1 and minimum half max HD per level (So undead creatures get 12 hp for their 1st HD, and 6-12 for every other HD). Nezzarin the Watcher
One of my players is playing a LE cleric of Hextor/ordained champion. Sent to Diamond Lake on a mission to kill or capture a heretic member of the Ebon Triad, his introduction to the (mostly good) party was rather easy. The lawful aspect of the Hextorian faith and his respect for teamwork has meshed well with the party. The party also has a LG paladin of Pelor, but she's a childhood friend and is somewhat in love with said cleric of Hextor so has been somewhat blinded to his evil ways. I let him start with a ring of undetectable alignment and an archaic holy symbol of Hextor (Knowledge religion DC 20 to recognise), gifts from the Church of Hextor to many of its agents abroad. As a player, he especially enjoyed the second adventure and would now like to eventually see his character repent his evil ways and become LG by the end of the campaign, becoming a cleric of Heironeous. He's even willing to lose his clerical powers for a couple of levels since he and I both decided that his redemption wouldn't be as simple as a single atonement spell. At the moment we're playing through the 7th adventure and he's still alive and evil. His chance at redemption will arive soon and should he seize it will certainly make for an interesteing story. Overall, one of my favourite characters to have ever DM'd...
Nice to know their are other Paizo fans in Montreal. I might be interested in playing through Frozen Fingers since I've already played through Silent Tide. Having recently arrived from GenCon, I was fortunate enough to play through Silent Tide, Murder on the Silken Caravan, Hydra's Fang, and the Second Darkness Preview. Of the three Pathfinder Society adventures, my favourite was probably Murder on the Silken Caravan, since I was lucky enough to have the adventure's author, Greg Vaughan, as a GM. Good stuff.
Difficult encounters so far (listed by adventure): Whispering Cairn: wind warriors (no deaths, but close) Three Faces of Evil: Battle Temple of Hextor (3 deaths), Labyrinth of Vecna (1 PC captured by kenku!), Caves of Erythnul (cliff fight & fight against Grallak Kur, only one death) Encounter at Blackwall Keep: assassin vine (nearly killed scout) Hall of Harsh Reflections: invisible stalkers (close but no deaths), advanced octopin (1 death from crit), Zyrxog (hard fight, no deaths) Champion's Belt: Surprisingly easy encounters for my group. The only death resulted in the extremely deadly Dreams of Kyuss trap. Gathering of Winds: Advanced wind warriors (killed scout), 2 air elementals (no deaths but many PC's almost fell 600 ft.), Augerric (longest fight against a single opponent, no deaths) Spire of Long Shadows: Imaxian & Lyrisilak (actually managed to disarm backpack containing rod fragment and nearly escaped), Kelvos & swords of Kyuss (1 cohort & 3 PC deaths) Having just gone up against Kelvos and the swords of Kyuss at the same time, this one was nearly as hard as the Battle Temple of Hextor. I imagine later encounters in the Spire of Long Shadows will be added to this list within the next few weeks.
In what I consider the most memorable encounter of the campaign since the Battle Temple of Hextor, my players surprised me and avoided yet another TPK, but not without casualties. Out of respect for the fallen, the description shall be a tad longer than usual. After this last encounter the death tally for the campaign has risen to 11... Names: Jarryn (human warmage 2/wizard 3/ultimate magus 8), Mathias Burne (human cleric 8/ordained champion of Hextor 5), Perren Moonmeadow (grey elf beguiler 13), Estene Moonmeadow (grey elf warlock 10, cohort)
Description: When the Warhounds opened up the doors leading into the Halls of Corruption, they were greeted by Kelvos the Wormtouched and the two angels of Worm. After being targeted by a prismatic spray and a wages of sin, Jarryn effectively trapped the trio inside the chamber with a wall of force. Kelvos, seeing that he couldn't handle these mortals on his own, teleported to the Halls of Knowledge and summoned the 3 swords of Kyuss and the wormcaller to the fight. Bursting into the chamber on the following round, the swords of Kyuss opened up with a volley of worm invocations, killing both Perren and Estene and seriously injuring three of the other five characters. Most of the party was within 30 ft. of the pit during this combat and suffered a -2 penalty to all attacks, saving throws, and skill checks (except for Mathias who was neither good nor neutral). Steelwind's (elf ranger/scout) high Reflex saves coupled with his evasion ability left him unscathed. Jarryn used Otiluke's ring to cast Otiluke's resilient sphere as an immediate action, also leaving him unharmed. Combat continued with spells such as delay death and close wounds keeping Mathias and Kayla (dwarf barbarian) alive. Aurora (human paladin of Pelor) heroically kept Kelvos busy until Mathias finally arrived and together they slew the corrupted eladrin. Steelwind, Kayla, and Jarryn managed to destroy the swords of Kyuss and the wormcaller, but not before five more invocations of the Worm were set off, killing Jarryn and sending Kayla into the negatives. (The only limitation I imposed on the villains during this combat was I never had a sword of Kyuss use an invocation of the Worm two rounds in a row.) Barely alive, the party picked up their fallen companions and began healing themselves, but had to prepare for the imminent entrance of the two angels of the Worm since Jarryn's wall of force was just about to disappear. The angels were joined by two wormswarms. This second part of the combat saw Estene's body devoured by a wormswarm and Aurora, under the effect of wages of sin attack a fellow PC and lose her paladin powers. Mathias, still under the effect of a potion of fly charged the two fallen angels to give time to his companions to escape. He fought extremely well, defeating both angels nearly by himself. Against the last angel of the Worm, Mathias' killing blow came at the same time that his righteous might ran out, killing Mathias instantly and sending both combatants plummeting to the ground. Fortunately, his body was retrieved by Steelwind, who had returned to aid our fallen hero, before it was devoured by a wormswarm. The last three living Warhounds limped their way back over the obsidian ring to lick their wounds after a 22-round battle.
I used a kyuss knight template on an 8th-level ranger to make Nezzarin more to my liking. When my players decided to fly to the ziggurat, they were surprised to find Nezzarin shooting at them with uncanny precision from 600 ft. away. Made for a decent fight, but the paladin managed to crit on a smite and dealt 80 points of damage and Nezzarin went down shortly thereafter. Nezzarin the Watcher
My players finally chose their gifts two sessions ago. For a moment, they actuallly seemed keen on keeping the rod fragment when I told them it could be useful near the end of the campaign. After a vote they finally agreed to take Tenser's offer. They chose the following: Aurora Cranden, F human (Oeridian) paladin of Pelor: solar cloak Jarryn, M human (Suloise) warmage/wizard/ultimate magus: Otiluke's ring* Kayla, F hill dwarf barbarian: armour of Balador Mathias Burne, M human (Oeridian) cleric of Hextor: Tenser's girdle of giant strength Perren Moonmeadow, M grey elf beguiler: Heward's skeletal mask Steelwind, M wild elf ranger/scout: Tenser's boots of the running warrior * Many thanks to Rob Bastard for coming up with Otiluke's ring. My version differed slightly in that it offered one bonus spell per day for levels 1 to 4 (wizard only), a +2 deflection bonus to AC, and the ability to cast Otiluke's resilient sphere (CL 15) as an immediate action once per day.
Roster has been stable since Three Faces of Evil. Currently entering Spire of Long Shadows. Diamond Lake Warhounds: Mathias Burne - M Human (Oeridian) Cleric of Hextor
Several of the backgroud traits had secrets associated with them. For example, a planetouched character, as a direct descendant of the Wind Dukes, would find himself unharmed by the guardians found in the Whispering Cairn and Icosiol's tomb. A Greyhawk Wars refugee would run into some family members in Redhand. The dragonslayer would find his father's old gear in Ilthane's lair. Etc. I tend to give lots of items and goodies to my players so I don't feel bad when I slaughter them, so I made every background trait more powerful then they appeared. When Flycatcher kidnapped the elven beguiler with the creature of darkness trait and brought him back to the Plane of Shadows, the elf was surprised to find out that he felt more at home in the Plane of Shadows than anywhere else. I then gave him a 'shadow template' which gave him new powers such as the ability to turn into a shadow or shadow jump. Overall, I love the idea of background traits and have been quite pleased with the result.
I wrote up some local hero background traits a year ago which I posted up somewhere. Here they are again: Local Hero Background Traits Characters from Diamond Lake can take a free local hero background trait from the following list:
One of your ancestors was an Aerdi noble when the province of Selintan was part of the Great Kingdom of Aerdy. Over the years, your family lost all of its wealth and power, until destitution forced it to relocate to Diamond Lake. However, you have never forgotten your noble heritage and tend to look down on the common folk. Prerequisite: Human (Oeridian) Benefit: You start play with a masterwork melee weapon of your choice and you also gain a +2 bonus to charisma checks made to influence Oeridian nobles. Drawback: You have a -1 penalty to all charisma checks made to influence commoners.
You come from a long line of treasure seekers and cairn hunters. Benefit: Your familiarity with tombs gives you a +1 dodge bonus to AC and a +1 bonus to reflex saves against traps. Drawback: Your senses have become trained for underground use and you suffer a -1 penalty of Spot and Listen checks when outdoors.
You grew up in the Mistmarsh among the marshmen. Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on all Swim and Survival checks. Drawback: You are illiterate. You may spend 2 skill points to gain the ability to read and write all languages you can speak. Barbarians must spend 4 skill points instead.
Your time spent working in the mines of Diamond Lake has made you hardier and accustomed your eyes to the darkness, but your sight suffers in daylight. Benefit: You gain low-light vision. If you already have low-light vision, you instead gain darkvision 60 ft. in addition to low-light vision. If you already have darkvision, the range of your darkvision increases by 30 ft. You also gain a +2 bonus on constitution checks to avoid nonlethal damage. Drawback: You suffer a -1 penalty to Search and Spot checks when in daylight.
Your father was a renowned dragon slayer. Two years ago he set out eastwards after a black dragon which was sighted near the Mistmarsh. A few weeks later his body, stripped of valuables and covered with acid, was found by a patrol from Blackwall Keep. Benefit: You receive a +2 morale bonus to all attacks and damage rolls against dragons. Drawback: You suffer a -2 penalty to all saves against dragons until the dragon which killed your father is finally defeated.
Your family came to Diamond Lake during the Greyhawk Wars to escape the horrors of war and pestilence. The hardships you have suffered have strengthened your resolve, but have also made you resent those responsible. Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on will saves. Drawback: You only receive 50% of your starting gold. You also receive a -1 penalty when using diplomacy to influence nobles.
Your Flannish heritage has given you an appreciation for legends and lore of the past. Your preference for the outdoors has given you minor hunting and animal training skills, but you become uncomfortable away from your beloved wilderness. Prerequisite: Human (Flan) Benefit: You gain the Bardic Knowledge ability of a level 1 bard. If you’re already a bard, you gain a +2 bonus to your bardic knowledge checks. You also gain a +2 bonus to Handle Animal, Survival, and Wild Empathy checks. Drawback: You suffer a -1 penalty to all wisdom-based skill checks when in cities.
You are descended from a lawful outsider. Benefit: Regardless of your actual alignment, spells and spell-like abilities with the law descriptor treat you as if your alignment were lawful. Magic items are similarly fooled. Drawback: Regardless of your actual alignment, spells and spell-like abilities with the law descriptor treat you as if your alignment were lawful. Magic items are similarly fooled.
Your Suloise heritage has given you a penchant for magic and getting what you want. However, other people often mistrust you because of that Suloise reputation. Prerequisite: Human (Suloise) Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on two of the following skills: Bluff, Intimidate, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (history), Spellcraft, and Use Magic Device. You also gain a +1 bonus on charisma checks made to influence other Suel. Drawback: You suffer a -1 penalty to all charisma checks against non-Suel.
Some people think you’re eccentric. Others think you’re a little crazy. Benefit: Your mind is disorganised and chaotic. You gain a +2 bonus on all saving throws against mind-affecting effects. Drawback: Your inability to concentrate for long makes you suffer a -1 penalty on all wisdom-based skill checks.
Other benefits and drawbacks may come into play for each background trait throughout the campaign.
Yeah... They didn't have those books. 5D6 ability scores? By Pelor, my players would kill for ability scores like that. Before the campaign began, I asked myself, "If my players are going to save the world, shouldn't their ability scores be somewhat better than the average NPC which has the elite ability array (15,14,13,12,10,8)?" Using method 8 in the DMG (high-powered characters), I ended up with characters with ability modifiers that added up from +10 to +14. On top of that I allowed every character to choose a background trait, gave them all an extra skill point every level, and I've been using fate points since the beginning, awarding them for important accomplishments such as defeating Ilthane or burying the Land skeletons. Lots of bonuses, but when the fights start, I take my gloves off and try my hardest to kill them. They're about to enter the Spire of Long Shadows and so far I've had 7 character deaths and 1 near-TPK (Battletemple of Hextor with 3 deaths). Other PC killers were Grallak Kur the grimlock, the advanced Octopin in Zyrxog's lab, and the advanced wind warriors in Icosiol's Tomb. Against Zyrxog, they spread out so he could never mind blast more than 2 characters and overwhelmed him with range attacks. I was unlucky with my displacement rolls and he eventually went down after wasting a suggestion on the elven ranger/scout to drop his bow, not realising that the elf happened to have an extra magic bow. Oops!
It's all a matter how many characters make up the party and how powerful they are. If you're running Age of Worms for 4 players, with standard ability scores (4d6 or 28 point buy), using only the core books, then expect an extremely difficult campaign with several potential TPK's. If however, you're like me and you're running a game for 6 players (and 1 cohort), with 5d6 ability scores, with access to every D&D book out there, then expect to make encounters more difficult to actually provide a decent challenge for your players. In my case, I finally drew a line and allowed my players to use only the Core books, the Complete series, the Race series, the PH2, and the Spell Compendium. While unbalanced books such as the Book of 9 Swords weren't going to make things too easy, other books such as the Spell Compendium, which has spells such as delay death and mass conviction, have saved several characters' lives. While the fight against Zyrzog was memorable and lasted several rounds, I was unable to kill any of my players (and I really tried).
After some consideration, I decided to lower the bonuses granted to ability scores by the Kyuss Knight template. I'm now assuming that Kyuss' four knights had the following scores before turning: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 10 and that Maralee's pre-Kyuss abilities were: Str 22, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14. The new bonuses make the template slightly less powerful, but still provides hefty bonuses to Strength and Charisma. Another modification was a bonus language. _____________________________________________________________________
Any thoughts?
Were I one of the cult leaders, I would realise that the time for secrecy is over since outsiders have discovered their presence. I would also expect the Militia to partake in the next assault against them and would prepare accordingly. A few options: 1) To prevent the PC's from reporting the presence of a cult below Dourstone mine, Theldrick and Grallak Kur could send some grimlock assassins to kill the PC's the very same night that they're recovering from their first foray. 2) Since the only thing really keeping the cultists in Diamond Lake is the birth of the Ebon Aspect, I imagine the cult leaders would try to waken it prematurely. To buy more time, they could send Ragnolin Dourstone to the town officials with charges against the PC's for the murders of several miners. 3) Since the cultists lack an escape route and sneaking out of Diamond Lake isn't exactly a feasible option, they could decide that they'll make a final stand against any intruders. They could set up a decent ambush in the Dark Cathedral and perhaps even rig the elevator to fall (although I imagine they would be hesitant to destroy the elevator since it's their only means of contact with the outside world). I faced a similar problem in my game after the assault on the Battle Temple of Hextor, which resulted in the deaths of pretty much every Hextorite as well as three PC's. I simply ruled that Grallak Kur was too busy with his visions and too crazy to care. As for the Faceless One, since I had equiped him with a potion of gaseous form with would allow him to flee, he didn't much care about the fates of the other cultists, seeing an opportunity for the carnage to fuel the birth of the Ebon Aspect. When my players returned, they were ambushed by a few reanimated Hextorites and a few kenku which led them into the Labyrinth.
My players should finally meet up with Tenser in tonight's session. I managed to delay the meeting by sending my players to Hellspike Prison. Gave me the time I needed to write up Tenser's gifts. I'm not too sure what my reaction will be if my players decide to keep the rod of seven parts after all the time I've spent writing these up. Perhaps I'll add a few items to the treasure hordes of Ilthane, Brazzemal, or Dragotha.
I loved Peruhain's idea of having Bucknard's old weapon, Maralee's Revenge, as an item so I came up with my own version (a dagger). I'm tempted to turn this weapon into a legacy weapon which improves as the wielder gains levels. Additional powers could include a spell storing power which allows the dagger to hold a spell of any level 6 or lower. Any spell cast through the spell storing dagger could ignore spell resistance. The ability to crit and sneak attack undead could also be useful. Or perhaps even making it intelligent with a few defenseive powers. Maybe these extra powers should be granted by Bucknard's spirit. Anyways, here's my first draft: Maralee’s Revenge Price (Item Level): 51,000 gp (18th)
The hilt of this ornate mithral dagger is set with a moonstone. At the base of the blade is an inscription that reads, “Maralee’s Revenge.” This +2 mithral dagger once belonged to Bucknard, a powerful wizard and member of the Circle of Eight, who used the dagger in his hunt against the undead minions of Kyuss. Against any minion of Kyuss, undead or otherwise, the dagger’s effective enhancement is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus and it deals an extra 2d6 damage. Additionally, the dagger is treated as a silver weapon for damage reduction purposes and any undead creature struck by the dagger must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + ½ wielder’s HD + wielder’s Cha modifier) or be destroyed as if hit by a disruption weapon.
Norebo’s Dice Price (Item Level): 40,000 gp (17th)
These worn-looking eight-sided bone dice are remarkably well-balanced and precise. Simply possessing this pair of 8-sided dice confers a +1 luck bonus on saving throws, ability checks, and skill checks. Additionally, these dice can be used once per day by rolling them on any hard flat surface. The user rolls 2d8 and gains the following effects: 2: Luck bonus on saving throws, ability checks, and skill checks is replaced by -2 penalty for 1 day. 3 to 8: No effect. 9 to 15: +5 luck bonus to Bluff, Disable Device, Profession (gambler), Sleight of Hand, and Use Magic Device checks for 1 hour. 16: Same as above and user gains the good fortune power for 1 hour to reroll any one attack roll, saving throw, ability check, or skill check with a +20 luck bonus. The user can instead choose to use the good fortune power to gain a +20 dodge bonus to AC for 1 round as an immediate action. Norebo’s dice only work if used as a pair and become nonmagical if separated. Any attempt to modify or load the dice also causes them to lose all magical properties and additionally curses the user with a -4 penalty on attack rolls, saves, ability checks, and skill checks (no save) until a remove curse or similar spell is cast on the user.
If you're looking to make Telakin a tougher opponent, lower his barbarian abilities to level 5 and add 5 levels of cleric so he can buff up before the fight. This won't exceed the 18 levels of class abilities he's allowed to have. Here's my version: Telakin
hp 76 (9 HD)
Since the Change Shape ability doesn't allow Telakin to change his clothes or the appearance of his greatsword, I gave him a cloak of many forms which allowed him to cast disguise self as a swift action. I added a spellbook so he could actually prepare spells. Having studied the mind gem of the kidnapped PC gave him knowledge of Allustan so he could appear as such. He put up quite a good fight against 6 overpowered PC's but in the end he died without taking anyone with him.
At the moment my PC's have recently finished "A Gathering of Winds." We started back in May 2007 and have had 7 character deaths so far...
If one of your players begins the campaign as an apprentice to Allustan, this makes the missions assigned by Allustan easier to accept as a whole. There are several "Go there and seek out info" adventure hooks which might need some reworking for certain groups. So far the adventure that I reworked the most was Three Faces of Evil. I added Smenk as an adventure hook by having him force the players to investigate the mines in exchange for not pressing charges for the deaths of Filge and one of Kullen's goons. I also made the missing priest of Heironeous (named Amon Kyre) a prisoner of the Cathedral of Hextor, added text to Theldrick and the Faceless One's handouts to explain what the cult's purpose in Diamond Lake was, and added some handouts as excerpts from the Nethertome of Trask and the Way of the Ebon Triad. Once the priest was rescued, the Cairn Hills militia was involved and actually participated in the fight against an improved Ebon Aspect.
My group didn't spend that much time in Diamond Lake so there were a few NPC's that I introduced that I could have ignored. My advice is to choose a few NPC's from Diamond Lake and ignore the rest unless your players love interacting with the locals.
The adventure path is designed for four players but does have some extremely difficult parts. If you're only using the Core Books, give your players an extra NPC, or 5d6 ability scores instead of 4d6. If, however, your players have access to the Spell Compendium, the Complete series, and the PH2, their PC's will be way stronger and able to handle most of what you throw at them if they have a balanced group. Of course, expect a few deaths, especially in Three Faces of Evil and Spire of Long Shadows, so you might need to make a few adjustments if your players are the type that quit after they die.
Sorry, not my specialty, but you might want to check out Midnight Syndicate's line of CD's which provide great background for cemetaries and haunted houses.
Overall advice: 1) My biggest complaint is the lack of recurring villains since the adventures seem to assume that the PC's will slaughter everything they come across. If you can save some villains, try to resuse them. Some decent recurring villain examples: Filge, Kullen and company, Theldrick, the Faceless One, Loris Raknian, Okoral, Ilthane, Moreto, & Darl and company. 2) Having some sort of Player's Guide for your players is useful. Check out the RPGenius site for some good examples and other useful downloads. 3) Two useful Age of Worms threads: DM-Created Resources and Best of Age of Worms 4) The most reworked adventure on these boards is possibly Encounter at Blackwall Keep, which some DM's have modified extensively. Check out Peter Fuesz's Blackwall Keep Changes.
You're very welcome, always happy to help out fellow DM's. I too thought that the death knight template (from the DragonLance Campaign Setting) wasn't the best choice for Loris. The first thing I noticed about Kyuss Knights when designing the template was their HUGE number of hit points when factoring in their high Hit Dice, high Charisma, and unholy toughness. Personally, I love Unholy Toughness and would like to see it on more undead creatures. Heck, I'd probably give every undead creature Unholy Toughness. Now I'm thinking of redesigning the four Kyuss Knights found in the Spire of Long Shadows. Have Tenser (Manzorian) tell the PC's that when Kyuss was in Sulm he had four guardians known as Nezzarin the Watcher (human ranger 8), Barnos Indarna the Seer (human cleric 2/fighter 6), Kardic the Shadow (human fighter 4/rogue 3/assassin 1), and Markath the Mage-Slayer (human fighter 8). Give them different feats and weapons, add Kyuss Knight template, and suddenly you have a rather impressive group of villains. When Dawn of a New Age comes along, have a villain use a wish spell to bring the four back, give them a few more levels to raise their CR's, and add Maralee or Loris (or both) to the mix.
Seeing that an undead-heavy campaign could use a few more undead-related items, I thought that Alex Handley's talisman of whispering souls would make a great item. However, there are surprisingly few unintelligent or incorporeal undead in Age of Worms for the item to be exceedingly useful. So I added the +1 level turning power as well as a use against intelligent undead to make the item shine... Talisman of Whispering Souls Price (Item Level): 58,000 gp (18th)
This amulet is made of rune-carved bone with two inset rubies like eyes on a fine silver chain. This amulet grants the wearer a + 1 bonus on Turn or Rebuke checks and allows the wearer to turn or rebuke as if he were one level higher. While worn the talisman may be activated as a standard action three times per day for 10 minutes each time. When activated the user is surrounded by motes of spectral mist which circle constantly and emit a continuous sound like the whispering of many indistinguishable voices just on the edge hearing. While the talisman is active, the user gains the following powers: he can communicate magically with any intelligent undead regardless of language, even if the undead creature cannot normally communicate. The wearer is invisible to mindless undead, but this effect ends if the user attacks and undead creature. Intelligent undead approaching within 10 ft. of the user must succeed at a Will save (DC 10 + ½ wearer’s HD + wearer’s Cha modifier) or become shaken as long as they remain within the 10 ft. The wearer can see any incorporeal or ethereal undead within 120 ft., even through walls or solid objects, as they are silhouetted as if with blue faerie fire visible only to the wearer (as the spell, but the effect is not blocked by magical darkness).
A slightly empowered version of Robert Nichols' gloves of legerdemain... Gloves of Legerdemain Price (Item Level): 39,000 gp (17th)
Once snugly worn, these gloves seem to meld with the hands, becoming almost invisible. These gloves function as gloves of dexterity +4. The gloves can be activated three times per day, allowing the wearer to perform the following skills at a range of 30 feet: Disable Device, Open Locks, and Sleight of Hand. Working at a distance increases the normal skill check DC by 5, and the wearer cannot take 10 on this check. Any object to be manipulated must weigh 5 lbs. or less. The wearer must have at one rank in Disable Device, Open Locks, or Sleight of Hand to be able to use the skill with the gloves. The gloves of legerdemain must be worn for 24 hours before you gain access to their abilities. If taken off, they become inactive until worn for an additional 24 hours.
Tenser’s Bow of Eagle Sight Price (Item Level): 44,000 gp (17th)
This fine longbow is carved of yew with avian designs along its limbs. Tenser’s bow of eagle sight functions as a +3 composite longbow (Str +5) and gives whoever holds the bow uncanny vision. Wielding the bow grants a +5 competence bonus to Spot and Search checks. Additionally, the bow’s range increment is doubled, can deal precision damage (such as sneak attack or skirmish) within 60 ft. instead of 30 ft., ignores the AC bonus granted to targets by anything less than total cover, and ignores the miss chance granted to targets by anything less than total concealment.
|
