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To a certain degree, allowing creative use of a spell like this is what makes the game worth playing. As one member pointed out, magic missile has one use, and silent image has many. As a DM, I always tried to reward creative thinking, rather than stomp it with a rule that might be open to interpretation anyway. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't give my NPCs a chance to discover the ruse, or maybe even have it backfire on the players if possible. Great spell, most definitely.
You can't go wrong with a Githyanki invasion. I'm sure you can still order dungeon magazine #100, with the Githyanki incursion scenario meant for level 18 DnD 3.0. This is only a start to something much bigger. You could easily use this as a lead in to epic level stuff. The 'conversion' to PF should be painless. Do something with the potential to literally change the campaign setting at its very core. You can have full scale war break out between planes, involving red dragons, githyanki, illithid, etc. with the characters constantly running on a variety of missions to try to swing the balance of the war. A forum member here wrote up a great point based adventure add-on to Shackled City a while back; focusing on a war which the AP writers kind of glossed over. If you check the Shackled city message board, and look for red gorge, you'll see the right way to run a big war with tons of pieces in play. It's based on small missions earning points to swing the war one way or another, and doesn't focus on big-set battles with the DM trying to resolves combat for hundreds of NPCs. Great stuff.
I'm a player, so PLEASE don't post any spoilers in this thread. I just wanted a few ideas to shoot my DM, if/when we finish this camp. I'm having a blast, and was a bit disappointed when I was told it ends at something like LV15?!? Anyway, any suggestions for published adventures that could serve to pick up where LoF leaves off? Once again, don't tell me where LoF leaves off...just want to know if anyone has found a good way to continue with the setting.
Thanks everyone...I knew I'd get some good feedback here. I haven't seen the Magical Knack trait for some reason...but it sounds like it's what I need to do. I don't feel right bringing in a 3.5 feat, then my character wouldn't be street legal, would it? I don't know, we'll see what the DM says.
Hi everyone. I'm playing a SOR4/CLE3, ready to make the jump to Mystic Theurge next level. I'm already way behind the curve, with my 1st and 2nd level spells, going up against evermore powerful baddies. I've seen some tips on toughening up a Mystic Theurge with 3.5 rules, but not much for Pathfinder. Anyone got any tips as far as building the character from here on out? Here are my feats so far;
Good feats, but I'm looking for something like Practised Spellcaster that will push those lower level spells up a few grades. Any tips out there?
Sorry about highjacking the thread with a spinoff question, but I'm curious if anyone has converted White Eye the wererat prisoner from chapter 3 to 4th edition yet? I couldn't find chapter 3 conversions, so I thought I'd ask here.
I might be running Delvesdeep's Redgorge Siege, (Delve, you da man!) and I'm curious if anyone out there has already run it, and managed to scrounge together useful maps for Delve's various encounters. It's still up to my PCs if they decide Redgorge is worth saving, but if they do go that route it means a lot of work for me, since i run the game online. I need maps for just about every scene, and the Redgorge Town map will only work for large scale stuff. I've got everything in the big book, so I'm more interested in work done by independent cartographers out there, and people who are better artists than I am mainly.
Here's our group; 10th level half-elf ranger (PC)
Alek Tercival (NPC)
The group was stonewalled by Nabthatoron, and managed to do all of 10 points of damage to him. Alek and Luther were killed, and Nabthatoron left them to their fate in the middle of the desert wasteland, and teleported out. He didn't rush out either, as I tried to afford them the opportunity to turn it into an RP encounter instead of melee, but ultimately they couldn't manage to do much except get frustrated. Anyone else fare better than my group?
Two of my party members came very close to mutiny when confronted with the puzzle. While the other two did there best to use the trial and error method, one PC almost had it, but had the starting point wrong. After numerous comments about people hating puzzles, I just gave it to them. Disappointing for me, as I had been looking forward to it for weeks. We were also dealing with online play, via chat, and so things can get a bit confusing at times. It was in danger of getting ugly. Id grade this puzzle out high for RL play, but online (at least this one time) it was a bit of a flop in my game.
I've got the HC, some of the mags, and damn near everything in PDF as well. I bought the HC because I liked the adventure so much, and mags get worn down pretty quick. To be honest, I really haven't gone over differences in the mags and the HC too much, and from time to time I will run a session either exclusively from the HC (when I don't have access to my own comp) or from the PDFs when I'm on my computer, at another location (wifi cafe or something). The one big difference I've seen, which strikes a point for the mags is the listing of lighting, sound and auras for each encounter. I'm not sure why they kept this out of the big book, because it saves a ton of time. What's more annoying to a DM than a character that detects magic on almost everything, AND wants exact schools, etc? Well, with the mags, it's no problem. The other thing in favor of the mags....what's cooler than Dungeon Magazine?!? As cool as the SCAP HC is, nothing beats having a few extra side-trek style adventures within arms reach. OK, think I'm getting off topic here.... Shimrath, I still owe you a chapter. Name the one you want, and I'll get started on it.
Thanks guys, it looks like there are a ton of possibilities. I still have only skimmed that chapter, but it sounds like it's not a dead end by any means. I like the Couatl ride idea...can you do that?!?
Also, don't know if you've stumbled across this yet, but this guy has done a lot of good work for online play using maptool. http://gallery.rptools.net/main.php
Hi everyone, I was just anticipating a potential problem that could come up. My group is just about to meet Kaurophon and they don't always think too far past the next session. I have a feeling they will not be overly excited (on the whole) about a trip to the Abyss, but will not likely hold out for any guaranteed return tickets before they agree. I don't see why Kaurophon would offer up the return tickets if the players don't mention it, which means things could end at the Test of Sacrifice with the players stuck there. Any creative ideas on a way home I can give the players if they don't secure one from Kaurophon? They're ill-equipped for planar travel on their own.
Hey, most of those text type-ups on RPGenius were submitted by yours truly. Up to chapter 6 I think, if you got 7 it was probably from another member on this forum (Steve?), who also supplied me with that chapter. He actually uses text recognition software to cut and paste from PDFs, which I haven't been able to duplicate. I have the big book, and the PDF's, but have been going the old school route and typing (very slowly I might add). I'm running my campaign on openRPG, which requires a lot of cut and pasting of pre-typed text during game sessions. I offered Steve a type and trade deal, but I haven't started yet. Maybe we can give him time to sound off, then the three of us can all produce one of the remaining chapters, and share our work. What do you say? Some of the chapters really don't have a lot of pre-typed stuff, which leaves me to anticipate a bit of the action, so my texts often have extra material. You might be able to use some of it, and can throw out what you don't need.
Hey everyone thanks for the input. Immora, your take on Shadow Dancer was very thorough, and I forwarded it to my player. I also passed along some of the other ideas. Thanks so much.
I need some help for one of my players, a very good RPer, but really not much in pursuing combat effective builds. Most of the skills/feats chosen fit with the character's personality, and back story. My player is getting frustrated because of an inability to really make a difference in combat. Right now the character is an 8th level rogue with mobility and combat expertise. The player will be adding two levels, and I'd love it if anyone on these forums has a suggestion, maybe something from Dragon mag, or a less than core book that would make melee fun for this player again. We're getting close to starting chapter 6, that means a trip to Occipitus. Here is how the character 'might' end up looking after taking a level of rogue, and a level of Shadow Dancer. I don't know if this is good enough though... http://3edb.com/viewCharacter.asp?cid=12390 Thanks for any suggestions.
I would love it if you could send me the text for chapter 7, Secrets of the Soul Pillars. I was planning on typing up one of the later chapters to return the favor, but it sounds like your method is much more efficient. Do you have some kind of word recognition software that can read the text cut from the PDFs? I have Dungeon Mag PDF's too, but haven't been able to take advantage of cut and pasting, since I can only take images, which aren't transferable into the chat engine of the online gaming table I use. Here's my email;
My players are in between chapters 4 and 5, and I'm using the Necrocants as written up by Qualidar for the encounter written by _____ (shoot, I forgot who wrote the encounter in which Meerthan scries on Khyron Bonesworn, and teleports the Striders out to battle the Necrocants - Dhelvesdeep was somehow behind it's inspiration, but can't remember who wrote up the encounter - anyway, props to you). I thought the necrocants (a tough encounter) would crush my players handily, but oh wow was I (and the rest of the party) shocked when the 8th level wizard polymorphed into a remorhaz and swallowed Dralan the frost giant mummy whole! That set the tone for the party to whip up on Sir Tharex (Malruin was already gone) while Khyron and Renita made a hasty retreat. If that's not a dramatic enough moment, just imagine the look on the wizards face when he discovers he's infected with a most serious case of mummy rot!
Hey Shimrath, I'm running the game online myself. I've only got the texts up to chapter 6 typed up. I'm a really slow typist, so it's a serious labor of love on my part getting these things prepped for online play. Any chance you want to divide some of the work if you're still typing? I could do one chapter, you do the other, and we trade via email?
I'm in my 86th session DMing Shackled City using an online gaming table. Our group is not big on tactics or combat, and approaches most encounters with as much realism as possible, rather than playing it as a table-top combat game (no offense to warhammer and such games). Anyway, they have managed to stick together, and overcome problems without resorting to slugfests. I. don't know if your gamers are in it for the kill, but it sounds like they're not. Let them know that there's always another way to get things done. D&D is and always was about combat, but it's not the sole resource for problem solving. If your players do enjoy the combat aspect of the game, then maybe you should coach them on tactics, because the grell is nothing compared to some of the potential TPK encounters they have coming. Take a look at the final encounter in chapter 1, Kaz and Prickles will eat them for lunch. Drakthar in chapter 2 will rip them apart...and it only gets worse. My players are constantly just fighting to survive, and have realized that they can't overpower everything in their path. They are always willing to negotiate with sentient enemies, and have been forced to show the wisdom of leaving potential foes alone when they just can't manage. If all else fails, they're never hesitant to hire a few sell-swords to even the odds. When bringing in henchmen, I try to use them to stalemate potential attackers (minimal tactics and die rolling for npc vs npc melee) and let the PCs shine, while the NPCs buy them time (and draw fire). Anyway, it's a great adventure path. Don't get frustrated or give up, it's easily tailored to the style of gaming that suits your players.
Gracias, and you got me the link just in time for my session!
Anyone have the tax demonstration notice from chapter 5 (page 151) scanned?
Sounds like a useful resource. Can you repost the link? The one above just leads to Paizo.
Thanks! There are some good ideas in that thread...
My party is getting pretty close to their encounter with Dhorlot. I'm a bit concerned with his size and the tight confines of his room in Bhal Hamatugn. Any tips or advice that any experienced DMs have for me would be greatly appreciated. I'm also anticipating him abandoning the fight after a few heavy hits from a group that is not only ready for him, but actually head hunting him thanks to a bit of extortion from Gottrod. Once Dhorlot and his big 10x10 frame hit those 5' wide tunnels and doorways, what happens? As it is now, I'm planning for a bit of cinematic description as his massive body crashes through the halls of Bhal Hamatugn, obliterating stone work as he flees, his huge shoulders crushing blocks of stone, the party in chase seeing only the whipping tail breaking off pieces of wall..etc. How did other people play this out? How restricted is Dhorlot given the confines? And why the hell did he consent to such a small room? I doubt the Kuo-Toa could have resisted his demands for something more suitable.
Here are a few good sample tracks; http://www.myspace.com/jagabab Tell me that isn't just perfect!!! Their Latin songs are just great. The Czech and Slovak stuff sounds great too, and most people never realize what language they're listening to anyway, but the Latin just feels really authentic to me.
Forget the soundtracks... I recently saw a group play at a medieval fair and they were just perfect. The group is called Jagabab, just really great stuff, very emotive. http://www.jagabab.cz/home_eng.html If you can get your hands on a CD, your problem of finding background music for your campaign are over.
My group embarrassed Tongueater, which is interesting because the 4th level cleric of Pelor and the 4th level ranger were occupied by baboons, so it was all done by the 4th level dwarven soul knife (vow of poverty) and a 5th level elven rogue. They absolutely smoked Tongueater, I was really miffed.
A few posts back a couple of you mentioned how you had gone 3, even 4 sessions without combat. <snicker snicker> We had 10 three-hour-long sessions over the course of Flood Festival, culminating in a fantastic 3 sessions based on Delvesdeep's material for the Demonskar ball. I decided to run the Festival slightly before the actual flooding occurred, and also before the search for the wands began, just because it fit better in our camp. I don't think the players were bored for even a micro second during that stretch...at least I hope not :) Really the only time I've ever feel the players are yawning a bit too much is when we get too bogged down in combat, and rules-look-ups.
We stopped a 2-year-long home brew campaign I was running to do Shackled City. I was tired of all the prep work to run a homebrew, and was anxious to sink my teeth into this really well-written campaign, that I had played in several months earlier. The homebrew was a RP-heavy road movie type of game, with character doing a LOT of travel, meeting interesting people, while each PC learned about their hidden past...in other words, tactics and powergaming not necessary. Then we started the SCAP, and it was clear my core players were assuming that battle is nothing more than rolling to-hit and then blaming the dice when it doesn't work. They survived Kazmojen because the player with the most powerful PC (elan psion) had to quit the camp, and so I hesitantly NPC'ed him. The party was getting so badly beaten, and it was so easy for the psion to drop Kazmojen, that I went ahead and did it, preventing a TPK. In the middle of Drakthar's way, we had a few players rotate out, and a few rotate in. The two new guys are tactic-minded, one with a really powerful build (soul-knife with vow of poverty), and the other with a knack for getting unbelievable mileage out of a simple priest of Pelor. Needless to say the priest eradicated Drakthar before I even got started... Chapter 3 is going well, we're almost done, and the effectiveness of the priest and soul-knife has given the other players motivation not to be dead weight in combat. Our ranger just saved the day as Triel was about to pound the soul-knife into pudding.
Thanks for responding. I tend to agree with the opinion that 5' is 5' whether its down, or forward, or back....The players argument was that if Triel can stand, then move 5' then attack (allowable in the rules) then why can't the geodite, move 5' then attack, and then 'drop into the ground' which is understandably seen as an equivalent to standing from prone. At any rate, it wasn't a big fuss - but since we're playing our game online, anything that slows down combat is unwelcome, because running combat online is extremely slow to begin with. I let it ride this time, but I think I'll have to clearly define how this will work in the future...
Hi everyone. We had quite the dramatic battle as the PCs came to Triel Eldurast's room, where she was in the process of prepping a few sell-swords to head out into the halls in search of the intruders in her little fortress. The psionic character in our group has the elemental envoy feat from complete psionics; what it boils down to is the character has a Geodite (complete psionic) as a combat ready follower, who can burrow through stone. This makes dungeon crawling go pretty smoothly, but sometimes the Geodite gets in over her head. Anyway, here's the situation. The Geodite is facing off against Triel, while the others are trying to save the rogue who is pinned in the razor-blade door at -9 hp and counting. Triel just flailed away as the geodite came up from the ground; knocking her down to 4 remaining HP's. On the geodite's turn, she took a 5' step back - then used her stomp ability to knock Triel flat on her face. Then she 'merged into the ground' not changing her position on the 2-d map, but dropping into the ground. My first issue, was whether or not to rule this is actual movement, or just a move action? Now, as you can see, Triel needs to stand (a move action) take a 5' step, and then attack, which I think works according to the PHB, although its quite similar to the geodite's combination of 5' step, attack, then a move action. Anyway, I let it ride this time, allowing the Geodite to treat 'dropping into the ground' as move action, but not an actual move; much like standing up. Still, to be honest, I don't know on this one. Anyway, thanks for any input.
I'm sorry to see these magazines go. Were the magazines losing money? Is it the bottom line talking here or what? I mean I'm really left scratching my head? Did WotC's market research indicate the damage this might do? Sure, the internet is a great medium, doesn't mean magazines are going out of fashion anytime soon though. I for one am playing D&D now because I got completely wrapped up in the Dungeon AP. It's the Paizo community that has been instrumental in making my games the rich experience they are, and it's Paizo's publications that have been the fuel for my gaming the last two years. I just want to say to James Jacobs and the rest of the Paizo staff, I've really appreciated your conscientious committment to these boards, and the community of gamers using your products.
I would advise you tweak prices in order to impart the personality of various shopkeepers. Gurnezarn is a merchant trying to stay in operation after all the other smithies have pretty much been bought out - his prices are higher, but the quality of his work is also higher. This doesn't have to mean masterwork, it simply means that an item from Gurnezarn might be a little more prestigious, like wearing name brand jeans instead of K-Mart. The CK's wont last any longer, but you look a lot nicer, and they're probably more comfortable. I try to emphasize 'status' of citizens in Cauldron - who you're seen with, what you're wearing, etc. I've also played Zanathor as a beloved but slightly deranged local merchant, who is convinced everything he sells is of extreme value. An old beat up crossbow which still needs repair before it will fire, is in his eyes, an antique, a classic "They don't make em like this anymore!" and he can charge an extra 10% without blinking. Of course, being a bit senile, he isn't a great businessman, and is easily swayed into selling items at cost, or even less, especially if he likes the customer, if they are regular, or with a good diplomacy check. In general though, I've decided that with a self-sufficient economy, complete with some growing monopolies, competition is low, and so prices in my version of Cauldron have generally been higher than list price in the PHB.
I was in a fantastic game (it wasn't SCAP) in which 3 DM's (later it was only two) ran a game for 6-8 players. The DMs were top notch, ultra professional, well-prepared, etc. etc. and used the DMGenie for most sessions. The sessions when they didn't use the genie ran much faster and smoother to be honest. Although they knew what they were doing with the software, it still slowed things down considerably. It's not a bad program, but to be honest, a DM should be able to make calls on the fly, improvise, and make rules calls quickly and move on, without having to consult a program, even paging through books in the middle of combat can be a downer for the players. I prefer using a combat assistant. One player (who shows a good grasp of mechanics, etc.) is assigned the role. He (or she) is called on to either confirm a DM ruling or look something up while the game proceeds.
I know we can still search to access archived threads, but if you don't come up with the right key word, then there is a lot of good information that is somewhat lost to us DM's running SCAP. There was a lot of good stuff on those early threads. Its a shame to lose it. What are the chances the archives will become browseable again anytime soon? I for one would really benefit, and my campaign would be that much richer with the ideas presented by SCAP DMs of yore.
......Heavy rains are not good for street fairs and festivities, not to mention the threat of flooding... That's one of the things I had in mind when I decided to run the Demonskar Ball before Jenya even gets the sending. In other words, I'm going to squeeze a good weeks worth of festivities in before the adventure really starts. I've got players chomping at the bit, ever since their PCs heard that there was a ball coming - they've been scheming up ways to procure invitations, they've been buying outfits, etc. As slow as dunegeon crawls are online - it would be heartless for me to force them to deal with Kopru Ruins first. Here's how I see it - the first substantial rain of winter launches the festival, but that doesn't mean all week is going to be torrential, in fact I didnt see any reason why the flooding can't happen two, even three weeks after the festival. As for the wands, I realize Jenya is going to be nervous about them if she hasn't heard from Sarcem by the time the festival is coming to a close, but its a long trip from Sasserine, and if he tells her to be patient, what choice does she have? The siege on the Lucky Monkey will happen on the very night of the Demonskar Ball - and Sarcem's sending will come just as the Ball is coming to a close. As the PCs step out onto the streets after a night of partying, Ruphus or maybe even Jenya herself will be waiting. Do any of you see any major flaws/holes in my running it this way?
Just thought I'd add - our game forum is currently off-line. It will be difficult to get anyone up to speed without access to all this info. Still, since our next game session is two weeks from today - I don't anticipate actually having a 2-dm session until sometime in November.
I've been running SCAP now online for roughly 30 weeks. Those of you familiar with online play know how slow it can go - and we tend to get sidetracked, whether its interacting with Cauldron locals or pursuing plans different from those following the written adventure - nonetheless, I haven't changed much, other than using a LOT of material from rpgenius. Anyway, we're currently in between Drakthar's Way and Flood Season - I'm planning on stretching out flood festival, and giving the PCs time to enjoy events - I also plan to make use of Delvesdeep's write-up of the Demonskar Ball, although I will probably run that before they get caught up in finding the wands. I'm interested in 'trying' to run the game with 2 DMs. I've played in dual-DM games before and they always outclassed even the best single-DM games. While one DM is busy looking something up, or reacting to a situation, the other is keeping NPCs alive, and engagng the players. I imagine this approach might take some work, but I have plans to keep it efficient. Basically, I will shoulder the work-load as far as prep work is concerned. The 2nd DM will have full rights as far as making rules calls, taking control of NPCs, and so on,and will also be called on to handle split-ups, when the party breaks off in two different directions. Steering the overall plot, will be kept fairly close to the book, and the 2nd DM will be asked to refrain from doing anything contrary to the way the adventure was written. I myself have changed some things when necessary, but with two DMs we willhave to limit this for obvious reasons. In a nutshell, the 2nd DM will be a combined NPC handler/ 3.5 rules adjudicator / and back-up. I will keep track of setting, environment, and do all map prepping, mini work, pre-typing and so on, and remain the prime 'story teller'. Its a great group, and I enjoy DM'ing them. I just want to try to bring the game to the next level, and I think this is worth trying. If it doesn't work out, we recognize it after a few sessions and the game goes on as it was before, no hard feelings. Our game group uses openrpg to run our games. Its free software, and easy to use, so you don't need to have previous experience if you want to try joining our campaign. I'll handle all the technical aspects of game session preparation. We meet twice a month at 12:00 GMT, and each session lasts from 3-4 hours. If anyone here is interested in joining a campaign still more or less in its infancy - let me know. macabrevity(at)gmail(dot)com
One of my more ambitious PCs is currently researching the amount that Vhalantru donated to the city, resulting in his being awarded nobility. I dont see any reason why he wont be abl eot come up with an accurate figure, as he's already made some very good contacts in the city, but I want to make sure my own number is realistic, and fits the local economy, etc. Any ideas on what a reasonable donation from Vhalantru might have been?
Thanks to Fang, and others who inquired if I needed more help, you guys are great. If there's anything I can do to repay the favor, just ask.
I'm running a game session online this sunday morning (Aug 6th). I've got my laptop with me, and am going to use the free wi-fi at a local cafe to run our online game. I'm on vacation at the moment, and I left my SCHC at home. I've got all the maps and minis prepped for the session, and I've got the text boxes ready to go, but without the book, I don't have enemy or item locations. My group is just about to fight with the wererats at Orak's, so enemy location isn't really a problem there, and once they go down into Drakthar's way, I can just read the DM's map, to see where the goblins are coming from, and how many. However, when it comes to items, and their locations, I'm in a bit of a bind. Is someone here willing to list any important items and their locations in Orak's Bathhouse, and maybe in the first 5-6 rooms from Drakthar's way (1st map)? If not, I'm going to have to cancel my session until next week - and I really don't want to do that to my players (last weeks session was cancelled because of my vacation). I've got everything ready except the items and locations. Can anyone help? Is anyone willing to help? Just in case anyone thinks I'm not a card carrying official shack city DM/ HC owner, etc. etc. Check out the work that's been done on the forum, and see for yourself. http://shadowdragon.kelticmoose.com/Forum/viewforum.php?f=67 I'm desperate and need a response by saturday evening for it to be of any use. Thanks for any help!! You can contact me via email or this forum, whichever is convenient. email: macabrevity(at)gmail(dot)com
I dowloaded your Sasserine PDF. Really professional stuff, really nice. I also noticed your award issued on the RPGenius site, and I would like to say you definitely have earned it. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of your contributions. When are the folks at Paizo going to get around to making you a paid employee? Or are have they already?
My group is calling themselves "The Severed Shackles", largely thanks to a player who quit the game. Rather than NPCing his very money-minded dwarf, I had the now player-less character slip off into the night with most of the party's booty. He left a set of shackles as a paperweight on the note saying "don't bother to look for me". The shackles had been somthing he had used quite a bit, so the members of the group plan on using a shackle breaking ritual as an initiation of sorts. The set will stay together, but each member will sever one single link upon officially joining the company. Its ironically a very fitting moniker.
I'll see if I can't find my original files for the campaign (I moved a year ago and haven't played since, so I may have file-13'd them) if you have an e-mail I can send them to. Actually, I'd love to see any files you want to throw my way Chairborne. You can email them to macabrevity(at)gmail(dot)com if they turn up. No worries if they don't. I'll let you know how the whole chartering episode plays out for us. It should be another 2 or 3 sessions before they have any free time in the city to start pursuing any plans, assuming they will want to.
Chairborne, this is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. I'll dig up the old thread.....did you run your game online? I'd love to check out some of your gamelogs to see how you handled things. Otherwise, thanks for the response. Acquiring a charter is a great first step - and will make for an interesting session.
Because of the difficulty level of the campaign, players are going to be bringing in new PCs from time to time, and its doubtful that there will be many (if any) original PCs by the time we finish the AP. And so......I'm thinking about suggesting that the players form an adventuring company of sorts, just to maintain a bit of consistency, and a connection to the accomplishments of the PCs that have been put to rest. I'm curious if anyone has any thoughts on what type of bureacracy might be involved; what kind of fees, licenses, bribes etc. would be necessary to establish an official company? If any of you have groups that have done anything similar, I'd love to hear about how you handled it. I think something like this could provide a great deal of RP just in setting it up, so I don't want to rush through it too hastily.
Hi fellow SCAP DM's. I've got two groups of PC's coming from different directions, and they are about to converge on Kazmojen right as his meeting with Pyllrak is taking place (fancy that, eh?) One group is a pack of escaped prisoners from area M16 - the other is Jenya's task force, coming from area M6. Kazmojen has been alerted to the presence of intruders, but not to their purpose. Also, they are not assumed to be too much trouble; the two hobgoblins from the elevator lowered the platform after finding it too difficult to throw javelins at the party through the circular door. Kazmojen decided not to cancel his meeting with Pyllrak, but has increased security in key areas. Because two parties are going to be converging on him at once, I''m considering whether or not Kazmojen would beef up his presence in area M34, during the actual negotiations. And by beef, I mean a hammerer automaton from area M14! What do you think of this move on Kaz's part; is it logical? Probable? If not, are there any suggestions for security measures he would take, given that he doesn't feel the threat was big enough to cancel the negotiations.
On the subject of handout supplements...I got a lot of use out of the PDF downloads for dungeon mags 97 and 98. Although I do have the hardcover, I'd be curious if there were any supplements for later issues, that contain stuff not included in the HC? Like for instance the Cauldron name generator (that list sat next to me every night during my live game - nothing's worse then haveing to create names one after another for NPCs that will never reappear in the game, when you've got a ton of other things going on in your head!) I found it invaluable, and would hate to have missed any other goodies along those lines. On the aforementioned link (http://paizo.com/dungeon/news#v5748eaic9jzz) it seems there is quite a gap in the supplementation between flood season, and the next PDF available for download. I know these things do have to get archived at some point, but I'd be curious if there were any goodies that I missed, or if most of them are just maps and handouts identical to the HC.
I'm facing the same thing, running the game online. In a three hour session, it's unlikely we get through more than two or three rooms/encounters. I'm hesitant to solve the PCs problems for them though, but at the same time, I don't want them bogged down in something that begins to look like a never-ending crawl, especially when I know what lies in wait for them, with some of the big crawls coming up in future chapters. I'd love to hear some ideas about how to speed up the dungeon, without losing the main points of interest, or softening them up too much. Those ideas already posted are great, but I can't force the PCs to use diplomacy with Kazmojen, or to flee from the animated chains, etc. They've just struck a deal with Yuathyb, and killed the grell, losing one of their own in the process. Now armed with information about the location of Starbrow AND the door leading into the Malachite Hold, trhings should start ripping along. I'm afraid of one thing though. There are enough hobgoblins below to turn the thing into a lengthy war of attrition, in the Malachite Hold; assuming they put the guards on alert, which is pretty likely with this group, and the obvious encounters that happen right up front i.e. The hobbie guyards on the elevator aren't going to stick around and wait to be killed by a powerful and hostile group (once the secret door to the elevator is opened) I can't see them doing anything other than flipping the switch, and getting down to warn the others about the problem. They might spend a round hurling javelins, but once they get a taste of some of the more powerful members in the group (the psion will likely melt one of them, which should cause a classic 'advance to the rear' reaction) they will flip the switch, and descend, putting the whole guard on notice, and forcing the members to either climb down, or wait for an attack group to come back up. Even if it doesn't play out this way. Stealth is going to be lost on this group, and I hate to play the hobbie guards too smart, as it will really drag things out; BUT if the group doesn't come up with something on their own, I certainly dont plan on holding their hands through it.
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