Ikor's page

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.

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;
Spell Focus
Spell Penetration
Arcane Armor Training

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?

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)
10th level elf rogue/shadow dancer (PC)
9th level gnome binder (PC)
9th level dragon-borne soul-knife (PC)
10th level awakened wolf/wild sorceror (PC)

Alek Tercival (NPC)
Luther (Chisel member - NPC armed with Alakast)

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?

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.

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.

Anyone have the tax demonstration notice from chapter 5 (page 151) scanned?

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.

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 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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

I can't upload to rpgenius anymore, for whatever reason. I made a few contributions a while ago, but since then have not been able to upload.

So....until I can find a place to host resources, I'm going to use free sites like this one;

http://h1.ripway.com/rhizome1/index.html

I've uploaded a zip file of the art work and maps from Secret of the Soul Pillars (chap 7)

I've also added a zip file of the cover art from each chapter.

If anyone has any requests, feel free to post them to this thread, especially if its something not yet posted to rpgenius.

The site I used can only handle a measly 15 megs a day of traffic, so if it doesn't work for you, come back the next day - if it still doesn't work, I'll open up a backup download link.

To James and the rest of the staff at Paizo - I'm assuming HC owners and magazine subscribers will be accessing the art, for printing, or for use on their campaign websites and so on. If there are any objections to any of this, let me know, and I'll pull it down.

Any requests for artwork from the SCAP HC? I don't have the mags handy, so not sure if the art content is 100% identical, but if there's anything anyone needs uploaded to http://therpgenius.com/Default.aspx?alias=therpgenius.com/shackledcity
Let me know. I've kind of lost track of what's already been posted there, so please double check first, before you request any scans on this thread.

I know a lot of the early chapters have been done, but some of the higher level stuff is still missing. I'm more than happy to throw anything necessary up on the site.

I just got done scanning the cover art from each chapter. I rushed through it, not paying too much attention to the file size, so the zip for all 12 chapters is pretty big, but still workable. If anyone's unhappy with the cropping, or quality...well, it comes as is. There was a problem with the uploading option, but I'll get it posted as soon as possible.

Our group is still on the first level. Arley the weaver has been hassling the PCs, but staying clear of any direct confrontations; he waited until they were locked into a death struggle with the fresco fighters, to attack the first time. Now I'm thinking of doing something really nasty, in fact its probably too nasty....but it seems likely that Arley would do something like this. He's drawn them into the throne room, in front of the golem. You think I should assume he's figured out something of the golem's activation? and flies up tapping it into life, before retreating? Or is that just too cruel? He has absolutely no other resources here, and has already lost any chance to parlay with the PCs, so it's either this, or full retreat.

The Gnolls are cannonfodder for this group As for normally frightening Bodaks...most of these characters could make a DC 15 fort save using a d4 to roll it. So the Bodaks are completely useless....I've left them in their lair, to see if they get discovered and slaughtered or not, but otherwise I'm having them rest in torpor as it were....

So, do I show some restraint? Or let them suffer the consequences of entering the dungeon in the first place? Would Arley be clever enough to figure out the golem after all this time?

As for our group, they're all 12th level (or at least ecl of 12), with a 32 point buy for attributes. Its a well balanced aprty, all WotC material, no outside sources (sorry Paizo!), so I'd say they are about average as far as what they can handle.

I've run Jzadirune before, and didn't really take full advantage of the skulks residing there. This time around, I've been using them to haunt the PCs every step of the way, but a bit of debate arose as to just how effective peerless camoflage is, and I'd love some help...

How would other DMs on this site interpret the snipe function of the hide skill. Would skulks take a - 20? Or does there ability to move, run, etc. with no penalties allow them to snipe with impunity?

Also, do they need cover to hide? Or can they just press up against the wall in a semi to dark room, and blend right in unnoticed (at least with a +22 hide, you would think unnoticed....)

Please, I need a lot of advice on this one, so I can restore order with a few of my players.

I'd love to have a look at any good campaign websites of people running this adventure, either irl or online. I'm currently running the game online, and although I do upkeep info and game logs on a forum;

http://shadowdragon.kelticmoose.com/Forum/viewforum.php?f=73

....there really isn't a whole lot to look at, as most of my time is devoted to running SCAP (also online). We don;t do any PBP on the site, and have only had three sessions so far, so needless to say, it's pretty bare right now.

I'd love to see what other people are doing with this material...

I'm curious if any DM has ever encountered even the slightest bit of player revolt when going from Life's Bazaar; a game that follows to some extent this format; weird things happening in town (kidnappings) ----> investigate ----> find a secret door located in the shop of a local merchant (Ghelve's Locks) ------> which leads into tunnels under the city (Jzadirune and the Malachite Hold) -----> do a nice little dungeon crawl and defeat the baddie.........into Drakthar's Way, a game that follows to some extent this very same format; weird things happening in town (goblin graffiti) ----> investigate ----> find a secret door located in the shop of a local merchant (Orak's bathhouse) ------> which leads into tunnels under the city (Drakthar's Way) -----> do a nice little dungeon crawl and defeat the baddie.

To be honest, I've already DMed a live group well past Drakthar's Way, and the issue never came up; although we had something like 6-7 months break in between the two installments. I'm now DMing an online game, and we've just started the dungeon crawl, which I estimate to take close to 12 sessions total when played online (assuming game sessions are between 3-4 hours). My introduction to SCAP was in an online game as a player, and we only got as far as the first installment, which took somewhere around 14 sessions. I've seen other camps in progress online, and it seems that 12 sessions is a good benchmark for the completion of the first adventure, the majority of which will be spent in the crawl.

My current group isn't too picky, but they aren't used to such prolonged stays in one environment, and I'm wondering how they're going to react when I drop Drakthar's Way on them.

I don't want to skip it outright though...as I think some of the NPCs introduced in the chapter have a lot of potential, and the showdown with Drakthar should be memorable.

It turned out to be a great experience for my live group, after Orak was deposed, an unbelievable legal battle began for ownership of the bathhouse (I love DMing greedy players, they're so much fun, and so easy to torment!) I do think its a fun installment, with a lot of really great hooks for the DM and players. I'm curious though if anyone has decided not to run it for these same reasons, or had any bad experiences, with players losing interest because of the redundancy.

During the eventual meeting with the Chisel, Honest Minstrel claims Skellerang is rumored to be preparing for an invasion of Redgorge.

My players will definitely ask him a ton of questions, and I'm not sure i can answer all of them.

I'm not sure about Skellerang's motives (both overt and ulterior) for invading Redgorge.

I can deflect ay questions of 'how did you come by this info' but I want the tidbit to be believable.

We haven't even started the online game yet (although my live group is well into flood season) but I'm just reading ahead, trying to get myself ready. I haven't read much further than demonskar though, so maybe the answers lie in following chapters.

Still, anyone have any insight into this one? Its not clear to me if his motive would be hunting down Tercival? Or Maavu? Or what exactly.....

And why a full scale invasion when the political repurcussions could be disastrous. He would need a good 'WMD' type ruse, wouldn't he?

Maybe I overlooked something, but I'm known to do such things. I'd be grateful for any insight!

As I continue to prep for my online game which will be launched sometime next January, I'd like to put feelers out there to see if anyone would be interested in being an adversary player for the camp. This role would not require the same commitment as playing and DM'ing the game does. You would be free to take days off at your leisure, and enjoy the game when you were in the mood for it.

We have a gaming group that has been together for a year now, and will be closing out our ongoing campaign to begin SCAP. I may indeed recruit one or two more players for the game, but will not do so on this site (too many DM's and SCAP veterans here). The adversary player can have a lot of fun running friendly and hostile NPC's, and might even be able to develop his or her own recurring NPC as the game progresses.

Our game is run using openRPG, let me know if you dont have experience with the software, and I can help get you up to speed.

Our game will be hosted on this forum;

Shackled City

So far I've only got stuff from rpgenius up there, but as time goes on, it will develop its own flavor.

Feel free to email at:
kaleth_tyr(at)yahoo(dot)com

I'm going to be running the shackled city AP online, with a gaming group that has been together for over a year now. I'm pulling out all the stops, to make it a great game, and am still in the preparation phase.

I own the SCAP big book, and most of the magazines, but do not have access to all the pdf's. I am not looking forward to pre-typing up all the room descriptions for use in our online sessions (thats a ton of typing for me and my 30 wpm).

Any ideas if there is a giant pdf to go along with the big book? (this has probably already been asked somewhere, so sorry for the redundancy here) I'd love to be able to cut and paste the descrips and various other details ((although I have found the rpgenius SCAP website to be a great boost, with lots of fantastic submissions - I plan on adding to it soon, hopefully!))

As a DM, I understand this character is not invincible. The dog can be killed, the terrain can be structured to make charging difficult or impossible (although a halfling and dog could easily fit into many dungeon crawls).

My question is not how to deal with it so much (I'm planning on a house rule that disallows use of power attack and spirited charge in one attack), I'd rather know if others feel like the spirited charge feat is out of balance.

I'm confident that this character is by the book (3.5), but I think the writers clearly overlooked the potential for abuse here. I can see that a mounted charge should be a devastating attack, but the x3 multiplier from spirited charge means that creatures are going ot be making fortitude saves with every hit, assuming they survive. His use of ride by attack, means he can very often line up for a single charge each round, (terrain allowing).

Anyway, I'd love to hear some feedback.