Lambec's page

Event 5. Smoldering Revenge question (nit-pick, not a game breaker)

Page 25: "When the fire begins, it starts at the five locations
marked on the map (see page 18)—each of these locations
represents an oil lamp that one of the five primary spirits
of Harrowstone targets to start the fire."

I notice on page 18 that there are no such markings (nor on the interactive .pdf map).

I've run a fire/stress scenario once and they're great fun, so I was just curious as to what the optimal placement for the oil lamps might be.

Also, what was the optimal number of town folk people might have played on this piece (I can't imagine having 60 town folk in the building like the AP mentions. That would just be crazy).

I think I can work with the scattering idea. I would never want to make them feel like they've just been penalized.

I think I have some good ideas to work with out of this.

The party and some of the Vecna cult will go through the portal. Gear will be flung around. Some within sight. Some the players managed to hold on to, and some will be flung out of sight. Maybe a scavenger, or two, will find and item and take it back to a small town to hock for coin. The party might find their way to that town and recognize some of their gear for sale in a store. Having a Vecna cult member, or two, survive with the party will give them a means to figure out that this "escape portal" is not how it normally works.

This is good brain food.

I like your idea Kolokotroni, and under ideal circumstances I'd go this route, but we're about a once every 2-3 week group. And for the most part the players have created the story with their own individual quests.

I have one player interested in "planes travel" so this will fill that niche temporarily. I can dabble with a new world while they try and figure out how to get back to their current world.

oh ha! didn't even realize sorcerers didn't use spell books.

I thought about the gimmick angle. I know players get attached to their gear, so I was trying to come up with something creative.

It's challenging. I don't want to make them feel punished.

I'm really lucky and I've had the same group for 3+ years. We've gone 4e to PFRPG.

We were using the FR campaign setting and for the longest of time I wanted to put players into my own created world. The time is near.

I have a story arc in place now that is prepping this shift. It goes something like this:

1. Party has been assisting a small lumber town and were out on a routine quest for the town.

2. Party has killed cultists from both Vecna and Orcus (Orcus and Vecna cultists in this story are both using the party to do in the other cultists) over time.

3. Party arrives back in town to find it taken over by Vecna cultists that want revenge.

4. Fight ensues.

5. Orcus cultists arrive. They are very strong and want to do away with party & Vecna cultists.

6. Vecna cultists start fleeing by means of 'portals'. Somehow party will be coerced into fleeing into portal to 'live'.

7. I think at this point an Orcus cultist will cast a spell that impacts the portal while the party is fleeing and BAM... transported to new setting. Magic gone haywire :)

8. I need a plausible story for this next part. I want to strip the party of all/nearly all equipment. Basically arrive in their skivvies. I just need a logical reason why. I can't strip the Sorcerers spellbook because that would completely break his class. My other players can find new weapons.

My idea was to de-gear them and throw some lower level encounters at them until they gear up. They'll have to equip some tree branches and rocks until they get a game plan going.

I just need a story to explain why they were stripped of gear (minus the sorcerer spellbook)