LonePaladin's page

Very nice.

It's hard to find maps that actually end up working out properly, and this is one of those rare finds. Notice that the two staircases on the north end actually line up with Raknian's estate, and the two river-inlets meet up with the river on the overland map. Kudos are due to the cartographer, who actually took the effort to make sure that everything matched up right.

Don't bother trying this with the map of the citadel in 'Kings of the Rift', by the way. That is quite possibly the worst map in the entire campaign; the pseudo-3D look doesn't help you figure out where things are in relation to each other, and they make it difficult to determine just how large certain areas are. Some floors are elevated, but have spots that are on the same level as non-elevated rooms. Not to mention the stairs; they don't all line up.

On a related note, I'm almost finished detailing an improved three-dimensional rendition of the Alhaster Spire; a little guesswork on heights gave me a total elevation of just a hair over 750 feet. I'll post something (probably on a new thread) once it's finished.

A Hero of the Pit shall use his fame to gift a City to the Dead.

This refers to Raknian, and is not necessarily dependant on the ritual succeeding. Perhaps simply killing Auric will do. Or maybe, if Raknian's plan is foiled, he can come back and fulfill the...

Or, with this one, you can do what I did. Rephrase it slightly to "A Hero of the Pit shall grant a City to the Dead."

Loris Raknian isn't the prophesied 'hero', Lashonna is. When this one is revealed as unfulfilled, the PCs will believe that they've prevented it (or, at least, that they've bought themselves time). This particular prophecy is actually the last one to be done, during "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure".

My group is currently in that particular adventure, and I plan on having Bucknard inform them that all the prophecies have come true... then watch their faces as they realize which one they just made happen.

Here's a link for downloading the 3D version of the Keep:

http://www.driveway.com/hjlxv08381

It's 180K, and you'll need Google SketchUp to view and/or manipulate it.

I found this map in map-a-week though:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mwa/archiveall

Not sure it's the right one since I havent been able to see it. If someone can check I'd appreciate that.

No, that map isn't the right one. Actually, none of the poster maps from the AoW series ended up in PDF form anywhere, even though they're critical to running the scenes they're used in. Odd, eh?

Oh, and for the insatiably curious:

While I'm waiting for a chance to send out my map (still need a big 'nuff envelope), I used it and the maps in the mag to make a 3D version of Blackwall keep in Google SketchUp. It includes the ground level (though it doesn't show all the spikes and such), the basement, and the upper level. Took me a while to get the battlements in, and I had to do a little tweaking to get the arrow-slits to look right. I haven't added furniture or doors, though I might if I have a manic episode soon.

If you've got SketchUp, I'll be glad to slap that file somewhere and post a link to it here.

I'm trying to locate the map that came with the third installment of Age of Worms.

I still have my copy floating around in my bookshelf; I have no use for it anymore, as my campaign is nearing the end. Drop me an e-mail (it's in my profile) and we'll see what arrangements I can make for mailing it to you.

Slightly off-topic.

In my campaign, during "The Prince of Redhand", the group managed to kill one of Ilthane's children (the others fled). They took the corpse to a taxidermist in Alhaster and had the thing stuffed, mounted, and polished up. The whole process cost them a couple thousand gold (partially because it was a rush job).

They then presented it, on its own pedestal, to Prince Zeech as a gift.

Here's something to think on, regarding the formation of the Aspect. The timing originally stated works quite well, when you give it the proper reason.

The heroes infiltrate the Hextorian section, and put everyone inside to the sword. This can be considered an application of tyranny, since the priests there entered unopposed and could potentially claim the right to stay there, despite their goals.

Next comes the caves with the grimlocks. Odds are it will be a wholesale slaughter, something that Erythnul favors. Yet something else that would get the Aspect's attention.

Lastly, the Vecnan section. Killing the Faceless One would bring some secrets to light, bringing harm to people who would've otherwise been untouched (such as the evidence against Smenk). But it also renders who-knows how many secrets permanently buried, because the F. O. knew a lot about the region, the Triad, and their operations. Thus, secrets are revealed, and secrets are denied. More fodder for the Aspect.

Essentially, the Aspect's awakening can be seen as the fault of the PCs. Let them chew on that for a while.

If you have any suggestions or thoughts on it let me know.

Where do I start? Okay, first is the requirements. That long description about the training and the fact that several don't survive isn't needed in the prerequisites section; it would be better placed as flavor text outside the class, as most PCs are either going to ignore it, or the whole process would be summarized (unless you want a PC being out of the game for six-plus months).

Next. This class gains immunities, resistances, or spell-like abilities every single level, some of which are quite powerful. Allowing them to cast animate dead once a day as a spell-like ability removes the need to use the costly component, namely a 25 gp onyx for each creature animated. Since this class adds its full level to the character's caster level (more on that in a second), this means that the point where this character can cast it for free, he can animate 16 HD of undead in one casting (which would normally cost 400 gp), and have a total of 32 HD controlled at one time. It doesn't sound like much for an 8th-level character, but 400 gp for eight zombies adds up quick, especially when characters of the same level can simply annihilate them.

Sure, he can bring up more given enough corpses and two days, but the fact that he gets to do it for free can unbalance things quickly. This guy could basically wander around towns and villages, randomly animate a pack of zombies and skeletons, and walk away to do it again in the next town. Just leave them there to cause havoc, they're not costing him anything more than a standard action a day.

One more level, and he can reach his maximum number of minions in one casting. He never has need to cast the spell normally, unless he wants to overwhelm an area with zombies and skeletons. And any areas he reach that are consecrated become neutral as long as he's standing there. He just has to walk into a temple of Pelor to effectively defile it.

When this guy reaches 12th level (assuming 5 cleric/7 ZM), he can animate enough skeletons in one day to have a mob (using the DMG2 rules); this requires 48 of them. A 20-foot square packed with skeletons, effectively a 30-HD undead. And he gets this free of charge, instead of having to fork over 1200 gp in onyx. Give him undead-controlling armor and the Undead Leadership feat from Libris Mortis and he can have a literal army following him around, especially with that constant desecrate effect. For free.

The 8th-level ability, with the note that it uses all spellcasting classes, is open for exploitation. Also be aware that it's completely overridden at 10th level (I'm assuming that the capstone ability includes immunity to negative energy, since it includes death effects and energy drain). So the ZM only gets to enjoy this ability for two levels, at which point he might as well erase it.

Darkvision as a 9th-level ability is extremely weak. If he doesn't already have it, he's probably gotten used to being without it by the time he's a 14th-plus-level character.

Lastly, and this is the big one, a prestige class that grants this many abilities, some of which are extremely powerful, should not gain an increase in spellcasting ability every level. There should be some trade-off. Given everything else the class gets, I would reduce it to once every even (or even every 3rd) level.

I'd like to see that as well. Send it to LonePaladin at gmail.com.

I took the map that came with the PDF and copied it into a program called Ptolemy, which was originally written to use with the Morrowind CRPG. Once that was done, I labeled every building that was covered in the Guide and the Backdrop in Dungeon. It turned out to be a pretty large file (around 25 MB), but that's because I used a very close-up look at the map.

If you're interested, drop me a line, and I'll give you a link to get the program, as well as the map-file itself. In fact... Mr. Jacobs, would you be willing to put that file up for people to grab from this site?

So is there anyone up to the challenge?

Did you have any doubt? Sure, I'll make it look pretty for you. Just look at my profile for one usable e-mail address.

At the conclusion of The Bullywug Gambit, the PCs should be 5th level. If you want to give them a little something extra, and keep their characters from just sitting around while preparations are made for the next chapter of the Savage Tide campaign, issue #149 has just the thing.

The War of the Wielded is a 5th-level adventure set in Sasserine, and would make a perfect side-quest before the group leaves for their three-hour... um, three-month tour.

I'm going to use this in an online campaign I'm running, even though it might be a very long time before they get to that point. Whatcha think?

Here's one that would probably be open to the idea of helping, if approached properly. Inevitables. Head to Mechanus and start using logic and reason to recruit a squad of zelekhuts, maruts, and kolyaruts. The kolyaruts punish oath-breakers, and Demogorgon's forces have certainly broken their share of promises. Maruts will be tougher; they kill those who try to cheat death, which would make things hard for Orcus's army. Zelekhuts go after those who deny justice and avoid punishment, which definitely fits with Demogorgon's track-record.

By far, the maruts are the most powerful, so you'd want to put extra effort into getting them on your side.

It's not a perfect answer, though. They'd be hindered somewhat going to a chaos-dominant plane, and the forces from the Court of Stars certainly wouldn't approve of such a measure.

1) Read and understand the plan for the Hextor cultists. They are well organized and drilled, so their defence plan should run mostly as planned. Allow for it to fail or not go perfectly though, or the PC's might get TPK'ed.

Another note for the Hextorian section. This is likely to be the area first explored by the PCs, since they'll be encountering guards for it immediately. Theldrick is fairly intelligent (13), perceptive (16), and knows how to deal with people (Cha 14, Diplomacy +10). Thus, he won't immediately start with hostilities if he can get a chance to talk.

Use this as an opportunity for one of those 'villan monologues', as cheesy as it sounds. Let him show off a little knowledge of the PCs (say, the fact that they went here first, because the other sections would've killed them). Emphasize their lawful alignments, by pointing out their rights to do research here or the like. Basically, make up a good, righteous speech, and let Theldrick deliver it once he's gotten the doors locked.

Give the PCs a chance to respond; end the spiel with a question, to give them an excuse to say something. Allow sneaky PCs a chance to prepare some nasty tricks during the speech; be sure to give the NPCs a similar chance for spells, potions, etc. Once the fight begins, throw everything you've got at 'em. Make it an all-or-nothing affair; as long as the PCs come in relatively fresh, and recognize that this is one of those end-all type of fights, they should pull out all the stops too.

Level them up after they defeat each temple

That way they'll be level 5 for the ebon aspect

It's assumed that they're 3rd level coming in to this chapter; leveling them after each section with make them 6th.

Instead, have them gain 4th level after their first section (which will likely be the Hextorian wing), and 5th level after the other two but before facing the Aspect.

Unless the party plans to cast spell immunity (mind blast) on everyone, you'll be lucky if they survive.

Zyrxog can be pretty challenging, especially if he places himself in a spot that most of the PCs can't reach (such as hovering over the pool). He'll pretty much ignore most of the spells the party might fling at him, so they'd have to get very creative to avoid being slaughtered.

I've been using Action Points since the game's inception, and my party is currently at Prince Zeech's party. When they saw all the visions at Kuluth-Mar, rather than give them a separate pool of 'fate points', I simply increased the die they roll with an action point; now they roll 3d8 and take the higher die.

After they've been through the Library of Last Resort, I might increase that to d10s, and probably d12s when they reach the endgame. (Those poor, neglected d12s.) It's a pretty fair reflection of what they intended with Fate Points, without the burden of making them non-recoverable.

Which leads back to my question about the Faceless One. His stats seem to imply that he is a member of a race that affects his CR. Why is he CR6?

That Intelligence score IS rather high. Without some sort of magic (like wishes, or a tome of clear thought +2), he shouldn't have such a high stat, unless he started with one higher than normally possible. If you have a problem with it, here's how you can fix it without drastically changing things.

Actually, I don't believe you can make the spell "Longstrider" into a potion at all because it has range Personal.

Correction. You can. The only thing you can't put into potions are spells that affect an area. According to the SRD, any time you drink a potion you are considered both the caster and the target of the embedded spell. Since you can cast longstrider on yourself, you can put it into a potion.

If the potion is actually an oil, then the spell has to be one that can legitimately be cast on an object, such as magic weapon. And even though they don't list it, align weapon is a perfectly valid spell to make into an oil. Especially in the Age of Worms campaign, stocking up on oil of align weapon (good) is a very smart move, along with more silversheen than anyone should have a right to carry.

Just 'cause it's not listed in the DMG's magic item tables doesn't make it a valid potion.

While rogues are very useful early and mid, and in many ways, in some of the later levels, their sneak damage has to be compensated for with regards to creatures immune to it.

We made up a weapon enhancement to take advantage of a few 1st-level spells introduced in the Spell Compendium. It's a rather pricey addition, but the rogue in my group swears by it now.

Anystriking
Price: +2 bonus
Property: Weapon
Caster Level: 1st
Aura: Faint (DC 16) divination
Activation: —

This weapon seems to quiver, as if anticipating its next attack.

An anystriking weapon can inflict precision-based damage (from the sneak attack, skirmish, sudden strike, or similar abilities) against any creature type, including constructs, elementals, oozes, plants, and undead. The weapon does not grant such abilities; it simply allows their use against creatures that are normally immune to them.

This ability does not bypass a creature's resistance or immunity to any other type of damage, such as immunity to critical hits, miss chances for incorporeality, or partial resistance to additional damage (such as from armor of fortification).

Projectile weapons bestow this property on their ammunition, though the range at which the precision-based ability is not changed.

Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, golem strike, grave strike, or vine strike, sneak attack, skirmish, or sudden strike ability.

Cost to Create: Varies.

...or as end-campaign loot in the very cool Die, Vecna, die!.

If you do get this one, be sure to look for the reference to the Head of Vecna in it. :P

Or, if it's just a +1 dagger, let her turn it into a legacy weapon.

Gwynharwyf, a paragon eladrin, is the consort to Queen Morwel, the ruler of the Court of Stars in Arborea. The Court is the home to all the eladrin, and Morwel has always been its monarch; no eladrin has any memory of anyone else ruling, and none are certain of her age. Given that time doesn't pass in the Court, it's possible that she's several thousand years old, but no one dares ask her to reveal her age. Gwynharwyf is the patron of good-aligned barbarians, frequently leading barbarian hordes in the eternal struggle against evil.

According to the Book of Exalted Deeds, the celestial paragons typically don't accumulate worshipers. They actively discourage cults raised in their name, and have no ability to grant divine spells to mortals. They can petition other deities to grant spells to their followers, but prefer not to be proxies if they can help it.

They do, however, patronize organizations dedicated to them, or simply host a powerful individual (or champion) in the mortal planes. Most of these organizations have worshipers of existing deities, as long as their aims coincide. While they cherish the orders that serve them, they are careful to remind them that they are not deities. Doing otherwise would be succumbing to the sin of pride.

The Church of the Whirling Fury might have followers who worship Pelor, Heironeous, Kord, St. Cuthbert, Trithereon, Mayaheine, Rudd, Zuoken, Azor'alq, or Kelanen. In Sasserine, they prefer to keep their affiliation private, with the belief that a public showing would incite those with evil intent to move openly. Thus, most members who are clerics or favored souls would follow other faiths present in the city, and be publicly affiliated with them.

(If you're using affiliations from DMG2 and the Player's Guide, and especially if you're using the religious affiliations in Complete Champion, you might want to ignore the -10 penalty that having a second affiliation would bring, since the Church would encourage members to have a cover-story.)

The Blue Nixie is mapped out in There Is No Honor, issue #139. The Sea Wyvern's map is the insert in issue #141. The latter ship is definitely larger than the Nixie, and would be much more suitable for a trading vessel. The Nixie would probably do better as a fast warship, something made to skim around a battle and harass the enemy.

(I spent WAY too much time playing Ancient Art of War at Sea as a kid.)

About the time a weapon that empowered becomes likely, the group's cleric should have access to 6th-level spells, which means you'll have to watch out for bolt of glory from the Spell Compendium. This nasty piece of work is a one-target ray that does 1d12 per caster level (max 15d12) against undead and evil outsiders, with significantly worse damage on other targets. No saving throw, close-range touch attack, SR applies. The cleric in my AoW game has used this spell to devastating effect.

Against specific targets, it's better than the wizard's disintegrate spell.

Very nicely done. It's not quite what I was looking for, what with the variant history and theme, but it still gives me some ideas. Has anyone else beaten me to the punch?

There has been some discussion about making Zosiel's circlet a legacy item (per the rules in Weapons of Legacy), partly to encourage PCs to retain it long enough to go through the sixth chapter with it. I've put together a list of abilities and costs, but I need some details for a good history and rituals.

Here's the abilities and costs:
5th — Comprehend languages (always on)
6th — nil (cost: 2 hp, 1st-level spell slot)
7th — Persuasion (as the item) (cost: 2 hp)
8th — nil (cost: –1 attack penalty, 2nd-level spell slot)
9th — nil (cost: 2 hp)
10th — Levitate (always on) (cost: 3rd-level spell slot)
11th — Protection from arrows (always on)
12th — nil (cost: 4th-level spell slot)
13th — Wisdom +4 (cost: 2 hp)
14th — nil (cost: 5th-level spell slot)
15th — nil (cost: 2 hp)
16th — True seeing 1/day (cost: 6th-level spell slot)
17th — Wisdom +6
18th — nil (cost: 7th-level spell slot)
19th — Summon greater air elemental 1/day (cost: 2 hp)
20th — Wall of force 2/day (cost: 8th-level spell slot)

End costs: –1 attack penalty, 12 hp, 1 slot of each level from 1st to 8th.

...if you're going to use the Ecology of the Isle of Dread that appeared in Dragon as a handout in Savage Tide, that's written by her mom in full-on druid mode.

Is there any way I could get the text of that article, or at least the portions that would serve as the handout? I never got a chance to get that issue of Dragon, and having that article would help my players immeasurably.

better balance = more likely to become sea-sick

I can personally attest to this one. When I first went out on the open sea (while I was in the Navy), it took me three days to get over the expected nausea. I discovered a trick to it: whenever I was on my feet, I walked around. Since I hadn't grown accustomed to the ship's motion yet, whenever I tried to move I had to watch my footing.

As a result, my brain was focused more on where my feet were going and quit paying attention to my stomach.

(Granted, it didn't help when someone in my division took a length of twine, tied it to a pipe in the ceiling of the mess-hall, and tied a heavy bolt to the other end. Though it was funny watching other newcomers sit there and stare at that bolt, hypnotized, before their guts gave up.)

Oops. Change that first address to a .com, I got it wrong.

I am SO using this. My group has just gotten into Magepoint. (Granted, instead of the four halberdiers at the bridge, I placed two high-level Duskblades instead.)

I'm having Raknian show up right after the group is finished with the Spire of Long Shadows, just when they think they can relax. I've boosted him to a 14th-level fighter with the Death Knight template, and used the retraining option (from PH2) to change his Leadership feat to Undead Leadership (from Libris Mortis).

As a result, he has a literal horde of undead following him: about 150 human skeletons (arranged into three mobs), 19 human zombies, 7 troglodyte zombies, 4 troll skeletons, 8 ghouls, 2 shadows, 3 ghasts, and a wight. The whole thing comes out to an EL 18 encounter.

Oh, and his cohort? A 10th-level gravetouched ghoul monk. I've got full stat-blocks on the whole schlemiel (it's a 3-page Word document, though I could make it a PDF if you prefer). Drop me an e-mail and I can send it to you -- just put "Loris Raknian" in the subject line so I can spot it easily.

My address is either lonepaladin#peoplepc,net, or iprovemurphyslaw#aol,com. (Substitute # for @, and . for , as needed, naturally.)

Just thought I'd point out a flaw in the idea of going gaseous and summoning traffic cones. Per the SRD:

It can’t attack or cast spells with verbal, somatic, material, or focus components while in gaseous form.

Which means your cloudlike party can basically do nothing, unless one of their spellcasters happens to have a spell that is silent, stilled, and has no material components or foci.

Why bother with trying to destroy light sources? In the middle of a fight, have one of the grims attempt a disarm maneuver to grab the torch, lantern, sunrod, whatever. (Wounded grimlocks probably won't risk this move, leave it to the ones in good shape.) Once said light-source is stolen, either throw it to the ground (in the case of a torch or lantern), or withdraw from the fight and go hide it somewhere (for sunrods and everburning torches).

If someone proves especially resistant to disarming, initiate a grapple, and have other grims ready actions to assist. Basically mob the light-bearer, pin him, take away the light, then run off with it.

My foreshadowing is a little different. I've been running the AP for about a year now, and the group is just beginning Part 7, Spire of Long Shadows. They're currently in Magepoint, but I've got something in store for them when they first arrive in the jungle.

Rain Barrel Man.

See, I used someone else's suggestion of having him hint at things coming in the Champion's Belt chapter, and he definitely left an impression on the group. (Granted, they all think he's nuts, but they remember him.) So I decided to have him turn up one last time. I also wanted to incorporate the group's chosen name (from the Arena), the "Keys of Twilight". I altered the initial description just a little, then extended it with his speech, thus:

Sitting at the edge of the cliff, unnoticed until he began moving, is an old human. He rises, brushing dirt off his threadbare trousers, then wipes his hands on the rags draped over his chest. “It’s about time you got here,” he wheezes. “I was starting to have doubts.”

You realize that the figure in front of you is the Rain Barrel Man, the insane prophet you encountered twice before in the Free City.

“I’m sorry that my warnings before weren’t clearer. I wasn’t seeing things very well, and couldn’t find the right words. I’m better, now, and need to speak with you. There isn’t much time, so please hear me out.

“I know that you’re here to learn about the past, but the future will also become clear to you as well. Everything I’ve seen shows that this Age is ending, and a new one is coming. The only time I saw anything else was when I saw you. You six are the ones who can change things, and keep things from changing.

“I know this, though I don’t know how, or why. I think the best way I can put it is this: you’re the only ones I couldn’t see, until you were right in front of me. I thought I was wrong, at first, because I knew of the warrior who was with you before. When he left, the rest fell into place.

“There is one last warning I must give you. You will need to do what no one has ever done. You have done this before. You are the keys that locked the prison; now, you must be the executioner’s blade. I have seen what comes, and it crawls. You will have only one opportunity, and you must be prepared to make the leap when you see it.”

Before you can react, the Rain Barrel Man turns around and jumps off the cliff.

It did? I couldn't find the DC for the Secret Door written anywhere, either in P4's description or P5's.

Go with the old stand-by, then: DC 20. This makes it possible for anyone in the group to notice it, but doesn't make it too easy.

If the party enter via D9, rather than the taxidermist's then there is no way they will discover the secret doors since they are 5 ft up so won't be discovered on a normal search of the room at floor level.

A Search check will actually find anything within 10 feet of the searcher, unless they are specifically looking at a 5-foot-cubic area.

Mike Selinker wrote:

Perhaps treating the grouping of trilithons in the center as one unit might help.

i also tried assigning numbers to colors based on their relation to the INNER stones based on this comment, but they don't line up well enough to correspond.

Here's a clue that, combined with the references to the "T", will probably get it for you.

Looking at the rendering, you can see that all the stones are roughly the same size. If you look closely at the left and right sides, you can see that the line between stones is horizontal at one point. Count the number of stones between those horizontal lines, then double it -- that'll give you the number of stones forming the ring.

(I'm referring here to the capstones, some of which change color when you mouse over them.)

Once you know how many stones form that ring, it should become clear. Seriously. I won't tell you the number, 'cause that'd be giving away too much I think. But once you know it, everything else should fall into place.

My group has just finished the Champions' Games, and let me tell you, they pulled out some tactics that even I wasn't ready for.

They started with the expected array of buffing spells -- haste on the party, enlarge person on everyone, righteous might on the cleric, that sort of thing. Just as the 1-minute 'get ready' time is about to expire, the cleric (of Moradin, Earth domain and all) starts casting summon monster IV to bring in Small earth elementals.

He does this three times.

On the last prep round, he's gotten himself a dozen elementals, and casts lesser planar ally and calls in a Medium one. One quick bargain, two pricey gems later, and this elemental has organized the whole group into a mob.

Yes, a mob, straight from the DMG II. A 30-HD, Gargantuan beast composed entirely of earth elementals.

Said mob quickly started giving the Leatherworks trouble, since it had upwards of 200 hit points. The cleric and wizard each threw dispel magic at their opponents, and managed to strip EVERY spell effect off them.

And when Auric tried to get close to the party's fighter, said (enlarged) fighter used his attack of opportunity to trip him. As he tried to get up, Auric found himself disarmed with another AoO.

Before Khellek could do anything else against the group, the cleric threw in something I hadn't considered, by casting summon swarm. Now the wizard had to deal with three locust swarms, with all of his protections gone.

Not including the prep time, the fight took all of three rounds before Auric browbeat Khellek into ordering the golems (one of which was down) to stand off. Khellek spent his time sulking while Auric showed some grace in losing the belt.

Just a pointer for you summoners out there -- get 30 Hit Dice worth of identical critters and a DM with the DMG II, and convince him to turn them into a mob. Nasty.

My group chose to be called the Keys of Twilight. Granted, it's a rip-off from .hack, but it sounds really cool, and didn't give away anything of their capabilities.

Yeah, what he said. I'd be happy to double-check your math on those. You wouldn't even have to pay me extra, just the going rate-per-word you normally pay. (Heck, even a portion of that would work.)

I really need to check on this more often. I hadn't even realized that anyone was interested. Anyway...

Overview: Diamond Lake

Diamond Lake nestles in the rocky crags of the Cairn Hills, three days east of the Free City to which it is subject. Iron and silver from Diamond Lake’s mines fuel the capital’s markets and support its soldiers and nobles with the raw materials necessary for weapons and finery. This trade draws hundreds of skilled and unskilled laborers and artisans, all hoping to strike it rich. In ages past, Diamond Lake boasted an export even more valuable than metal in the form of treasure liberated from the numerous tombs and burial cairns crowding the hills around the town. These remnants of a half-dozen long-dead cultures commanded scandalous prices from the Free City, whose insatiable covetousness triggered a boom in the local economy. Those days are long gone, though. The last cairn in the region coughed up its treasures decades ago, and few locals pay much mind to stories of yet-undiscovered tombs and unplundered burial cairns. These days, only a handful of treasure seekers visit the town, and few return to the Free City with anything more valuable than a wall rubbing or an ancient tool fragment.

In the hills surrounding the town, hundreds of laborers spend weeks at a time underground, breathing recycled air pumped in via systems worth ten times their combined annual salary. The miners are the chattel of Diamond Lake, its seething, tainted blood. But they are also Diamond Lake’s foundation, their weekly pay cycling back into the community via a gaggle of gambling dens, bordellos, ale halls, and temples. Because work in the mines is so demanding and dangerous, most folk come to Diamond Lake because they have nowhere else to turn, seeking an honest trade of hard labor for subsistence-level pay simply because the system has allowed them no other option. Many are foreigners displaced from native lands by war or famine. Work in a Diamond Lake mine is the last honest step before utter destitution or crimes of desperation. For some, it is the first step in the opposite direction: a careful work assignment to ease the burden on debtor-filled prisons, one last chance to make it in civil society.

Despite its squalor, Diamond Lake is crucial to the Free City’s economy. The city’s directors thus take a keen interest in local affairs, noting the rise and fall of the managers who run Diamond Lake’s mines in trust for the government. The city’s chief man in the region is Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff, a lecherous philanderer eager to solidify his power and keep the mine managers in line. Neff exerts his capricious will via the agency of the grandiloquent Sheriff Cubbin, a man so renowned for corruption that many citizens assumed the announcement of his commission was a joke until he started arresting people.

The alliance between the governor-mayor and his pocket police might not be enough to cow Diamond Lake’s powerful mine managers, but Lanod Neff holds a subtle advantage thanks to the presence of his distinguished brother, the scrupulous Allustan, a wizard from the Free City who retired to Diamond Lake five years ago. None dare move against Neff so long as Allustan is around.

Instead of scheming against the government, Diamond Lake’s six mine managers plot endlessly against one another, desperate to claim a weakened enemy’s assets while at the same time protecting their own. While they are not nobles, the mine managers exist in a stratum above normal society. They consider themselves far above their employees, many of whom are indentured or effectively enslaved as part of a criminal sentence. The miners’ loyalty tends to map directly to the working conditions, pay, and respect offered to the miners by their wealthy masters.

Diamond Lake (small town): Conventional; AL N; Population 1,023; 800 gp limit; Assets 40,920 gp; Isolated (96% human, 2% halfling, 1% gnome, 1% other races).
Authority Figures: Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff; Balabar Smenk, mine manager; Chaum Gansworth, mine manager; Ellival Moonmeadow, mine manager; Gelch Tilgast, mine manager; Luzane Parrin, mine manager; Ragnolin Dourstone, mine manager; Sheriff Cubbin; Tolliver Trask, garrison commander.

How to Get There
Most people arrive at Diamond Lake by carriage or by accident. The Able Carter Coaching Company possesses a fleet of horse-drawn coaches, and inns positioned at various points in its paths. It has direct connections between Diamond Lake and the Free City (3 days east), the town of Blackstone (1 day east), the town of Elmshire (2 days north), and Blackwall Keep (2 days southeast).

Another sure-fire way to get into town is to commit a crime in the Free City, especially one involving debts. A lot of criminals are offered extended stays in one of Diamond Lake’s mines in return for a deferred sentence, so many people arrive in town with shackles and an armed escort.

How to Get Out
Depending on your situation, you might have a hard time leaving the town. Hiring a coach from Able Carter costs 5 sp per day of travel involved (so traveling by coach to Elmshire would cost 1 gp). Horses are available for sale at the Lakeside Stables, but the ostler Lanch Faraday is known for rather vicious mood-swings; be sure to check any mounts you buy for odd bruises.

Passage is available across Diamond Lake, but with the lake’s excessive pollution (the result of mining run-off and extensive smelting), there are no longer any other towns on the lake’s shores. The retired marine Durskin will gladly take passengers across the lake, assuming they can deal with the smell of urine and the constant flea-bites. The Cult of the Green Lady has a sailboat and will gladly ferry passengers, as long as they’ll listen to a sermon along the way.

Where to Stay
Most people who lack the resources to own a residence in Diamond Lake (those that could be bothered to, that is) stay in Jalek’s Flophouse, a ramshackle warehouse within smelling distance of the lake. Anyone willing to stay within it must pay 5 cp per night, paid to a massive, helmeted mute named Golot. No one has an address at Jalek’s; the room you keep is the room you get.

It’s also possible to stay at the Midnight Salute, though most of their clientele don’t actually sleep there for long. Anyone willing to pay above-average lodging fees will find plenty of pampering for their money – and, the more money they show, the more pampering they can get.

Most travelers and passersby stay at the Able Carter Coaching Inn, but only long enough to book passage out again. Rooms cost 1 gp per night, and stabling is available for 5 sp per day. (The Lakeside Stables are cheaper for horse-storage, but Faraday’s reputation and temper bring many to consider the extra expense well-spent.)

Where to Visit
Every day, when weather is permitting, merchants line the central square with hand-carts full of merchandise, baskets laden with fruit or pastries, and scams to separate the foolish from their coin.

People seeking a little culture in their spending go to Lazare’s, a cozy gaming parlor facing the central courtyard. The town’s elite gather there nightly to challenge each other at dragonchess, or outwit each other at dragonfire (an ante-based card game). Visitors are expected to bring their own dragonchess pieces (each booth has its own board set into the table), but rental sets are available for the unprepared.

Those looking for more culture, but less class, go to the Emporium to see the two-headed calf, the contortionist, the fortune-teller, and several other oddities. They also go there to throw their money away at various games of chance, including dragonfire, norebonne (a dice game), and a contest known simply as the Rat Game, in which rats race through an open-topped maze. The winner then gets to fight several jermlaine while in a drug-induced frenzy.

The town is laced with run-down ale-halls with poor reputations, watered-down ale, and no entry-fee. (Both Lazare’s and the Emporium charge you just for showing up.) The busiest of these is the Feral Dog, a rather sleazy tavern known best for its dog-fighting pit and its frequent brawls. Its gaining popularity for a house-sponsored knife-throwing contest, but its ale will never win any awards.

Many people stop by the Hungry Gar to eat throughout the day, though it certainly can’t be because of the quality of the food. If you’re looking for a decent meal, go elsewhere – but stop here if you’re looking for quantity; the portions, like the proprietor, are very large.

The Midnight Salute is a by-the-numbers bordello, which means you can get just enough liquor to lower your inhibitions before engaging in more, well, engaging activity. Don’t expect much in the way of food or drink – if you’re there, you’re there for other reasons.

People looking for a more straightforward tavern – the kind where you can actually enjoy yourself without risking a knifing – go to the Spinning Giant, named for the faded fresco on the front wall of a dancing imbecilic hill giant in a yellow dress. Mostly patronized by the garrison soldiers, this place has higher-than-average quality beverages, food that actually takes some effort to prepare, and a clientele that frowns on pickpockets and rowdies. Try their garlic butter rolls, and be prepared to pay handsomely if you ask for wine.

The largest shop dedicated to food is the Rusty Bucket, a restaurant that had to change their menu after the lake’s fishing went bad (as did the lake itself). Since the owner, mine manager Chaum Gansworth, stays out of the political maneuvering common to the other managers, most of the town considers the Bucket to be neutral territory. Try the brisket, but be sure to ask for light gravy or they’ll smother your tray.

Where to Shop
Most shoppers in town end up in Taggin’s General Store one way or another. The interior matches the exterior: chaotic, disorderly, and verging on collapse. Somehow, Taggin manages to keep mental track of the location and quantity of everything in the store; the shelves seem to be randomly filled with whatever will fit, but the owner can rapidly find anything requested. If you’re in mind to buy a canary from his over-full cage, be warned: any canaries that get out while you’re getting one must be paid for.

Those with the money for a good-natured mugging go to Tidwoad’s, the local jeweler. The gnome running this shop brags that his display cases are theft-proof, and he will be straightforward about just how badly he’s cheating you. He will gladly buy most valuables, but starts haggling at about one-third an item’s value – except for gemstones, for which he only charges one gold in twenty. He also rents out storage vaults, with safety ensured by the presence of a pet shield guardian named Festus.

Looking for weaponry? Try the Captain’s Blade, an efficient shop that sells weaponry of all sorts. Tyrol Ebberly, an inveterate gossip with a fanatical devotion to armaments, loves to show off his best wares, and keeps a surprisingly large selection available.

If your combat style favors distance, you’d prefer Venelle’s, a distinctly-carved building near Allustan’s house. The proprietor favors bows and arrows, but she also keeps some crossbows and slings on hand. She keeps a small selection of armor and other weaponry available, having traded her own work at the Free City. To get on her good side, bring along some knowledge of elven culture.

Anything metallic can be had at the Osgood Smithy, as long as you can deal with the smell of soot, loud noise, and a blackened handshake and slap on the back from Osgood himself. His memory is nearly flawless, and his metalwork is just as good. His specialty is masterwork armor, though he leaves the leatherworking to Venelle.

Diamond Lake’s smelting facility doesn’t initially seem like a place to visit, but anyone willing to endure the stench of fumes, scalding heat, and noxious runoff can buy alchemical mixtures (and even magical brews) from the chemist Benazel. Be prepared, as he’ll talk your ear off while he wraps your purchase.

Incredible. That sounds perfect. I'm making a copy in a nice creepy font to use as a handout when my group gets their meat-hooks on it (which might be this evening, if they don't waste much time).

On a side note... Using the wand of Ray of Enfeeblement on the wind warriors, really makes them less of a threat.Jason

The wand of shatter is even better. Take a look at the wind warriors' description, specifically the composition of their armor. Then take a look at the spell.

Ye gods, now I really feel old.

I started gaming 25 years ago, back when D&D was still in a thin, red book. I got it, along with Keep on the Borderlands, all in the original box with dice, for one dollar at a garage sale. AD&D hadn't even come out yet.

And, yes, my beard is showing some gray.

Anyway... I haven't had a chance to look at MM4 yet, but this discussion's told me a lot. I'm like most DMs my age, with barely any time to spare for actually using my creativity. Sure, I can take any critter from the MM, slap a template and some character levels, and have an instant encounter. I've even gotten to the point where I can create a character, with everything in place, using the new stat-block format. Dungeon is my best friend, as it means I don't run the risk of stalling when the game needs to be moving.

I like the things they've been doing lately, like giving details for Knowledge checks -- the rules on knowing about critters (as written in the PH) were lacking. The same goes for magic items; the DMG says you can get some hints about an item, but what constitutes a hint? Look at the DMG2: it gives you the sort of things you can tell your players, from basic descriptions of an item's powers, to an example history. None of it ever says you have to use it as written, but it's just the thing to get the ideas moving around.

Do I want the Monster Manual rewritten, to use the new stat-block and give me some ideas when someone pulls out their Knowledge skills? Certainly. Does this mean I want a book that has maps I can't use in play, or advanced creatures that I could assemble myself? Sadly, no.

But someone who's still learning the art of game-mastery would.

Also from another thread someone mentioned letting their PC roll a second time for hp's if they didn't like the first roll.

I know, I know, it's off topic, but I had to give my 2 cents on this house-rule. Here's how I handled the low-hit-point hurdle.

Whenever a PC (or important NPC, like a cohort) is rolling for hit points, any roll that is one-third of the die's maximum (or less, rounding down) is rerolled. Thus, wizards reroll 1s, clerics reroll on 2 or less, and barbarians reroll 4s and under. No one's complained about this in any of the games I've used it in.

Well, let's look at this one step at a time, shall we?

First, the doppelgangers. Your typical, by-the-book dop is a 4 HD monstrous humanoid with some interesting special abilities (which we all know about), not to mention very nice stat bonuses. Despite these, it's only CR 3. Adding four levels of fighter would add at least +2 to the CR, if it's a 'nonassociated class' -- and, really, is there such a thing for dops? So, add one per level. There's a minimum of CR 7, more than twice the original. But it's base attack is doubled, it's got three times the hit points, and a slew of additional feats. So, yes, I think CR 6 is a little too low.

Telakin is fairly straightforward. Sure, he's got all the standard dop abilities with more HD to back them up. Not to mention spellcasting AND barbarian rage. Why isn't his CR higher? It's because he can't use all of it at once. Quite literally, a greater doppelganger changes completely into the assumed form, even down to alignment. (This one is important, especially if the group has any aligned weapons.) If he's in a rage and switches to wizard form, he loses all the rage benefits and is immediately fatigued. He's like having two characters fight the group, but only one at a time, and sharing one pool of hit points.

The illithid is a whole new paint job, though. They gave a standard mind-flayer eight levels in sorcerer. Take a look at your copy of the Monster Manual, where they have an advanced squid with eight levels of wizard. It's CR 17.

Be sure to check the section on advancing critters; they mention that class levels add +1 CR per level, or +1 per 2 levels if it's an inappropriate class (such as a gnoll taking wizard levels). Looking at the CR, it's obvious that the writer considered sorcerer levels "inappropriate". Why? Because an illithid's favored class is wizard.

Here I was lost. Both are arcane spellcasters, both are fairly equivalent in power; the only difference is in application. Zyrxog is just as nasty as the one in the book, because they both have access to the same level of spells, along with their mind-scrambling, insane SR, and everything else. An eighth-level sorcerer is just as nasty as an eighth-level wizard.

When I ran this part of the scenario, Zyrxog was levitating over the pool, ensuring the heroes couldn't reach him (since none of them had flying spells, as he knew). He had resistance to both fire and electricity -- one from the room, the other from a spell -- so the party's wizard was hamstrung. It didn't help that no one could get past his spell resistance. At all.

No, really, LOOK at that part. This was designed for a party of 7th-level characters. Optimally, they reach 9th level by the end, likely before they reach the squid. So, anyone want to tell me the chances of a 9th-level caster affecting a creature with a spell resistance of 32? Even with Spell Penetration it can't be done, and with Greater Spell Penetration, only one spell in ten will work. Unless your party has extremely good foresight, the guy's going to be pretty much immune to spells.

He was basically free to rain spells on the party, with the occasional mind blast for flavoring. The only thing that stopped him was missing a save against a drow-venomed crossbow bolt. And it took a BAD roll to get that; without it, he'd've taken the group down in about four rounds total.

My advice? Get out your pencils, remove four levels from the squid. He's the reason this chapter's resulted in so many TPKs; Jason must've really misinterpreted the 'non-associated class' part of the CR advancement rules.

I'd really like to hear how the group playing at the Paizo office got past this guy.

I've been using an online gaming site -- rpol.net -- to run the Age of Worms campaign, and would like to know this:

Is it permissible for the staff there to use clips of the artwork in the supplemental PDFs, to provide avatars for players and NPCs? The site doesn't charge for access, and the pictures wouldn't be put to any commercial use (as far as I know).

Mainly, I'd like to get the okay on this so that, when I use the NPCs pictured in the PDFs (such as Allustan in the first adventure), I can give those characters the right picture, instead of having to try to find a 'decent match'. Nothing helps the players' imagination than a visual prop.

I've always been somewhat neutral on the issue. Magazines have had advertising in it for as long as I can remember -- without them, the price of publishing would skyrocket, and Dungeon would cost about $10 an issue. Not cool.

Cardstock inserts are as ubiquitous as junk mail turning up in your mailbox every Wednesday. Again, it's a necessity; as my postman told me a couple weeks ago, "If it weren't for these, a stamp would cost you about two bucks." Besides, I can use 'em as bookmarks, or to hastily jot down a phone number. Again, livable.

The one ad I've been having trouble with in Dungeon is the series being placed by RSI, the "Goin' Postal" ones urging people to try their Play-By-Mail games. About six months ago, they were running an ad showing a rather buxom woman using her 'charms' to convince a sweaty guy to play. VERY sexist, and rather discriminating against both sexes.

I wrote to them, asking them to stop running that ad. About two months later, the ad changed -- although the woman they used still turned up in the background.

This month, it's even worse. Near the end of issue #346 is their ad, on page 95 right after Nodwick. This one features "Skip", the stereotypical video-gamer, "Reginald" the chess-player, "Ashley" the MMORPG gamer-chick, and lastly, Todd.

Now, the three characters above are pretty bad, because they flaunt stereotypes in a very negative way. But Todd, right in the middle of the ad, is the worst. His contribution? As soon as Ashley introduces herself, Todd brightens the day with "I cast wild love monkey on you Ashley. Better roll your savings (sic) throw vs Todd baby!"

I almost threw the magazine away.

Is RSI running these horribly offensive ads anywhere else? Are they really getting any business from this campaign? And haven't they figured out that your average gamer isn't some little 12-year-old with no social life? We're growing up, people, getting jobs and families and all the fixings. And a lot of us have kids who we're introducing to gaming. Having ads like these, full of gender discrimination, blatant stereotyping, and reinforcement of misconceptions only hurts, and might even turn some people away.

I'd write to them again, but I'm afraid they're going to respond by showing D&D players straight out of a Jack Chick tract. The last thing we need is to get that stigma back.

Another nasty aspect of delivering touch spells. When you do so, you can choose to deal damage as well, though it's counted as an unarmed strike in all ways (attacks of opportunity, damage, etc.).

Imagine now a monk choosing to do this. Give him a ring of shocking grasp and watch the fun.