I don't think NPC equipment is usually listed again in the rewards section. At least that hasn't been my experience. NPCs often are carrying a random healing potion or useful magic equipment or consumables, so I definitely make a personal practice to check what they have. The map for the citadel is from the Age of Ashes adventure path and is not from a flip-mat. The citadel first appeared in that AP, so when the PCs go there it's the same place the players may have seen if they previously played the AP.
Yea I'm not trying to present it to say any frustration is invalid only to help GMs who are detecting frustration for creative ways to mitigate it. I want people to have fun! Thematically my intent with nature not working was that these are otherworldly black flames from hell that aren't natural fire. But when I'm running it I want to reward creative and heroic effort so if the PCs do something that makes sense to put out the fires I have the numbers from the hazard to guide me and let them try. i would encourage any GM to use their judgment in that respect. The stat block only says what will definitely work and I think isn't the entirety of what might work.
RE: Bartolo's damage. NPCs follow a set of guidelines for their stats that doesn't necessarily reflect their equipment. It's mainly there so the PCs get silver weapons for later and to reflect the "we're allies but don't trust you" attitude of diabolists. I believe the darkness DC is 17 at low tier and 20 at high tier per the disable section. My understanding is it's assumed that you collect all the civilians and then bring them back together. The PCs have limited time before the battle starts and can't afford to keep heading back to Monument Circle. The sequence is intended to be that you go to the three civilian locations selected, then receive word the Pickled Ear is in danger and go help Roxie, then escort the civilians back through the town, fight the Posandis, then go to the citadel. I saw some comments that people were struggling with the Pickled Ear hazard and was trying to think of anything that might help. It may be worth reminding PCs struggling with the hazard that the goal is for Roxie to be ok. I'm not saying that's intended behavior or anything, only that the building is less important than their or Roxie's lives if they can get everyone out. Also the description of the hellfire's "personality" is that it likes toying with its victims, so doing less optimal things like cutting off retreat when the PCs are advancing or putting fires around a PC to scare them is in flavor. It's at least my understanding that when the tavern partially collapses after five rounds it ends the encounter, so the PCs can't be stuck doing it indefinitely. Also I saw someone using starburst for the fires at GenCon and adopted that and that really inspires people to put the flames out :)
The people of Breachill and the Bumblebrashers need help! Please don't let them down, Pathfinders! And a pirate adventure by HMM in time for talk like a pirate day?! Yarr!! And Starfinder delving into mysteries at distant bases and a race around Absalom Station... I'm so excited for this month <3
Peaked at a few tables playing this at GenCon and hope everyone who got to try it had fun!
Ran this last night at high tier with 27 CP and 6 players. The Shemhazian wound up being the scariest thing. Adventure ran very long, about 6 hours, most of it in part 2. I included the optional encounter on the theory that it made sense narratively / keeping the tension up as they had just finished off the last of the first wave when round 5 hit, but from a time management perspective, I probably should have skipped it. Players said they had fun, so a success regardless!
An amazing team line-up. Can't wait for you to take us to the stars!
Good luck Excited for this one, and can't wait to see it in action at GenCon!
As far as Achievement Point awards, I miss the expensive vanity purchases from PF1, like being able to buy your own island or ship. It was a lot of fun when you had to travel somewhere by boat to the adventure to say, "Let's take my ship!" I liked the ability to invest my characters further into the world. I'd love to see that kind of thing.
Good luck, Starfinders! The Vault Lord said they're really excited for your visit. They've got some cool stuff to show you. :-)"He is really. Really. Going to regret not letting me ride the rollercoaster..." Nice! Hope it was fun!
chronicles and npc status: My assumption is that they are dead. I'm not aware of anything on the chronicle sheet recording that. I think Lunesha explicitly dies in box text at the end of 5-10.
Very much looking forward to PAX! First convention since 2019
I'm so excited to have this out in the open at last! It's going to be epic .. is what I would say, but who would be brave or foolish enough to challenge the Vault Lord? Don't risk it, Starfinders! It's too dangerous, even for you!
For kingmaker it's left to gm discretion I think. The main thing is the PCs need to lose to help Chaliz get around fasiels order so as long as they figure that out they can throw the game so no roll necessary. I have for players that were interested in putting on a show let them roll deception or gaming lore etc so they can make it look like they tried to win, but letting Chaliz "best" them is what's important.
My understanding, though it's been quite a while, was that it let her cast an extra spell a turn potentially. She does have an array of innate abilities that can be used for her standard as well. There's a lengthy GM discussion thread for the scenario
There's some discussion of her tactics and casting in there that may provide some guidance. Hope you have fun with the scenario!
Yea my understanding is they get a full night's rest, regaining spells. The potion Chaliz gives functions mechanically like a barkskin potion but instead of bark it looks like stone, in this case flint, to fit with the elemental earth connection. I picked flint specifically since barkskin give weakness to fire and flint can crack and explode if rapidly heated
I was looking through my notes to see if I had any other detail, but I couldn't find anything. My memory is that it's a business associate that Yon is on friendly terms with since it's marked as business communication, but could as easily be his child who provides him with supplies and he also wants to see his grandkids. I think of Yon as the grandfatherly sort. There's nothing firmly established, so go with whatever seems most relatable to your group. Hope you all have fun! :)
I was working on a playlist to go along with all the bands. Here's what I've got so far. I was curious if anyone had their own ideas :) Absa-Wow - DJ Snake Lil John - Turn Down for What ( 3:36)
The art is crazy good in this one. The art: I'm going to use anytime I need one in other adventures!
ghost ship I hope people will find mystery and otherworldly wonders amidst any danger in this dream world. Lady Luck be with you, Pathfinders!
Oh yes, it's happening. We're back!
I didn't come up with the title, but my interpretation is that it can refer to many of the people involved in the adventure. The goals of most of the characters have to do with their reputations and how they're perceived and what they're willing to do for that.
I'm at a loss for words how great the character art and map look. Just giddy at seeing all these characters so well-realized. Bravo!
Stay on your guard out there on the dunes, Pathfinders :-)
"A vortex of swirling metal flies into motion: a thousand, thousand lethal shards that recreate the visage of the Vault Lord, looming over the stadium." As Lehto says, it's the vault lord creating their own image out of the broken holoprojector and the other materials scattered in the room from their minions accessing the power core. The construct is a variation on a junk golem. So short answer, yes, the golem looks like the Vault Lord. :-) It's also clearly a construct, so in case the question is whether the PCs would think they're fighting the actual creature they saw in the holo-projection - no, it's not that good a facsimile. Sorry for being a bit-long winded; wasn't sure of the story rationale behind the question and trying to anticipate. I hope that helps and you and your players have a great time :-) Edit:
-Additional wights spawn per the hazard at the three sets of double doors at the top of the map. You can see three areas with a counter and two sets of doors behind the counter. That's where the corridors are the wights are running in from. -The unliving magefire enters at the center "undead starting point" location. That area now functions as another wight spawn location as the magefire burned a hole in the station that undead outside can enter through. I hope that makes that clearer. Sorry it's been giving people headaches.
@Alex Wreschnig I'm so glad to hear it was fun! Thanks for leaving the review :-) weaving:
The weaving is a reference to Demolition Man and the rehabilitation conditioning from that movie. :-) organization:
Yea, the info possibly would be good to have also there, though there are always word count concerns. My thinking with the sidebar is the GM can copy it out and have the info on the side in a notepad document or other reference. Good to know what people's preferences are for the future. area2:
The magefire is supposed to burn through the ceiling directly above the center of the room. The hull breach and debris then cause problems for the civilians. There's three doors on the north side of the room that are the wight spawn points, with the starting wights in the noted locations. The magefire then opens up a hole in the ceiling that more wights pour in from. Sorry that wasn't clear from the annotations. :( I'm so glad you liked the magefire. I went through a lot of iterations on the design and I was pretty happy with the final result :-)
How was it managing the wights? Was the number of them unwieldy or did it go ok running that many enemies? area3:
The main limit on hacking at range is the computer the PCs have to do the remote hack with. If they spent the credits to have the ability to hack from a distance, more power to them :-) Plenty of opportunity for the guns blazing PCs to show off. This gives a reward to the more skill-focused PCs to shine in combat and contribute. The enemy start locations are pretty broad so lots of flexibility for the GM to adjust to give Vradak more cover from their troops. The room is also brightly lit so the Lurker in Light gets the benefit of its natural invisibility, which should hopefully freak out the PCs a bit. My practice was to have Vradak in back, the golem form front and center, the two bruiser enemies protecting Vradak, and the assassin enemy lurking to the side to invisibly get to the PCs' back line and start tearing up the squishies. Vradak's advance command helps to set that up. A lot of goading from the Vault Lord can encourage the PCs to rush into melee, which is right where the enemy wants them. Generally speaking, there's a lot of tactical leeway for the GM in this one with some very smart enemies in Area 1 and Area 3 who will try to use their abilities to maximum effect. The golem slow speed is very much a built-in weakness to compensate for its jacked stats, which are significantly higher than its CR should normally allow. Clever PCs can definitely take advantage. :-) Edit note: I am definitely curious what GMs find challenges Starfinders in combat though. If I get the chance to write more encounters, especially with the Vault Lord, I want them to be memorable! Everyone having a good time is all I can ask for. Thanks so much for the feedback!
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