Matt Hardin's page

I'm so jealous. I couldn't ever seem to kill anyone with that assassin in Thrushmoor, and here you go again... killing Maloika.

One day, players, one day I'll get you.

Great maps and recap as always!

One thing about OAD, Adam isn’t afraid to kill off characters, and we aren’t afraid to lose them! Maloika joins a long line of our characters currently residing in OAD Valhalla. He will be welcomed there with open arms. Rest easy our goblin friend!

Using the harmona bird as the group's symbol is such a fantastic deep cut that I absolutely love!

Thanks! After reading through all the firearms available, I knew we’d be featuring several harmona rifles, especially since we were going to have a couple characters from Arcadia. Once I read about the bird that was the weapon’s namesake, and saw what a beautiful illustration there was of that magical avian, I thought it would make a really cool symbol!

I'm so hype for the next update!

Hey Vanessa. This AP has been an absolute thrill so far! As Player Captain running a group consisting of entirely the same class, I am always worrying and wondering about what's going to be the next encounter that trips us up. So far, incorporeal creatures and devils have given us the most trouble. On the other hand, I've never seen a party drop a drake so fast in all my years of gaming (we were only 2nd level)! I do wonder though, what is going to be the next challenge to knock Black Powder Cadre on its behind?

This looks like a wild ride right up until the party gets that TPK. I see no way they survive the Abomination Vaults. I doubt they make it past Level 6.

That's not a knock on the team. That's just AV and how tough it will be for a party of gunslingers only.

But yes, I'm going to watch this run because it will be fun no matter what the outcome is.

Glad to have you along for the ride! It’s proving to be wild indeed. You are not the only one concerned about TPK, believe me. As Player Captain, it is constantly on my mind. I am running through as many permutations and combinations of tactics, strategies, and options possible.

To that point, one thing we are implementing in this project, is a pooling system for treasure. That’s a whole separate topic on its own (and I’m sure I’ll write about it in greater detail at some point), but throughout the decades in OAD, we have basically tried almost every treasure distribution system you can think of.

In a nutshell: The pooling system involves taking the sum total of treasure found and—instead of dividing it into equal shares amongst each party member—you “pool” it together to buy the most effective item available. Right now, I am eyeing up a magic weapon early. Trying to keep ahead of the curve!

I took advantage of one last opportunity to make some changes before project launch. I cleaned up the stat block a bit, and added a space for alignment and a section for heritage.

VLAI CAFELLYN
Neutral Human Gunslinger 1
Way of the Vanguard

Perception +6
Languages Common
Heritage Versatile Heritage
Background Alkenstar Outlaw
Feats Toughness (via Versatile Heritage), Uncoventional Weaponry, Subtle Theft, Munitions Crafter (Alchemical Crafting)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Athletics +6, Crafting +3, Diplomacy +3, Underworld Lore +3, Stealth +7, Thievery +7
Str +3, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +0
Items dwarven scattergun, leather armor, thieves' tools

AC 18; Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +4
HP 18

Speed 25 feet
Melee<1A> reinforced stock +7 (attached to dwarven scattergun, finesse, two-hand d6), Damage 1d6+3 bludgeoning
Ranged<1A> dwarven scattergun +9 (concussive, dwarf, kickback, scatter 10 feet, range increment 50 feet, reload 1), Damage1d8+2 piercing (kickback, singular expertise)

Project Data Tracking:
-Total scatter damage to enemies
-Total scatter damage to allies (friendly fire)
-Total munitions crafted

Character Quote: “The great heist of the Alkenstar Gunworks from last year? Don't know much about it. Sounds scary. I like to stick to fishing myself.”

Soundtrack Song: Foremost, I chose "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi because I felt it fit Vlai's background as an Alkenstar Outlaw and the founder of Black Powder Cadre, as well as his life circumstances in general, extraordinarily well. It's a direct reference to the heist he carried out upon the Alkenstar Gunworks, and the fact that he is literally a wanted man by the Alkenstar authorities (at the very least). As an aside, this tune also has some strong nostalgia: Many of the earliest members of OAD (myself included), were all kids who grew up learning to play D&D in New Jersey during the 1980s. This was part of the soundtrack of our lives.

GM Commentary: “Matt’s first session with us was during his junior year of high school back in 1994. We told him to bring some Doritos since we’d be making characters that night; instead, he showed up with the coveted Paladin’s Handbook. Since then, he’s managed plenty of eccentric party rosters as Player Captain, so a group of all gunslingers should be a welcome challenge. He’s also undefeated as Player Captain in Paizo projects. No pressure, bud.” –Adam, GM

VLAI CAFELLYN
Way of the Vanguard

Perception +20
Languages Common
Background Alkenstar Outlaw
Feats Versatile Heritage (Toughness), Uncoventional Weaponry, Subtle Theft, Munitions Crafter
Skills Acrobatics +7, Athletics +6, Diplomacy +3, Underworld Lore +3, Stealth +7, Thievery +7
Str +3, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +0
Items dwarven scattergun, leather armor, thieves' tools

AC 18; Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +4
HP 18

Speed 25 feet
Melee reinforced stock (attached to dwarven scattergun, finesse, two-hand d6), Damage 1d6+3 bludgeoning
Ranged dwarven scattergun +9 (concussive, dwarf, kickback, scatter 10 feet, range increment 50 feet), Damage1d8+2 piercing (kickback, singular expertise)

Project Data Tracking:
-Total scatter damage to enemies
-Total scatter damage to allies (friendly fire)
-Total munitions crafted

Character Quote: "The great heist of the Alkenstar Gunworks from last year? Don't know much about it. I stick to fishing."

Soundtrack Song: Foremost, I chose "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi because I felt it fit Vlai's background as an Alkenstar Outlaw and the founder of Black Powder Cadre, as well as his life circumstances in general, extraordinarily well. Besides, the earliest members of OAD (myself included) were all kids who grew up in the 1980s in New Jersey. This was part of the soundtrack of our lives.

GM Commentary: “Matt’s first session with us was during his junior year of high school back in 1994. We told him to bring some Doritos since we’d be making characters that night; instead, he showed up with the coveted Paladin’s Handbook. Since then, he’s managed plenty of eccentric party rosters as Player Captain, so a group of all gunslingers should be a welcome challenge. He’s also undefeated as Player Captain in Paizo projects. No pressure, bud.” –Adam, GM

This was a wonderful read! I'm glad you got such a connection to the current times out of it--if only magical solutions were readily available.

Hey Ron! I think every RPG’er has wished magic was real—never more so than now. That said, The Slithering was an absolute delight to play. The monster-crafting of the oozes in all their myriad glory was so much fun to see and experience (fuming sludge in particular). You never knew what those amorphous blobs were going to throw at you next!

The setting was definitely one of my favorites, and that’s saying something considering all the ground OAD has covered over the years. I can’t wait to see more of the Mwangi Expanse in Strength of Thousands!

Playing in The Slithering Salve project with Order of the Amber Die was an amazing experience. I grew so much as a player over the course of this project. By the end, I was not only playing Lini but I was also helping to run the Initiative Board to keep combat on track. I found that when we were in crunch time on the marathon that I loved the game even more.

Ron Lundeen did an amazing job on this module. From the sheer number of different oozes, most of which I’d never heard of, to the demon filled city of Holy Xatramba and our final epic battle upon our return to Kibwe, it was a roller coaster that I didn’t want to end. Plus Lini got to turn into a dinosaur! How could I not love that!
Lini was my first spellcaster but she will definitely not be my last. This time around I was more confident in my spell selection though I admit I reached for my book seemingly more than anyone else to confirm things. Droogami was also my first companion character. When the chips were down in the final battle and most of the party had fallen including Lini, Droogami was one of the final 3 who took down the BBEG. We were triumphant in completing The Slithering though I admit I thought we were done for on more than one occasion. But the group pulled together and we came out on top though Skuulkush will be missed.
Lini, Droogami and The Slithering will always be a part of me and one I treasure.

Thanks so much for the kind words Karee! I am glad you had such a good time these past 2 marathons, knocking out the The Slithering Salve together. As Player Captain, it was a pleasure to have you on the team for this project. You were a seamless addition to our group; you accomplished everything we asked of you, and you really brought Lini to life at the table!

I hear you regarding crunch time—marathon crunch time with OAD is amongst the most intense gaming you will ever experience! We all live for those moments.

It’s been a blast playing these two marathons together. I’ll always remember Korakai being one of those final three left at the end, standing tall with Droogami, dropping the BBEG!

Adam Smith wrote:

Quick question, now that things have picked back up here. We've got some time this winter to do some conversion work. If we were considering playing an older PF 1.0 Adventure Path on the blog, which one would you be most interested in seeing presented?

The really old ones. Legacy of Fire or Second Darkness :)

I’m liking all the suggestions so far. Legacy of Fire, for example—what an amazing setting that would be for OAD to bring to life!

Ah, the lusca. Some great memories there. Morgan, you built it (and a heck of a job you did!); Adam, you controlled it; but I had perhaps the toughest job of all as Player Captain--making sure we could defeat it!

Such an awesome, epic battle. Swimming across a lake to get to the magical beast, it was lighting us up (mostly Valeros actually, haha) with chain lightning every round. Koloshkora, a Locathah ranger (guide archetype) had an incredible swim speed. Valeros, an aquanaut, was pretty good too--for a human. The rest of the party was hopelessly far behind. I knew I had to take the fight directly to the beast. This is where the fun started.

Swimming as far as I could each round, I got within closing distance (which was further away than you might imagine). Mostly likely, I beat the sea monster in initiative (but it wouldn't actually matter in this case): thank you boots of friendly terrain for bumping me up to +8 in the water, as well as a very good dexterity modifier, ensured Koloshkora almost always won initiative in the water (didn't even have, or need, improved initiative). And this is where my favorite guide ability, inspired moment, came into play.

Time to declare the Lusca my ranger's focus (another guide ability, hello +6 to attack and damage), and invoke inspired moment in all its glory. An extra move action you say? Why, thank you. I'll use that (along with the extra +10 feet to my movement, just in case) to close the distance to the lusca, and swim right up to its ugly (sorry Morgan) 3-headed face. Now, time to teach this beast a lesson for blasting my friends with lightning! I am a guide after all, it is my job to look after my companions.

Full power attack (+12 damage), 3 attacks, full BAB, two handed weapon (a magical underwater greatsword). That's with a +6 to hit and damage due to ranger's focus, and another +4 to hit due to inspired moment. I know I hit at least 2 out of 3 times, and one was a critical (automatically confirmed, thanks again, to inspired moment).

Next comes the moment of truth: withstanding a full attack from a lusca. How does 3 bites and 8 tentacles sound to you? Koloshkora always had a very good AC, but here is where the real kicker from inspired moment comes in: a +4 to your AC too! Miss after miss as Kolshkora withstood the barrage. By now, Valeros was able to swim up and deliver a nice blow with power attack himself.

Next round. Kolshkora up again, with all those same bonuses still. Attack, attack, attack. One dead lusca fish, served raw and bloody. Who wants some shark...er...octopus?

Koloshkora--an eager, inquisitive guide (a shokokoba, a culture seeker) from the small coastal tribe called Okoloro--the Lusca-Slayer!

I'm so happy to see this finale! It was a great journey reading about y'all's experience, as well as talking with Adam throughout it all. Also, thank you for the shout out. It's been a true pleasure working with you on all of these blogs for three(!) Adventure Paths.

I can't wait to see what y'all come up with next!

Azlant was an amazing, intense wave to ride! As Player Captain, managing the stat blocks and underwater 3D combat rules, especially at high levels, was among the crunchiest-of-crunch I’ve ever experienced in the Order. Not to mention a Playtest right in the middle of it all with a new party to run (and report on) every two weeks. Once we made it as far as we did in Azlant, the pressure to win the final battle (and not end up like Giantslayer) with only one shot at it was immense!

I gotta say, at one point, when Valeros, Kyra, and Koloshkora were all out of the fight, spinning in circles in the maze spells Ochymua banished them to, and there were 2 aboleths and a Ghost still alive and unloading on us—it looked pretty grim!

Everyone played their position though, no one gave up, and in the end, it was one of the most incredible final battles (and victories) I have ever been a part of. Long live the Order!

Congratulations on a successful completion of the AP and kudos to all who participated! In addition, congrats to Julian and Rob on officially joining the Order. This was a fascinating project to watch and I'm glad to see the successful conclusion!

This was one of the most epic campaigns I have ever been a part of. Sad to see it go, in some ways. I think I’ll even miss wearing that fish mask for 12 hours a day!

#sorrynotsorry. I love shining children!

Who doesn't?! Actually, I totally get it, if and when, the other players moan and groan as another encounter with shining children unfolds, but I have to give them my respect and admiration: shining children are amazing monsters and make for fantastic opponents. And our battles with them were certainly epic. The battle with the pair of shining children in particular stands out.

First of all, one of them had brilliantly used wall of force to wall off the two best melee combatants, Valeros and Koloshkora, in a chamber. Popping out the other side with its teleportation abilities, we were confounded momentarily. More walls separated other party members; some of our best buffs were dispelled; and desperate combat ensued. There were some extremely tense moments with Kyra squaring off--one-on-one, Seaspike in hand--versus a shining child. After many rounds of hacking, Valeros and Kolshkora finally succeeding in smashing through a section of the chamber's wall. It wouldn't be the last time. Val and Koloshkora had to smash through several more walls before the battle would at last be over. You could say it was a bit of a Pyrrhic victory though, for now the tough decision of whether or not to push on with multiple blinded party members had to be made.

Again, amazing job. I'm left with hope for the future of the game. Keep the amazing stories, and I hope to see more of the order soon!

Hope for the future of the game. Yeah, I think a lot of us in the Order are feeling that way too. There is a great feeling of anticipation hanging in the air. I personally can’t remember the last time I was this excited about the release of a new edition. Eight months seems a really long time away now! We love being able to share our stories with the community, and hearing from you guys too!

Hurray! Golarion is saved! (For now.)

It sounds like you all had a lot of fun, and the pictures look fabulous - as always.

Thanks Bellona. As a player, I couldn’t ask for more—in a Playtest no less—than a chance to save the world in the final scenario! The pics are some of my favorite from the entire Playtest actually. Adam and Erick really hit a home run on the photography.

Congratulations on the win! I loved the report. What a great adventure! The pictures as always are amazing and the setup was incredible. Now I kind of want my own kraken. Thanks for sharing!

Everyone group should have one! If for no other reason than to shout: “RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!”

Thanks for the congrats on the win too! It was really dicey there at the end. My heart was definitely pounding in my chest. An against-the-odds-win following an epic pirate party? Can’t think of a much better way to spend a night gaming.

The dedication shown is amazing and inspiring as always. Even after all those defeats, continuing to playing with that amount of care, brings a smile to my face. Great job as always

Thanks! Comments like this, from fans line you—who have always supported us—inspire us. Right now is the calm before the storm: We are getting ready to play part 7 tomorrow. Last chance. Final showdown. Trying to go out with a big win. The anticipation amongst the Order members is palpable. There’s definitely that electricity, that buzz in the air feeling. I can’t wait to see what 17 level will unleash. I can’t wait to see what monsters Adam is going to throw down, what spells will let fly, and what insane amounts of damage will be let loose!

OAD Sean wrote:

KyleS wrote:

Talk about a brutal showing lol. Thanks for the continuous reports, always an excellent read!

Brutal showing, but you heard it here first:

I'm leading the next OAD team to victory over this scenario. In edition 1.0, 1.6, 2.0, it doesn't matter!

I love the confidence! It's absolutely made me want to root for you. Good luck! I'm sure with that attitude you'll succeed.

I remain convinced that if we beat the demilich we would have gone on to win the next two encounters. It was the undead that were giving us trouble—it was a demilich after all!—not the fiends, as we were obviously much more prepared to fight demons. Playing Maarlill, I still had a couple of banishment spells, as well as color sprays, not to mention multiple levels of stoneskin memorized, amongst others. So close yet so far! Haha.

Great descriptions of your various tasks! It so simply and effectively demonstrates how your role playing experience is so different from most. While I could see the elaborate set up in your pictures and thus knew it, listing what all it entails really drove the point home for me. Thanks so much for the hard work and sharing it with everyone!

Thanks! I'm glad we were able to communicate that effectively. One thing that might not be apparent to people: OAD didn't start doing all this work once we got on the Paizo blog; we had been doing all this work for years and years prior, and then we got on to the blog. As Player Captain from 2003-2011, I can personally attest to the fact that all this goes back to the early 2000s, at least. It's one of the (many) things I love about the Order--everybody participates and contributes in some way, often bringing their own unique talents and skill sets to bear, and benefit us all. We wouldn't be where we are today if not for the contributions of all the members.

For myself, my role is currently that of Player Captain once again, as Aerick embarks upon his new job, and we all wish him the best. Personally, I can't think of a better person to have passed the torch to for all those years, as he was absolutely outstanding as Player Captain. I am honored to be donning the mantle once again, and carrying on our proud tradition.

My jobs/responsibilities have changed over the years, but as it stands now, I wear many hats (like most members of OAD, as you can probably tell by now). I am generally the first and last person checking character sheets, reviewing stat blocks, making sure everything is good to go. I am also directing/leading email chains with the other members, making sure all our player tasks are completed by our deadlines, and all our player prep is completed prior to our session. Adam always has some kind of plan for how he wants things to look and feel at each session (as GM only he knows what it should look like), and I help direct the rest of the players as we try to execute that. Additionally, I am also very involved with all OAD social media: I run the Instagram; I work together with Adam on OAD’s Twitter; I help with Facebook as needed; and I also work on the YouTube channel, and have done some video editing for our content on there. Everybody pitches in for setup and break down as they can, and being one of the taller members, I usually help our Castellan, Sean Linville, set up the PVC pipe studio backdrop that he personally created (Shout out to our Castellan—that’s a bad ass rig you made there man!). Lastly, I spend a lot of time just on the phone communicating Adam, often several times a week, from anywhere as short as 45 minutes, to over 4 hours, easily. The longer conversations are more common, I would have to say. All this isn’t even including the countless text messages. What do we discuss? Anything and everything game and OAD related, issues great and small, from highly detailed items that require immediate attention, to big picture discussion and reflection about the Marathon we just completed, what direction we want to take the Order in, in the future, and many other things. I’d say it roughly breaks down to about 50/50 between tasks and things we need to get done for our game, and the other half is reflecting, analysis and planning. The Order keeps evolving, and I am happy and thrilled to be a part of that evolution. It's nothing short of a lifestyle, and now we get a Hero Point for it!

Very atmospheric, I love it!

Thanks Fumarole! We played late into the night to complete part two, and the next roster started part three early in the morning, so I was lucky enough to be able to see some of part three. And, I gotta say, the candlelight really did create a special atmosphere, and made for some great pics and a great session!

Adam Smith wrote:

Darksol the Painbringer wrote:

Interesting post...

I did say "make friends;" the quotes are important here. It mostly consisted of the Barbarian using his knowledge of Gnoll (which I think meant he had like 14 Intelligence or something) barking his dominance

I just read through your report—really interesting read—very detailed! I liked hearing about the manticore encounter in particular, as it was the most memorable encounter for me personally (other than the final encounter PC vs NPC TPK!), and it sounds like it was a standout encounter for your group as well. Reading about the barbarian using javelins reminded me of Ith throwing javelins at the manticore with his foot pinned to the ground by a manticore spike that critically hit, lol. That image will always stick in my head. Reading about the manticore engaged in both airborne and land based combat was interesting, and I literally laughed out loud at him trying to hide in the rocks, failing with a natural 1, and cursing because he stepped on some rocks he didn’t see, hahaha!

Lastly, decapitating the manticore, and then the barbarian later tossing it at the gnoll Sergeant at their encampment, as part of an Intimidation check, barking at them in gnoll language, was a really nice touch!

Excellent read once again. The 3 hour creation time scares me because that's a lot longer than the last one. Will you guys be implementing the new changes for the 3rd part or are you going to be sticking with the original playtest rules?

Thanks Kyle! 3 hours may seem like a lot, but I think some of that may just be due to the fact that it was the first time we were playing characters above first level. I feel like the process is getting smoother as we go forward, but I guess we’ll see though, once the data comes out for part 3 and the rest of Playtest scenarios over the coming weeks.

For me personally, it was a blast getting to recreate the very first 3.5 character I ever made—the barbarian Ithilian Nightfall—using the Playtest rule set! One thing I liked about the barbarian: it felt distinct from the fighter.

As far as updates go, we plan on using the most updated rules at all times. And speaking of part 3, we wrapped it up already (report coming). Can’t wait to see what part 4 has in store!

Spastic Puma wrote:

I wonder if the DM altered the number puzzle. I ran it as written and my players figured it out in around six minutes.

(Edited for accuracy)

As with everything, we played it just as written. Haha, thanks for rubbing it in on them, Puma! ;-)

Haha. That is too funny.

Although, I will say it is very different getting a puzzle after a couple hours into a session, as opposed to days into a massive marathon session. Folks are pretty spent and brains are pretty taxed by then. And sometimes the last thing you want to do is puzzle out a brain teaser the DM/module throws at you. Still, gotta suck it up and do it though!

RIP Mike. I'll always treasure our times sitting across the table, gaming together. You were truly one of a kind. Gone too soon my friend.