Matthew Vincent's page

That is pretty sweet! I just used gamer paper and a lot of markers. Did it help when you ran the encounter?

Yup. Especially since:

Here are some pictures of the model I made for "The Wreck" (Crimson fleet fortress)

Update: since Geocities has been dead for some time, the pictures can now be seen:

'Hey! I recognize that map'
... I said to myself while perusing new Kickstarters.
The d20pro Kickstarter is using a map from The Wreck as an example.

did you run the pirates as realistically as possible? (i.e., the pirates reacted as a whole to the invading PCs, with the ones based in the piers converging on the PCs while the ones on the ships took to the siege weapons)

Yes

Did you alter the magical defenses of the base or allowed some leeway for the PCs to find the base? Did you change any of the named NPCs? Did you construct the secret cave of the Seventh Coil, in case your players decide to track down the Seventh when it tries to escape?

No

I will try to build a 3D-model of the base.

Much of my battle took place on the battlemat. The detail of the 3-D model wasn't *that* important (and the PC's weren't interested in entering any ship during the battle). Easier to just use whatever is handy (shelves, books, boxes, etc.) to represent the elevations of the 3-D Wreck. If you have a small (2' to 4') Christmas tree to place some flat surfaces in, that's even better.

Also note: if you print out the battlemap, just tell everyone that movement is halved (since each square actually equals 10')

The Skinwalkers have now been thoroughly informed that someone is causing trouble down in Golismorga and is very likely to head their way next, and will make due preparations for when the group comes to the Taboo Island.

Instead of using the opportunity to 'punish' your players, maybe it's an opportunity to 'reward' them.

Maybe squads of skinwalkers can be seen repelling down into Golismorga (to find the PC's) just before the tear is destroyed: heightening the tension of the situation, giving the PC's more of a reason to destroy the tear, and providing a reason why the Skinwalkers are in 'disarray' (i.e. not better defended) later. It's not like the players will get XP (or easier encounters) later... it'll just bring them joy to see extra foes washed away.

1) What's a barrage balloon?

Aerial booby-traps used during WWII to protect against low-flying aircraft (dive-bombers). The wire anchoring the balloon to the ground would entangle (or even sever) wings, then trigger an explosive charge.

What's been your experience with this encounter?

1) My own group actually did something that. They were still needed on the beach though (to assist the beach-head forces that got pinned down), and their subsequent T-port still put them in the same starting location.

What do you think – can we put enough heads together to come up with a suitable lie concocted by a nigh immortal genius telepathic fish.

I would have the Aboleth basically tell the truth (while appearing as say, a gentle mermaid, nixie or triton):

Truth is easier to maintain, and more satisfying afterward.

Anyone know any really good sites to buy minis from?

trollandtoad.com

5 small monstrous crabs - still looking

6 Ixitxachitl Scouts - Not sure about these. Suggestions?

There are suitable D&D minis for most of what you listed (lemme know if you need links to stores that sell singles), but for the above two:

As for teleport spells, IIRC, Sasserine is 1800 miles away from farshore as the wyvern flies, so this will require 2 castings, 4 for a round trip. The teleporting caster has to plan for making the trip. There are a couple of islands (Ruja among them) that provide weighstations for this, but if the caster didn't scout it out...

Right. Obtaining a midway point is unlikely: iirc, STAP PC's would've had no reason to go to Ruja prior to landing on the Isle of Dread... and memorizing a patch of ocean for later use would've been right out. This helps maintain the isolation at least for awhile (an atmosphere that the players appreciated)

IMC (after Tides of Dread) I allowed the PC's to use one of Farshore's trading ships as a midway point while it was enroute to Sasserine. However they still had to wait a long time after the ship left Farshore, and the timing window wasn't very long... long enough for a single, much needed shopping trip, but not viable for continual resupply.

Within a level or two though the party's cleric learned planeshift, allowing for a travel plan of:
1) Planeshift
2) Sleep (to obtain another casting of planeshift)
3) Planeshift
4) Teleport

Between trying to sleep on a different plane and multiple teleportation mishaps (wrong location, which they had to sleep at since they only prepped one teleport each day), much unintended adventuring and exploration took place during 'routine' shopping trips.

A demon lord killed on his/her/its native plane is officially dead. If killed on a different plane, then he/she/it is reborn on his/her/its native plane and is forbidden to leave for a long number of years. Right?

Wat Dagon is described as a pocket dimension

How pocket dimension behave in regard to demonlord rebirths isn't really defined (and even it was... well, expecting the abyss or demonlords to follow RAW is madness).

Maybe in this case the pocket is still consider connected to whatever it is a pocket of. Maybe Demogorgon owns it and let's Dagon use it on occasion (like a mother-in-law's guest house).

It's up to the DM to decide (i.e. whatever is best for the plot), but it seems like the original writers envisioned this being a "yay, we actually killed (as opposed to temporarily annoyed) a demonlord!" moment.

Yes, I know its hard, night impossible. But to make it a challenge, even an over-hard challenge, I need ideas, things to do, idiosyncrasies. Any ideas`?

Maybe she'll try to convert them while they are trying to convert her. Perhaps she can describe some of her beliefs in reasonable, logical, persuasive terms. Have her ask for quid pro quo: she'll try to do something nice if they'll try something naughty.

Chances are she'll eventually betray the PC's after they think they've converted her. Pretty easy to play up the 'changed sweet-heart' role, possibly even getting a PC romantically involved. Use a picture of an innocent looking hottie to show what she looks like after 'changing her ways'. Players tend to trust nice, sweet, smiling pictures.

I wouldn't have her actually convert unless the PC's can do an excellent job. Also, you could keep her as a reserve PC (in case someone loses their own). Allowing a player to temporarily run her also has the bonus of building trust.

You are just going to play the divine equivalent of 'are we there yet?' with your god? How does that seem to be a good idea?

I would strive to present that information to them through a different means. Perhaps a dream.

At higher levels I assumed the party would cast Divination on a regular basis (which I could present as dreams and such). If a PC truly wanted to cast Commune on a regular basis (and was ok with the XP costs) I guess I'd summarize and/or give a lot of 'DUNNO' answers.

I'm just looking for suggestions on how to make this information matter earlier in the campaign. Any thoughts?

I recall that the manipulator offers a significant boon (and the promise of possibly the greatest reward of all) later. Promising this earlier might give some PC's something to look forward to... and something to focus their communes on.

what's your take on backups and have you a wicked idea?

Nice ideas. Since the game is supposed to be about fun, I feel it's best to fit backups in as soon as possible. And in a large battle like this (with all sorts of NPC's and such running around), there's no real reason this would be delayed.

Off hand, had this happened in my own campaign, I likely would've had the dead PC reanimated as an undead by an Olman ally, and I would allow the player to control that and a few other allies during the rest of the battle.

fwiw (anecdote) I actually had a player decide to switch PC's once the party reached Farshore. She was tired of playing a cleric and wanted a more action-oriented PC... so we turned Lavinia into a PC for her to play (making the subsequent encounters *much* more interesting).

Just for the fun of it, the cost breakdown of the AP:

No miniatures?

any place I can go for a printable (2D) map of the Crimson Fleet hideout scaled for minis play?

I recommend printing the maps as is from the Dungeon #146 Online Supplement, using 1 square = 5' just for convenience (I basically used that scale on my hugely elaborate 3-D setup anyway)

There was a picture in the Dead Gods adventure (where he was first introduced). Note that his name in that product was Quah-Namog not Quah-Nomag.

Ah.... *that's* why I couldn't find him when I searched my own electronic copy... they spelled it differently.

The picture (Dead Gods p.122) doesn't show him with his flail or armor, but he looks kinda like a half-orc or maybe Kurgan, but with large lower incisors and big, black, bushy eyebrows and sideburns. This, this or many of the WoW minis could work as a miniature.

he will come back at the start of level 7.

fwiw: the "experience point total is immediately set to the midpoint of the previous level."

I want to create a new list of Isle appropriate races, preferrably with an ECL mod of +1 to +4

... suggestions?

You could maybe just choose whatever race you want him to be and tell him the Olman Druid cast a maximized reincarnate (i.e. "All variable, numeric effects of a spell modified by this feat are maximized" resulting in an 'other' reincarnation result of the DM's choice... I doubt the player would argue the interpretation ;)

The resurrection issue was sorted out by a reincarnation from an Olman druid.

Cool! What'd the PC come back as?

Matthew Vincent wrote:

The original Isle of Dread adventure has a few more details

Any idea where we could find that?

Well, I purchased it in electronic format when I originally ran this... but we can't do that anymore.

they're assuming they're going to find a 13th level cleric (resurrection, rather than raise dead, being a 7th level spell) in a colony of less than 200 people?

Maybe the remaining characters could realize this and have a race against time to try to get him raised (adding dramatic tension).

Assuming they fail, a 7th lvl Druid shouldn't be too hard to find (among the Olman's even if necessary) to cast... Reincarnate ;)

But a DM could still have resurrection cast via scroll, an Olman Priest, or (even better) Father Noltus from CoBI. But it still might be fun to at least have the PC's worry about missing the deadline or resorting to Reincarnation.

Anecdote: one of the PC's in my campaign took Urol as a druidic cohort, allowing him to gain the levels to cast reincarnation (which he eagerly wanted to do at every opportunity).

The original Isle of Dread adventure has a few more details

I'd effectively call that a TPK. Maybe launch a new party from Farshore. The warlock and druid could either be found wandering in the woods (half-crazed), or they could've barely made it out (and got help from Farshore).

Just curious: how do Tabaxi differ from the Rakasta that are already associated with the Isle of Dread? An article in Dragon described various "tribes" of rakasta as resembling different species of feline, with the most numerous resembling the domestic cat, but others including Simbasta (lion-people), Sherkasta (tiger-people), and so on.

it's somewhat disappointing that Demogorgon's top assassin is another one, leading a band of ape warriors I decided I wanted to change him into something more imposing. But the question is... what exactly?

For my own game I used cheap Girallon miniatures with a bunch of weapons/shields hot-glued into their hands. Maybe call them Giraliths? ;)

Lego weapons (Megabloks actually) are the perfect size for large creatures, but spears can be improvised from just about anything... stretched paper clips, skewers, toothpicks, etc.

I didn't change the stats, but my players definitely seemed to feel that the encounter was unique.

Nope, just a Dimensional Lock with a radius of one mile. Meaning no Teleportation, but other modes of movement work just fine.

Ah. That's it. They couldn't teleport out, the trees/foliage halved their flying speed, gaining altitude costs double movement, and the rush of water kept pushing them down (also the party's wizard was absent that session). In the confusion (i.e. using actions to deal with Shami and the enemies coming in on top of them) they barely kept there heads above water.

Just as well: not all of them could fly (and they weren't going to leave people behind), and the foliage provided enough cover that the enemies couldn't really be blasted from afar anyway.

Hm, let's see... Every player in my group has flight capabilities (like any high level group should).

So did mine, but I seem to recall flight not working in this case... anti-magic field or somesuch when the trap was sprung. Anyone have the magazine in front of them?

Interestingly, I found the battle in the well of darkness so exciting that I submitted it to roleplayingtips.com as an example of one of my favorite terrain set-pieces:

Rising tide: players fight opponents in a 60’ deep pit or chasm that is rapidly filling with water (10’ per round)... possibly because a natural river is suddenly redirected or dammed up. Display the battlefield as a side-view instead of a top-down view, allowing opponents to attack from above, below, or the side. The rising water should cause the battle to steadily move upwards, eventually rising to the top and allowing the combatants to swim out of the pit.

Did you also reduce the party's available spells to account for the forgotten fight?

Yup. Although a random roll would've sufficed (it's what the players expected) I instead estimated which spells they would've used based on previous tactics. Luckily, I was already very familiar with their spells lists, and they slept right before the encounter.

Warden of the Well...

And the boss of the chapter... A snake on the neck of a succubus. Even if Shami were a formidable opponent... this would still be a stupid encounter.

I skipped these. Since the PC's lose their memories even with a successful save, I fast-forwarded to the PC's (who last remembered going to sleep in preparation before assaulting the final well) to being at the bottom of the well with a river (and several enemies) pouring in on them. They found themselves starting with 1/2 HP, and were next to a dead snake, an enormous retriever body and a very confused Shami.

Fighting a confused battle while being doused inside a rapidly filling well was interesting. I drew the battle-map in side-view (rather than top-down) since vertical concerns were more important than horizontal ones. Since they couldn't fly out, they had to say afloat until the well completely filled.

As for the Porphyry House, I've used the one in Dungeon #146. I don't know if I want to add more to it, and I don't have Dungeon #95.

It was more of a joke: since the Porphyry House is an infamous house of negotiable affection it was a natural suggestion for those looking to mate while in Scuttlecove.

... still, it does have a reputation for catering to just about any need imaginable.

the PCs are currently in Scuttlecove taking care of the Crimson Fleet. It's a longstanding tradition for the PCs to find someone to mate with

Try the Porphyry House (Dungeon #95) ;)

I think it could be Expedition to the Demonweb Pits

Yup. That's it.

I was looking at more of a "players patch up the setting" campaign that an infinite apocalypse

Right. That's usually the expectation of most post-apoc or PoL settings. Things are supposed to get considerably better as time goes on (often at the PC's hand).

I seem to recall Dark-sun was like that, and even the original (1e) Greyhawk was more of an exploration/PoL type environment. Also, Faerun might've had a major spell-plaque, but it is still completely recognizable as Faerun (some areas even have almost no change)

Modern post-apoc shows like Jeremiah and Jericho also focused on the theme of bringing the world back into the light. They can provide some good inspiration.

If/when I restart my Greyhawk world, it would be after (or just as) a cure for the Savage tide infection was found. PC's would have ample opportunity to 'clean house' and re-establish communication/trade.

What else would other suggest to make convincing Koprus?

I recommend using WoW Slitherblades (they're effectively already on large bases), but here is what someone else has done (i.e. Half-Illithid Lizardfolk torso mounted on modeling clay)

This happened in my own campaign. Greyhawk underwent TEOTWAWKI and became a Points of light setting. Their 'zombie apocalypse' was worse than Faerun's spell-plague... basically what you'd see in most of the zombie apocalypse-type movies (especially plausible since savage creatures are more cunning and quick than standard zombies).

This was enough for the gods to keep the world quarantined, further retarding progress as trade with extra-planar travelers is hindered. After 100 years it is still a POL setting and planar travelers rarely hear about it.

"If the players fail, go ahead and blow up Vulcan" - High Level Campaigns Seminar

I know there's magical effects akin to Immovable Rods holding stuff in place, but would they still "hold stuff in place" if the tree were severed. Would the tree fall, or would it also be "anchored" by the ships?

The wreck should still remain upright even with a huge chunk of the tree gone, but the whole structure will certainly be more fragile. The wreck would likely list precariously to one side (treequake!) to give the players a visual indication that their plan is possible, just not as easy as they thought since there are further supports up-tree. Allow them to continue trying to collapse supports and/or fight on a wildly swaying wreck.

The actual toppling of the wreck could then occur:
1) when the PC's get a lucky roll (on a skill check maybe)
2) when the PC's destroy a set number of supports, or
3) when it is dramatically appropriate.

The captain should go down with the ship of course. Shiver me timberrr!

Note that 3.5e stats for a huge ape were provided in the "Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk" adventure (p.203). It was CR 12, 20HD advanced dire ape Kong-clone from the 'Isle of the Ape' (a demiplane with close ties to the Isle of Dread). The encounter presented there could probably be wholly transposed to Savage Tide.

you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

That is indeed perfect for Scuttlecove.

"Velociraptor's a pack hunter, you see, he uses coordinated attack patterns and he is out in force today. And he slashes at you with this... a six-inch retractable claw, like a razor, on the the middle toe. He doesn't bother to bite your jugular like a lion, say... no no. He slashes at you here... or here... or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is... you are alive when they start to eat you. So you know... try to show a little respect." - Jurassic Park

Or maybe more pithily:
"Oh, yeah. Oooh, ahhh, that's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming." - Jurassic Park

"Somewhere on this island is the greatest predator there ever lived. The second greatest predator must take him down." - The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2

Do the aranea in the northeast portion of the Isle of Dread ever appear again after HTBM?

No, however (iirc) they did appear in the original Isle of Dread adventure.

I find that Vanthus is fairly "weak" for a CR 20.

He is, but IMC the party encountered him while they were fighting the shadows of Socobenoth. Those shadows were doing a number on the party, causing at least one death and threatening a TPK. Vile touch attacks can *really* add up.

By the time Vanthus showed up the party was in terrible shape and ready to run. It was entertaining to see (wimpy) Vanthus chase them throughout the entire prison. Had they known how easy he was...

Regardless, Vanthus should probably remain at a distance (on his nightmare mount if possible), using spell-like abilities and keeping his distance until he can isolate a target that pursues him.

Also, he and the shadows should probably start in an unhollowed area with (say) dispel magic tied to it.

yep.

very ugly for my players.
The Pcs will be "extraplanar" on the abyss.
And extraplanar means banishment, and dismissal.

fwiw: at least when the players become 14th level they don't have to worry about the numerous Hezrou Blasphemies anymore. That 'coming of age' was cause for much celebration in my group.

a tyrranosaurus skull is bigger than any normal sack opening.

Ah, good point. I musta been thinking of the 6' portable hole opening.

I wonder ... just how much like sandpaper is stone to bone after squeezing through several miles of tunnel ...

Maybe they'd better off 'squeezing' the T-Rex into a bag of holding...

when passing through a door (1 square) it should make untrained escape artist checks to pass...

it should be a DC 30... something a T-rex can't do even taking a 20 ... anyway I think I will make him do it by taking a 20 combined with an "aid another" by the cleric.

Note that multiple people can "aid another". Also, maybe give them a +2 circumstance bonus if they are willing to saw off some 'unnecessary bits' around the rib cage.

The squeezing rules are:
"You can squeeze through or into a space that is at least half as wide as your normal space. Each move into or through a narrow space counts as if it were 2 squares, and while squeezed in a narrow space you take a -4 penalty on attack rolls and a -4 penalty to AC.

To squeeze through or into a space less than half your space’s width, you must use the Escape Artist skill. You can’t attack while using Escape Artist to squeeze through or into a narrow space, you take a -4 penalty to AC, and you lose any Dexterity bonus to AC."

I have an amusing mental image of the skeletal T-rex using its default escape artist skill while being aiding ('aid another') by the rest of the party. Kinda like moving a long sofa into a new apartment...

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