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Enriching Pot of the Adventurer Cook
Aura faint conjuration, transmutation and abjuration; CL 5th
Slot -; Price 11,500 gp; Weight 4 lbs.
Description
This seemingly mundane iron pot is highly prized by adventurers, especially those who enjoy cooking and wish to eat well and keep strong while undertaking long and arduous travel. Once per day, when placed over a campfire, the item can be called upon to conjure forth an amount of food sufficient to feed up to four people. The type of food conjured is limited only by the user’s imagination but typically includes hearty meats, root vegetables, broth and woody herbs. The food appears raw, inside the pot and may be cooked and eaten as per normal.

Additionally, when used by an experienced cook, the pot is capable of enriching any food cooked within it. A DC 12 Profession (cook) check infuses the prepared meal with one of two effects which serve to fortify adventurers against the rigors of the road. The first effect grants a suite of benefits which include: +2 bonus to the Constitution checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from a forced march; +2 bonus to Fortitude saves to avoid nonlethal damage from hot or cold environments; and, +2 bonus to Strength for the purposes of determining carrying capacity and encumbrance. These benefits last for 24 hours. The second effect allows the eaters to receive the benefits of long-term care, as if being cared for by someone with the Heal skill for a full day of complete rest, while only resting for 8 hours. Only one effect may be used at one time and it must be selected at the time of cooking.

Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, bull’s strength, create food and water, endure elements, lesser restoration, stabilize; Cost 5,750 gp

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I'd first like to thank the judges for not only giving us all an opportunity to compete, but for following up with the multitude of requests for a critique.

I'm happy to hear that my item was lame, boring, weak or just plain crap. I won't learn if I don't hear criticism.

For what its worth, I tried to take an aspect of the game (cooking) and give it some play. Now I know its a niche part of the game but I love the image of eating a hot bowl of stew after a long day of marching and having it warm you and help you rest to heal your wounds. However, that may be quite banal or even boring and I know the name is weak as well.

Anyway, I appreciate any feedback and you'll see me again next year.

As he tosses aside yet another item called "Elminster's Staff of Gandalf Finding and Hitler Killing" he dies a little inside.*

Hey! I worked really hard on that staff...

I tried to make an item that dealt with an aspect of the game which is generally overlooked and needed a bit of fun design applied to it. Then I tried to make it work within a pricing scheme that would be appropriate for the general level of adventurer I would want using the item.

Now, whether its Superstar material to make something mundane into something interesting, or at least a little less banal is a matter for our panel of judges.

...I hope so for my sake! :)

Big time lurker here, but could not resist throwing my hat in the ring this year. Good luck everyone!

***SPOILERS BELOW***

So my players began the Lightless Depths yesterday afternoon. Everything was going smooth until they encountered the Elder Black Pudding in the burning pools chamber.

The pudding is brutal, so if anyone is coming up to this part, consider this your warning. This encounter has the potential to seriously affect your group's wealth and capabilities for the rest of the module.

The Elder Black Pudding, if it gets the drop on your players (which it most likely will because they have to run past it while holding their breath in the burning pools chamber), is probably going to destroy a fair amount of your PC's equipment. This can happen in two ways: 1) it grapples a PC with its +35 grapple modifier, holds on to the PC for a full round and then deals 21 points of acid damage to their equipment unless they make DC 21 reflex saves. 2) one of your fighters / melee combatants may try to attack it, causing them to make a DC 29 reflex save to avoid the weapon being destroyed outright.

In my game, the pudding grappled the monk and held him for a few rounds, resulting in alot of DC 21 reflex saves which, even though the monk could add the magic item bonus to the saves (2 + 1/2 caster level of item), caused many of his magic items to be destroyed. Further, all his mundane items dissolved, clothes, etc. The barbarian, trying to help the monk, struck the pudding with his newly purchased +1 flaming wounding greataxe, failed the DC 29 reflex save (including the magic item bonus) and lost his axe in the same round.

Now please do not take this post as a complaint, because I actually enjoyed this encouter (the poison air + the pudding made for a really memorable encounter). However, I think DM's should consider this encounter before they run it because once the PCs are in that room, it is a major hassle to return to Farshore to procure new weapons, armor and items should they be destroyed by the pudding (and Farshore has a low gp limit) and without fully prepared PCs, the rest of the module is going to be that much more difficult.

It is my suggestion that some thought be given towards what may happen if your PCs lose alot of their equipment here. Perhaps have them find some along the way to Golismorga, maybe the aboleth in the flooded temple can point the way to some lost magic items to sweeten the deal in requesting them to destroy Tlaloc's Tear, etc.

I also fully realize that, based on previous posts from the editor and contributors, that STAP is designed to limit wealth and the ability to procure new wealth. Moreover, this encounter may have been designed specifically as a wealth control encounter. However, I think DMs running this module can benefit from some forethought on what to do about their naked and defenseless PCs should the pudding ruin their day.

Just some thoughts. This module is a blast.

Module: The Lightless Depths

Character: Donner, human cleric 11

The party had made their way into the first Troglodyte lepper chamber, the cleric and sorcerer still choking on the nauseating vapours of the skull torches. One troglodyte lepper dropped a shatter spell on the jar of green slime and it splattered all over the nauseated cleric. Unable to react to the flesh eating slime and accompanied by a party without any relevant knowledge skills, he went down in a smoking heap of dissolved flesh in 3 rounds.

Donner helped defeat the Lotus Dragons, slew savage pirates and bullywugs, sailed the Azure Sea to the Isle of Dread, fought simian demons and defended Farshore from attack. In love with Lavinia and a wielder of a holy weapon, he was defeated by ... green slime.

Vanthus's body plays an important role in "Serpents of Scuttlecove, when Demogorgon transforms it into a death knight ... the Abyss and back (that's where he became a half-fiend)...

Here is a question that takes this issue in a slightly different direction:

What if, during the battle for Farshore, Vanthus is dismissed as per the spell (I have a player in my group that loves that spell)? He is an outsider now, so he'll most likely be sent to the Abyss (or 20% chance he goes elsewhere).

He won't be killed so there won't be a body for Demogorgon to use to make him a deathknight (unless that is Vanthus' penalty for failure when he shows up in the Abyss unexpectedly - Demo slays him and raises him as a more effective servant). Although the PCs would still get the VP and XP for defeating Vanthus at the battle, it may mess with the story a bit and would be fairly anti-climatic.

Any suggestions on how to deal with this very possible situation? Would Vanthus return to the material plane to seek revenge a few days after the battle?

Any and all ideas are welcome.

T-Rex decided to check out the beach for a snack ... Our first loss.

We had our first loss at the same place you did. The party's scout is standing ahead of the group on the beach while the rogue, cleric and monk proceed to poke around the wreckage. Drawn by the smell of some dead crewmen, their bodies broken on the rocks around the beach, the T-Rex emerged from the jungle. Due to some poor initiative on behalf of the party, the Rex went first and charged the closest target: the scout. Once grappled, it was only a matter of rounds before he was swallowed (+30 to grapple...yikes!) and subsequently killed.

"these fragments as such are unfamilliar, but the symptoms of the mutations described are somewhat well known. 1000 years ago there were reports that mutations much similar befell a Olman kingdom -of which not much is known- to the south. Thru that rage, their civilisation ceased to exist.. letsee... yes, here it is, a explorer Larissa Vanderboren reports from their island that Olmans still exist, but in a primitive fashion. I would recommend that you contact her for more information. -Oh, im sorry to hear that.."

Thats great, thanks alot!

Hey all,

The group I am DMing through the STAP is just about to head out on the voyage to the Isle of Dread. I gave the players some downtime after the Bullywug Gambit to make items, relax, and to develop relationships with NPCs. The party's cleric has stated that he would like to spend as much time as possible gathering information and researching the "black pearl" - the one found at Kraken's Cove. He is curious as to whether or not an item like this has been used before, or whether the savage disease is something that has been unleashed before. He is visiting sages, the Witchwardens, etc.

What would most likely be known in Sasserine about the first savage tide, and what can I safely tell him without spoiling anything.

My thanks for any advice.

Not sure if you are still emailing these out, but I would love a copy if possible!

Thanks!

greg.mouchian@gmail.com