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My party tried to sneak into Fort Travelay and decided to start from the top and work their way down (as they didn't know how deep into the rock the fort went, whereas the tower was finite). They waited until the Dragon was out. So they flew or spider-climbed up the tower and went in through the trapped gap. This alerted the entire fort and I had things go up in 2 waves. We had to split it into 3 sessions: session 1: Jang (plus companion)
Having killed all that, they had 2 minutes whilst the next wave donned armour hastily and/or cast buffs: session 2: Parthuk,
having killed all that they knew the Dragon was inbound. I gave them 5 rounds to heal (and remove the Barbarian's petrification) before some militia turned up to help and then the Dragon arrived. 7th level party of seasoned gamers, and no-one had anything to deal with darkness. The fight went well... for the dragon! We have often found Dragons die pretty quickly, but they had nothing to counter the darkness. Ibzairiak took 20 damage total from about 8 rounds of combat, took down 2 characters and killed one. First time in forever that we have had a range of races (4 characters, no two of the same race) no-one had darkvision and no-one had daylight or anything like it. Cirieo offered his sunrod, no-one took him up on his offer. Half the party is considering their options and rolling new characters, for me though: FINALLY! A dragon that is a challenge and truly scary! Hurray! *ahem* Sorry guys, so what is your new character going to be?
Where did the list go now?
I had a random bit of Inspiration and rather than have Areelu where the players could target her and take her out first, I made them work for it by having her inside a 20' radius swarm of vescavors. Can't target what you can't see. Had Spoiler: in there with her. Then had Khorramzedeh Reborn and the Echo of Deskari Spoiler: On ground level.
4 Vrolikais and the Favoured of Deskari So when she did her first round of actions as described in the plot, there was room. The players still triumphed though, as the Swashbuckler got 105 on an attack roll, and the fight before with Spoiler: the Wizard did 3250 damage with a dragon breath and a quickened meteor storm.
8 kavalakus demons. 10 Raspers and Diurge Broodlord *tableflip* Also I've noted several times in this AP a monster casting Sending in a surprise round or similar, but Sending is a 10 minute casting time. Thanks all.
Stats for Irabeth: Irabeth Tirabade
Spoiler: Defense ————— AC 32, touch 14, flat-footed 32 (+9 armor, +5 deflection, -1 Dex, +5 natural, +4 shield) hp 198 (18d10+57) Fort +22, Ref +15, Will +21; +2 sacred vs. spells and abilities of evil outsiders. Defensive Abilities orc ferocity; DR 5/evil; Immune charm, compulsion, disease, fear; Resist acid 5, electricity 5, fire 5 ————— Offense ————— Speed 30 ft. Melee devil's key +27/+22/+17/+12 (1d8+8/17-20) or mwk morningstar +25/+20/+15/+10 (1d8+6) Ranged heavy crossbow +17 (1d10/19-20) Special Attacks channel positive energy 8/day (DC 22, 9d6), smite evil 6/day (+3 attack and AC, +18 damage) Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th; concentration +21) At will—detect evil Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 15th; concentration +18) 4th—dispel chaos , restoration 3rd—accept affliction , good hope , greater stunning barrier ACG (DC 16) 2nd—communal endure elements UC, remove paralysis , sacred bond APG (DC 15), shield other 1st—bless, cure light wounds , divine favor , endure elements , lesser restoration ————— Statistics ————— Str 22, Dex 8, Con 17, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16 Base Atk +18; CMB +24; CMD 38 Feats Blind-fight, Combat Reflexes, Deepsight APG, Extra Channel, Friendly Switch, Improved Critical (longsword), Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword) Skills Craft (mapmaking) +5, Diplomacy +12, Heal +8, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (nobility) +5, Knowledge (planes) +5 (+10 competence to identify evil outsiders and their special powers or vulnerabilities.), Knowledge (religion) +8, Linguistics +19, Perception +4, Profession (soldier) +13, Sense Motive +7, Spellcraft +6; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Common, Daemonic, Dark Folk, Dwarven, Elven, Gnoll, Gnome, Halfling, Hallit, Orc, Osiriani, Polyglot, Shoanti, Terran, Undercommon, Varisian, Vudrani SQ divine bond (weapon +5, 4/day), lay on hands 12/day (9d6), mercies (deafened, diseased, exhausted, fatigued, sickened, staggered), orc blood Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds , potion of lesser restoration , shoes of lightning leaping UE, holy water (4); Other Gear celestial armor, celestial shield ARG, devil's key, crossbow bolts (10), heavy crossbow, mwk morningstar, amulet of natural armor +5 , belt of physical might +2 (Str, Con) , cloak of resistance +5 , handy haversack , headband of mental superiority +2 , ring of freedom of movement , ring of protection +5 , bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), iron holy symbol of Cold Iron IomedaeUE, mess kit UE, pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 133 gp, 10 sp ————— Tracked Resources Blinding (2/day, DC 14) - 0/2 Crossbow bolts - 0/10 Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) - 0/0 Devil's key (1/day) - 0/1 Divine Bond (Weapon +5, 18 mins, 4/day) (Sp) - 0/4 Feather Fall (1/day) - 0/1 Fly (1/day) - 0/1 Freedom of Movement (Constant) - 0/0 Holy water - 0/4 Lay on Hands (9d6 hit points, 12/day) (Su) - 0/12 Orc Ferocity (1/day) - 0/1 Paladin Channel Positive Energy 9d6 (8/day, DC 22) (Su) - 0/8 Potion of cure moderate wounds - 0/1 Potion of restoration, lesser - 0/1 Shoes of lightning leaping (1/day) - 0/1 Smite Evil (6/day) (Su) - 0/6 Torch - 0/10 Trail rations - 0/5 ————— Special Abilities ————— Aura of Courage +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. fear. Aura of Faith (10 ft.) (Su) Attacks vs. foes in range bypass DR as good-aligned. Own attacks always count as good. Aura of Justice (10 ft.) (Su) As a standard action use 2 smite evil, allies in area gain smite at your bonus for 1 min. Aura of Resolve +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. charm. Aura of Righteousness +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. compulsion. Blind-Fight Re-roll misses because of concealment, other benefits. Combat Reflexes (1 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed. Damage Reduction (5/evil) You have Damage Reduction against all except Evil attacks. Darkvision (120 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only). Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell). Divine Bond (Weapon +5, 18 mins, 4/day) (Sp) Weapon shines with light and gains enhancement bonuses or chosen properties. Energy Resistance, Acid (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Acid attacks. Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks. Energy Resistance, Fire (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks. Friendly Switch Can move into allies space with no AoO and displace him into your old square. Immunity to Charm You are immune to charm effects. Immunity to Compulsion You are immune to compulsion. Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases. Immunity to Fear (Ex) You are immune to all fear effects. Lay on Hands (9d6 hit points, 12/day) (Su) As a standard action (swift on self), touch channels positive energy and applies mercies. Mercy (Deafened) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the deafened condition. Mercy (Diseased) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes disease, as per the remove disease spell at a caster level of your Paladin level. Mercy (Exhausted) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the exhausted condition. Mercy (Fatigued) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the fatigued condition. Mercy (Sickened) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the sickened condition. Mercy (Staggered) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the staggered condition. This does not help if the target is at 0 HP. Orc Blood Half-orcs count as both humans and orcs for any effect related to race. Orc Ferocity (1/day) If brought below 0 Hp, can act as though disabled for 1 rd. Paladin Channel Positive Energy 9d6 (8/day, DC 22) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect. Power Attack -5/+10 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage. Smite Evil (6/day) (Su) +3 to hit, +18 to damage, +3 deflection bonus to AC when used.
Stat block for Queen Galfrey I've used: Queen Galfrey
Spoiler: ————— Defense ————— AC 36, touch 18, flat-footed 33 (+10 armor, +5 deflection, +3 Dex, +5 natural, +3 shield) hp 194 (17d10+85) Fort +25, Ref +19, Will +27 (+1 trait bonus against effects that cause the confused or dazed conditions.); +5 vs. ongoing effects, +4 morale vs. fear (+6 with some abilities) DR 5/evil; Immune charm, compulsion, disease, fear; SR 22 ————— Offense ————— Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor) Melee sacred avenger +26/+21/+16/+11 (1d8+9/17-20 plus 2d6 vs. evil) Special Attacks channel positive energy 7/day (DC 24, 9d6), smite evil 6/day (+6 attack and AC, +17 damage) Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th; concentration +23) At will—detect evil Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 14th; concentration +20) 4th—dispel evil , planeslayer's call ACG 3rd—good hope , holy whisper APG (DC 19), litany of escape UC 2nd—blinding ray ARG (DC 18), inheritor's smite , light lance APG, righteous blood , sacred bond APG (DC 18) 1st—detect demon, fallback strategy , graceAPG, litany of sloth UC (DC 17), protection from evil , lesser restoration ————— Statistics ————— Str 18, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 22 Base Atk +17; CMB +21; CMD 39 Feats Battle Cry (acg) ACG, Champion, Channeled Revival UC, Combat Advice, Combat Expertise, Greater MercyUM, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Leadership Traits armor expert, devout visionary Skills Acrobatics +0 (-4 to jump), Bluff +10, Climb +2, Craft (armor) +9, Craft (siege engines) +9, Craft (weapons) +9, Diplomacy +16, Disguise +9, Handle Animal +13, Heal +8, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (history) +6, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (planes) +21, Knowledge (religion) +13, Linguistics +21, Perception +21, Perform (act) +10, Perform (oratory) +26, Profession (siege engineer) +8, Profession (soldier) +13, Ride +4, Sense Motive +11, Spellcraft +9, Survival +5, Swim +2 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Aquan, Auran, Celestial, Common, Daemonic, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnome, Halfling, Hallit, Ignan, Infernal, Necril, Orc, Skald, Sylvan, Terran, Varisian SQ divine bond (weapon +5, 4/day), lay on hands 14/day (8d6), mercies (diseased, exhausted, fatigued, poisoned, sickened) Other Gear mithral full plate of speed, bastion of the inheritor MA, sacred avenger MA, amulet of natural armor +5 , belt of physical perfection +4 , boots of the battle herald ACG, circlet of persuasion , cloak of resistance +5 , handy haversack , headband of mental superiority +4 , ring of protection +5 , ring of spell turning, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, hemp rope (50 ft.), holy text (Iomedae) UE, lexicon of paradox (worth 1,000,000 gp, 3 lb), mess kit UE, platinum holy symbol of Iomedae UE, pot, repair kit (armour, weapons, siege engines) (worth 20 gp, 15 lb), soap, torch (10), trail rations (30), waterskin ————— Tracked Resources ————— Battle Cry (ACG, 6/day) - 0/6 Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) - 0/0 Devout Visionary (1/day) - 0/1 Divine Bond (Weapon +5, 17 mins, 4/day) (Sp) - 0/4 Heroism, Greater (11 minutes, 1/day) - 0/1 Improved Iron Will (6/day) - 0/6 Lay on Hands (8d6 hit points, 14/day) (Su) - 0/14 Mithral full plate of speed (10 rounds/day) - 0/10 Paladin Channel Positive Energy 9d6 (7/day, DC 24) (Su) - 0/7 Ring of spell turning (3/day) - 0/3 Smite Evil (6/day) (Su) - 0/6 Torch - 0/10 Trail rations - 0/30 ————— Special Abilities ————— Aura of Courage +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. fear. Aura of Faith (10 ft.) (Su) Attacks vs. foes in range bypass DR as good-aligned. Own attacks always count as good. Aura of Justice (10 ft.) (Su) As a standard action use 2 smite evil, allies in area gain smite at your bonus for 1 min. Aura of Resolve +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. charm. Aura of Righteousness +4 (10 ft.) (Su) Allies in aura gain a morale bonus to saves vs. compulsion. Battle Cry (ACG, 6/day) Allies within 30' gain +1 mor bon to atk and +4 armor bonus to saves vs. fear for 1 min. Champion (Completed) (Challenge Foe: +2 to AC & att, +d6 dam on crit) +2 to att & AC vs. challenged foe only you threaten. If others att you/foe, -2 penalty for 1 rd. Channeled Revival May expend channel energy to cast breath of life Combat Advice As mv act, designate enemy, ally gains +2 comp bonus on next atk vs. target. Combat Expertise +/-5 Bonus to AC in exchange for an equal penalty to attack. Damage Reduction (5/evil) You have Damage Reduction against all except Evil attacks. Detect Evil (At will) (Sp) You can use detect evil at will (as the spell). Divine Bond (Weapon +5, 17 mins, 4/day) (Sp) Weapon shines with light and gains enhancement bonuses or chosen properties. Greater Mercy Lay on hands heals extra hit points if the target doesn't need a mercy Immunity to Charm You are immune to charm effects. Immunity to Compulsion You are immune to compulsion. Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases. Immunity to Fear (Ex) You are immune to all fear effects. Improved Iron Will (6/day) Can re-roll a Will save, but must take the second result. Lay on Hands (8d6 hit points, 14/day) (Su) As a standard action (swift on self), touch channels positive energy and applies mercies. Leadership (score 23) You attract loyal companions and devoted followers. Mercy (Diseased) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes disease, as per the remove disease spell at a caster level of your Paladin level. Mercy (Exhausted) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the exhausted condition. Mercy (Fatigued) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the fatigued condition. Mercy (Poisoned) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also neutralizes poisons, as per the neutralize poison spell at a caster level of your Paladin level. Mercy (Sickened) (Su) When you use your lay on hands ability, it also removes the sickened condition. Paladin Channel Positive Energy 9d6 (7/day, DC 24) (Su) Positive energy heals the living and harms the undead; negative has the reverse effect. Smite Evil (6/day) (Su) +6 to hit, +17 to damage, +6 deflection bonus to AC when used. Spell Resistance (22) You have Spell Resistance.
They captured Nurah but the Succubus came back and killed her (Nurah was tied up, therefore helpless - I coup de graced her). Gave the players another chance to get the succubus that escaped. Arushalae statblock would be super-useful! Will post a level 17 statblock for Galfrey once I've Herolabbed it.
This book mentioned a ballad dedicated to the heroes, so I wrote this tailored to my party of 3. A monk with a vow of silence, Swashbuckler Kobold and Riftwarden Orphan transforming wizard. Feel free to use/share/paraphrase: Oh! Let me regale you,
From Kenabres came,
From humble beginnings
An orphan of war,
A silent Guardian,
A kobold from a clan,
When the demons destroyed,
But the Heroes survived,
The Goddess had chosen,
Oh the Queen sent them North,
The Heroes defeated,
They cleared the city,
A foul demonic ritual,
A chance encounter,
They attacked the Fane,
They spoke to the Temptress,
Incensed! Outraged!
The Heroes went in,
Even Heralds can fall,
Because the heroes of Drezen,
The largest Dragon,
*take a martial arts stance,*
Through trials and tests,
I keep hearing about Caster classes (wizard and sorceress) with STR in the high 30s and claws, does anyone else keep seeing this? My parties Wizard is a transmuter that takes form of the dragon and tears things apart with his draconic multple attacks. He took on a Thanotic Titan alone last week (Guarding the gates of Blackburgh with his twin), the other 2 characters took out the other one. Same wizard did 200 points of damage with a single AoO in the same session. He admits he's a terrible wizard.
I ran this earlier this week, I felt that I as the GM did not effectively communicate the gravity of the encounter, there was out-of-character chat from my players and I don't think they really bought in to the gravity of meeting her. That said, I raised the light level/aura for the flippant character, and hoped the other two would focus more. They didn't. Since then I've been beating myself up mentally for not making the first appearence of a Goddess more... memorable. http://harbingergames.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/good-isnt-stupid-or-weak-or-ni ce.html I thought this was very relevant to the game and her outlook, and my players were quite happy with the encounter. I was disappointed but not because of the book. I'd like to thank Wolfgang, James and the team for the well written flavour text and as with everything in an AP: if you don't think you will get the desired response/reactions from your players with something the AP asks, change it.
I used the Legend of the 5 rings system of how "engaged" you are in the battle. Disengaged - tell me what you are doing from the sidelines, (maybe buffs/healing/looting, etc)
The rest of the battle is assumed to be going on around the players, with the PCs hunting down enemy commanders on the battlefield. As more commanders/heavies get squooshed, the army makes morale checks or starts to withdraw/retreat.
Hey all, In my Wrath of the Righteous game, I have a player with a Kobold character. He has the "redeemed kobold" trait and is chaotic good. He plans to become the first kobold god, and thus the god of good kobolds. How will Dahak respond to this? Asking for what may be games' epilogue. :) Ta.
No one in my group took the Child of the Crusades trait OR the Heirophant one. I'm trying to bring those quest in somehow. The rift warden orphan could be the child of the crusades too. But no one really fits the other trait. I just think it's too cool to miss once the fallen fane is completed. Any ideas? I'm adding a druid (Menhir Savant) sibling of my Riftwarden Orphan, who is trying to keep the local Ley lines clear of abyssal corruption. It will allow me to include Greengrave Keep and get the players exploring the Worldwound a bit. Not decided if Palura's Fall will make an appearence. I found the Worldwound book really helpful with this book in particular, the weather stuff in particular just isn't messed up enough for the worldwound and the descriptions of the plantlife etc, are really cool. Going to be fun having my players defend the Spiral hill from waves of Daemonic minions
So my players just had the meeting with Kandamereus, the encounter with the stone golems and the fight against Adrathanatus. Despite the vision, the diary and some hints, when they got the chance to try to redeem Adrathanatus they just killed him* (or tried to). It did not help they had Kandamereus there who tried Insanity and Adrathanatus rolled a 1. Then the Fighter (who looks like Sorshen), kept trying to non-lethally slap Adrathanatus, who - due to the rules of confusion/insanity - had to attack the fighter. Poor Addy could not hit, except with a 16 on his Primary attack. * he actually stabilised at -13 constitution. The players had 3 hours to bring the cleric back to life or lose her forever, so they teleported out after looting Adrathanatus and leaving him at the foot of the Doomsday Door. I had started to think about him coming back later, but then I realised Kandamereus needs a new undead minion. (Thereby both denying Yamasoth Adrathanatus's Soul, and snubbing Pharasma by raising one of her ex-clerics to undeath). The players were rather diplomatic to Kandamereus, but then when facing 13 mummies, everyone gets real non-aggressive. The first Mummy they saw, had his head cocked to one side. When they saw it again with it's 12 buddies, Kandamereus told them "you must forgive him: 10,000 years will give you such a crick in the neck". My players have written to several churches and told the Silver Crusade about the big group of Mummies under Windsong. After they got the shard they basically immediately headed off. I might have to write something up for that later.
My players had fun in the centrifuge, as the bloodrager could only spend his action turning off the centrifuge after Luonim turned it on with mage hand. Also my players were trying hard to keep the adventurers alive and get the extra XP.
Spoiler: I am rather annoyed that they fought the Nucklavee, she fled into the banquet hall , the Dark Rider made his check to arrive (I had him melt the door of solid black iron with his Will , as the Master of the Black Keep - made an impression), the players killed him, pressed on, swiped the shard and ran out... Didn't even go near Maligast who had very little time to see who was cheesing-it out the place. :( They hoofed it back to the Menhir and killed the Caulborn in a couple of rounds. They found the scrolls of plane shift, rather stranding Maligast in the Dark Forest. I wrote an in-character letter to them (stained it with coffee and rolled up the sheet) from Gav (local guide), with terrible spelling, grammar and punctuation, that talked about something smart emerging from the forest and causing the Therassic Spire to shut up shop again. I figure the simulacrum would not permit the Caulborn to take his memories and there would be a fight. Might have to get my revenge on them... Not that I read everything I could get my hands on re: Eox... :(
Good morning all, Considering Augustille was attached to the machine for just over a week, I decided to write some pages of predictions that the PCs might grab out of the stack. Most of them have a name (Vargun, Karzoug, etc) or pertinent piece of info of what the players already know (Beware the Doomsday Door was predicted by Vargun when they first met her), the rest is just babble and/or related to adventure paths happening elsewhere to other groups (Skull and Shackles, Rise of the Runelords, etc). Some of it has already happened, some yet to happen, some happening at the time. Analysis is below, divided by day. Spoiler:
Day 1: - Struggle all you want, the Device is quite secure. - Argh! Filthy Ardoc! When the Augurs find out what you- - They already know! I hear your sister witnessed the entire thing from a window. Though all she saw was me casting something and you obediently following when told to. It could be days or weeks before they know for sure what has happened, and by then I will have your knowledge for free! I will find a way to extract your gifts and replicate them, so the Ardoc’s no longer require this ridiculous alliance. - Bah! The future is not yours to take Ardoc Welp! - We shall see. A little Alchemical Cocktail of Hallucinogens should loosen your tongue, that, and the constant application of Pain. - Get that away from me! - I knew I’d find a use for this injection spear eventually... Power, on. - *clicks, whirrs, screams, laughter* Day 2: - Who are you? Who am I? Eye? The Eye looks but does not see. Sea? The Kraken wakes and tosses. Losses? So much to gain, so many will die. Why? Why don’t they stay asleep? Keep? The Dark Keep, Home of the Slayer, The Dark Rider. Spider in her web. Pleb? Such fools these mortals be. B? D? R? ARR!! Rum and Booty! Snooty? Bah, Noble Ardoc scum. Glum. So long have I languished here. I cannot bear the strain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Day 3: - Stupid troll! I care not for your yammerings! Tell me something useful! - Full? Empty? The Sky is Empty, the stars are going out. Shout? No need to shout, I am right here. Queer? I feel quite queer... *vomiting sounds* - ARGH! Disgusting creature! *thump* That is the last time I feed you this week! *footsteps* Herifax! Get me my clean robes! - Weak? Yes, I grow weak. Vargun would want me to stay strong. Long? It won’t be long before the pathfinders come. Save me, please pathfinders, I have seen it. Winders? The coils wind and spread, they cut and tear, pull and rip. Trip? A stumble, a fall, land on the floor. Door? Beware the Doomsday Door. It waits beyond. Beyond? The thing that watches me between asleep and awake. Ache? I ache from this infernal machine! Obscene? The hubris of man to try to comprehend the future. The Unknown. Own? I am on my own now. Just me and the scribbly scribble bibbily wargle ARGH!!! Day 4: - I curse, you curse, we curse, they curse, I suffer the curse. Rhyme in verse. Hearse. A Pharasmin procession just for me. Bury me. Put me in the ground. Found. Not dead. Head still thinking. Blood still flowing. Mourners slowly going. Wait Sister! Wait! I am not dead! Do not give me up for lost. Cost? The cost to my mind. Searching for a future to find. See the clock, it ticks and tocks. Rocks. Rocks fall and everyone dies. Flies. Flies buzz and hum, the demonic drone that causes the living to fear. The Paladins fight and die to keep the hoards at bay, but the worldwound ebbs and flows and soon the world will know. Knows? Bows? Arrows? Suffer not the slings and arrows of outrageous halflings. Flings? Rings? Kings? Ancient Kings, seven of them, serving one King. The king is dead, long live the king is dead, long live the king is dead, long live the king is dead, long live the king is dead, long live the king is dead yet the old king lives on and suffers and the new kings hope he does not rise. They sent their Rune Giant. He failed. Day 5: - Stars at night. Bright? The Sunlight I have not seen. Keen. The sword is keen, it slices, the enemy dies. Critical wounds for all! Call? The Call of the Wild, savage land of fey and bandits, who will be crowned king? Yes! Be savage, be angry, be simple. No. I will be civilised. My Kin will live on because we assimilated to the City of Strangers. Dangers. The dangers of the tunnels, the roads, the church. Beware the church. Beware the below places. Faces. Faces taken, borrowed, hollowed, worn. Born. Born to be wild. Child. Kept young, kept smart, kept learning the lessons only to excel above them all and yet mind is beneath everything. It runs in streams, bleeds through thoughts, turning good ideas into evil schemes. Teams. Work as one unit, a synergy of minds and wills, squashed like bugs beneath divine heel. Keel. Must keep my mind on an even keel, the ships pass in the night, under the moon that hangs low. The grinning full moon. Noon, will I ever see the sun? Vargun? Save me my sister, please. Day 6: - They come. The immense things without mercy. Without feeling. Without thought. It calls yet hears no answer. I scream. It hears but does not. Knot. Bound here, I cannot move, cannot escape. Cape. Cape of the Mountebank, get away from here. Fear. Such fear in the face of sleep. Reap. The Reaper comes for another. The Naming Pool has issued another name. Tonight the Guildsman dies. Heads will roll. Toll, this machine takes its’ toll, the mind cannot stand the pain. Again and again, and again, the visions haunt. Taunt. Monster! Creature! UGLY! TOOTHY STINKY THING! Unfeeling THING! Sting. The giant red creature with legs of iron and stinger of red. Dead. Yet it moves, thinks, feels, love? It loves him? Undead, yet there is love? A pity he cares not. Clot. The blood flows and clots and stays. Days. I am here more long days yet. Net. Heroes always have a fishing net. Wishing? Wishes to release the child, the fiery child in the cave. Dead but not forgotten. Day 7: - They scream though no-one hears. Their eyes cast heaven-ward, yet the coils of metal that spring from them see nothing but pain and death. Their wings, held aloft by the power of Zutha, taken by Karzoug. But it is not they that are held by the power. They are the power. Hour. Hours, days, weeks, years. How long have I lingered here? Rip and scratch and tit-for-tat. Fear the Beast of Leibstadt! Rick’em, Wreck’em, Rack’em Rake! Stick that sword into that snake! Quake? Fear the coming earth-shaking, when it occurs, flee the room! Doom! Broom? Broom handles? Fork handles. Candles. A single light against the darkness. The Eye-less. The Eyes, the vast, vast eyes. It waits there for me. The body needs sleep but the mind cannot go to the land of dreams. It knows. It sees me. It Sees ME! Must not see the dreams. The River of Memory may help. Lose all memory, sleep peaceful sleep. I need the waters. Analysis: Day 1: In which Augustille awakes to find himself on the machine. Ardoc gloats then turns it on, after administering the hallucinogens. Day 2: In which Augustille sees visions from around Golarion: from a hag’s eye in Ustalav missing an adventurer hidden by “Hide from Undead”, to the deep trenches where the Kraken sleep, unknowingly broadcasting their dreams to the Evil Beyond, the many that will die over time, the Runelords, slowly waking up from their eons of rest, the dark keep from later in the book, the spider Oni (Jade regent) in her stronghold beneath the house in the forest of spirits, a random vision of celebrating pirates from the shackles, then back to Berkanin, until Augustille sees himself in anguish and struggles to overcome the pain the machine inflicts. Day 3: In which Berkanin becomes angered by Augustille’s apparently random ramblings, and demands useful information. Augustille tells Ardoc the stars are going out, then vomits on him. Ardoc hits Augustille with a punch, tells him he will starve him for that, then demands clean robes from his majordomo. Augustille goes on to predict his own rescue by pathfinders and their journey to the doomsday door where Yamasoth waits in Sekatar Seraktis for the door to open, before again succumbing to the pain of the machine. Day 4: In which Augustille overcomes the physical pain of the machine and begins to see things beyond the mortal world. His visions have clarified a little, but are by no means less random. Having seen his own funeral, though from his own perspective and outside of it simultaneously, he feels his own body begin to rejuvenate due to the presence of his own soul, yet the paralysis of death prevents him from alerting anyone that he still lives. Buried alive, he faces oblivion in a still husk. Inside oblivion he sees the faces of the outer being that cursed him and in doing so, he sees clearer visions. He sees the clocks on Berkanin’s walls, the inevitable nailed to the wall, through that he sees a cave-in killing a band of adventurers, then the lord of flies, the Demon lord Deskari and his droning hoards of demons poised to emerge from the worldwound (Wrath of the Righteous), Augustille sees the Worldwound overrunning the face of Golarion in a possible future. Slings and arrows is a mis-quote from Hamlet: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_be,_or_not_to_be) which I felt was appropriate to Augustille’s story, although to my knowledge there were no halflings in the original. The last part is all Xin and the 7 Runelords. Day 5: In which Augustille sees the Stars, where he introduces his god-patron to the concept of sunlight, where Augustille sees the keen sword that may one day behead him, critical wounds for everyone! (Yay!) Fey and bandit-land is Kingmaker, where some trolls turn up at one point (I know, they killed my cleric), and Augustille is reminded how civilised his kin have become, in comparison to their degenerate cousins. Having returned to vissions of his kin in Kaer Maga, the fortune of the PC’s draws him back to Windsong Abbey, and the below places that hold the Doomsday Door. Faces Taken refers to the Skinsaw men from Rise of the Runelords, and then Augustille returns to his own childhood and how something Other touched his mind and even now runs through his thoughts like poison through water. Teams of Adventurers saving lives, unearthing knowledge, being killed by gods and demi-gods for good and ill. Ships passing on the oceans, his mind a turbulent place he must navigate successfully. Groetus grinning down above the boneyard. Augustille’s patron wanting to see the sun. Augustille’s wish that his sister successfully convince the pathfinders to save him. Day 6: In which Augustille reaches his lowest ebb. He knows it will be another day at least before his liberators come, his visions full of suffering, the bullying he suffered from, non-troll children and how just beyond his perceptions, just beyond dreams and death, something Other is watching him. He has a sense of the vast unknowing evil of the things that live in the Beyond and he begins to fear the coming of the end times. (He’s been watching way too much Groetus TV). He then sees the Naming Pool issue a name to the Dunhallan, knows who will die in a few hour’s time, he knows the machine is taxing his mind to it’s limits. He remembers the childhood taunts he suffered, then sees an Annhilator from Numeria. Suddenly his childhood trauma is shown to be insignificant to the world at large, and seeking the memories of his own family who loved him, he keys into the love of the Nuklevae for the Dark Rider. The fishing net thing is an inside joke from my gaming group, after one player made a habit of making sure every character had a net, after a botched diplomacy roll on our first game together as a group. Wishing to release the child is a spoiler from the end of Legacy of Fire. Day 7: In which Augustille’s visions have actually become something he can almost control. He sees the engine that keeps the Dark Forest from collapsing in on itself, powered by three angels, (see image from page 49 of this adventure path) and the fact that Karzoug stole the shard from Zutha. He laments his fate, knowing rescue must be near, but his ability to tell time has been lost, now that he is swept under by visions of possible futures. The Beast of Leibstadt is from Carrion Crown Adventure path. I stole this from Aladdin, the Disney movie. The earthquake happens when they get the shard and get cursed if still in the room. If any single PC is the only one that speaks Aklo and so is the only one that gets the prophecies (as in my game), I’ll give that character a bonus to escape the curse of living death from getting the shard, if they all read the prophecies, I’ll lower the DC. Fork Handles is stolen from the 2 Ronnies Sketch from 1976 found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vg39jaVM3w In a flash of inspiration, as he sees the face of his Outsider patron he understands that the memories of his dreams are what link him to it. With the waters of the river of memory, he may be able to free himself of his curse. Therefore he comes to realise he needs the PCs to bring him a sample of the waters of the River they will encounter under the spire. (Sidequest detailed in Augustille's description). I printed out the predictions on paper in groups of 4, wrote the day on the back and gave them to a player. He has read them and says they 'bode'. So job done then. ;)
I've been questioned about this today. I used Herolab to generate my character, once I added improved familiar, Zhyen of all 4 flavours came up (this is at character generation) and I cannot find anything anywhere saying there is a level requirement beyond improved familiar. Can we have a ruling on the requirements for the familiar? Thanks.
So I'm reading the future encounters my players have not yet conquered and I noticed Hasari's alignment has changed to Chaotic Evil. (Room B7) Does this mean she has lost all her monk abilities and Ki pool as Monks cannot be chaotic. (Lawful only). It makes little difference at this early stage as I can just say she is lawful evil, but I assume it's a mistake. :)
Hi, If a caster casts Charm person on someone (we'll call him Bob), then an identical copy (be it through illusion, body-switching or flesh-sculpting), of the caster turns up and speaks to Bob, will Bob treat anything the copy says favourably or will he have some mystical feeling the spell is no longer working/the copy is a fake? Assuming Bob has no way of knowing the copy is not the original caster. Thanks.
So has anyone had their players win the fleet battle against the chelish armada? My players lost the battle but annhilated Admiral Thrune. I added a descriptive bit where her dead-but-screaming body was claimed through the black and green bubbling deck by infernal hands. (Despite the dimensional anchor cast by Sandara). In an infernal-system, surely you would have a clear chain of command, so how does killing the Admiral stop the Commodores from continuing the battle, and taking Drenchport anyway? Ezaliah is still paying them to take down Bonefist, and surely the Commodores have ambitions of their own? They are Chelaxians afterall! ;) One of my players feels that the entire fleet battle was a waste of time when they could have just scry-and-fry the Admiral and have done with it. The feeling seems to be nothing they did meant anything to the final outcome. I'm going to look at options soon. :(
Frankmanic has it pretty well covered, I'm having Sandara be tasked with keeping the Shackles Free, shaking the Council up enough to get them 'honed to a keen edge' after they have become 'fat and complacent' and Besmara has all but told Sandara, that Cheliax is coming. The players are having to support Sandara in her crusade to keep the Shackles from tearing itself apart before Cheliax takes advantage. Avimar Sorrinash won't be making that easy though, my players have gone out of their way to anger him, so he's throwing in with Harrigan's fleet, (He has no idea of the end result of his actions of course). Also assuming the death of Sorrinash, it gives the Hurricane King more reason to disregard the players actions, as they have been entirely disruptive to the status quo thus far. The Hurricane King does not appreciate waves not of his own making. Mrs. C.
@Movin, hmmm, I was thinking of having him be given permission to take the sword if he will allow Luccaria (Norgorber chick from Harrigan's place) a chance to escape. If she dies does Norgorber get the secrets and information she had? Presumably he can claim her soul from Pharasma's boneyard and wring anything useful out of it? It makes sense to me that Norgorber would have several church heads, as eventually he will need to replace them as they get too close to his own secrets and past. My player would not be enamoured of the Father Skinsaw section of the church at all, however the information gathering/assassination for business and pleasure side would be more up his darkened alley. The player says his character has enough problems without involving religion. In this case they are going after a publucly recognisable icon of the church of Norgorber (ie. Aiger's Kiss) and the church cannot have any Tom, Dick or Harry owning it. Even if the character doesn't worship the god, in this case the god has taken notice of the character. [to the tune of cops] Bad rogue, bad rogue; whatcha gonna do? What cha gonna do when they come for you? Bad rogue , bad rogue...[/theme]
So my players elected the NPC Sandara to be Captain, and have been doing away missions without her. I had Sandara go on her pilgrimage to Besmara's Throne, wrote a whole Captain's log of it, and left them wondering. Now they're about to head out for Aiger's Kiss. We have a Rogue in the party that recently gave me a 73 for his stealth roll (whilst wearing a ring of invisibility and being still) and I figured as this rogue uses Short-swords, Norgorber meant for him to take it. I'm planning on having a one-on-one talk with the player, saying that Norgorber is giving him permission to claim and wield the sword, in exchange for information and a future service. I have no idea what to ask for though. I'm going to give it some thought, but I wondered if anyone has a suggestion for Norgorber's Price. Please note: It's beginning to look a lot like the rogue in question will end up being the personal bodyguard and right-hand man of the future Hurricane King. I'll probably use Slip (from book 2) as the mouth-piece to deliver the message, "My Master gives permission for you to Claim Aiger's Kiss, if you agree to his terms: You must give information of a valuable nature to my Master if asked for it by myself or one that knows the secret phrase. [Words come unbidden to your mind] and you must perform a service for my Master that he will decide in the future. If you claim Aiger's Kiss, he will consider the agreement binding. If you do not take, nor touch, nor wield the blade, he will consider you... not his ally. Either way, you would do well, to not assume all members of my Master's faith are friend." Or something... :/
One PC had see invisibility up, one had invisibility purge and IIRC the fighter had some kind of staggering feat. So surprise round he stuns/ staggers the bad guy, he then full attacks doing silly damage. I tried to figure out what mobs to give him but short of more were-hellhounds, nothing really worked.
Yeah, that was what I thought, but it was ruled as he was intelligence 1, that he did not understand me calling for him to help me, and was focussed on the bad guy in front of him. So no tactical saving of my character. Modifiers for this ruling: We were in an arena - lots of ambient noise (cheering crowd).
Modifiers for him coming to aid: We're playing a family of adventurers, you'd think he'd recognise my voice (even if he can't understand the words) and come help.
Had he come to help, I had planned on drawing my bow to attack the flying mage, while my flying, feebleminded brother beat up on the guy that had left me on single-digit HP. The comment was also made that right at that moment he was not even as smart as a dog. Moon Moon could beat him in a battle of wits! http://static2.fjcdn.com/comments/i+think+that+was+the+origin+of+moon+moon+ _8f338929efa0643b1ff126ba6f0c29fb.jpg http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/facepalm+.+god+damn+it+moon+moon_9ac584_45 70731.jpg
Ok, well my players refuse to tell me how battered they are during a fight, so I suppose I can start keeping my own track of how damaged they are. They make bad tactical decisions (even after I ask them "are you sure?") including splitting the party to breach and clear rooms (it's only worked once), taking a jolly boat into mancatcher cove (and into the loving tendrils of the canopy creeper), and going into places without any kind of recon or research. They know when I fudge a roll (we roll dice in the open) so I can only nerf encounters by giving the monster less hit points, (until now I've been running things as it says in the book). How else am I to stop killing them?
Evening all, So last session one of my players in Skull and Shackles said the following: "When we first heard about a pirate campaign I was all like 'Yarrrr!*', now I'm like 'yarrr**...'" *enthusiastic yarrr
Now this is probably due to the 21 character deaths up to just before the party on the isle of empty eyes (book 4). I'm not sure how to respond to that. Mrs. C.
I was thinking about a speech an NPC needs to do and was going to use the phrase "Dead like the Dodo" but as Dodo's are viable animal companions (and therefore I run the risk of a dodo walking past as he says it - which whilst comic would have ruined the speech) and it occurred to me that there really aren't any 'extinct' species in Pathfinder. Dinosaurs roam the land, Dodo's have owners, every other druid has a white tiger... I suppose I could use "Dead as a Beholder" as they have been extinct for a few years now. ;) Or dead as the Azlanti... Dead as a Runelord? *cough* Are there any animals/creatures/monsters you have made up for your games to be extinct?
Recycle the bad guys. If the players didn't kill something before it made a name for itself, give it a few levels, advance it and give it minions, then have it try to take the players out itself/put it in a dungeon to broker an alliance with the Cagewrights etc. My ebil plans:
In chapter 10 it talks about Vhalantru coming back with the smoking eye template, so I decided that if/when the players kill that, they find more and more of their old enemies (or in this case, anyone who killed a player character/the cool monsters/baddies) coming back for revenge. Because: Adimarchus is a sore loser.
Hey, did you find anything to help? My players are almost done with the fiery sanctum so may be at Skullrot in the next few weeks. RPGenius doesn't have much stat-blocks-wise from chapter 10 onwards, I'm using herolab to stat most of the bad guys, anything I didn't re-stat tends to die within 6 seconds. If you find a version of Myrakul please post a link! :)
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