Mykull's page

HUZZAH ! ! !

Any AP run to completion is worth of note. I congratulate you!

Porphyry House (PH) is an excellent additon to Serpents of Scuttlecove (SoSC). I know this from personal experience. Things to keep in mind:

(1) What system are you running? I believe PH is designed for 3.0, so if you're running a 3.5 campaign, the adventure is going to be underpowered. If you're running Pathfinder, it's going to be even more heinously underpowered.

(2) Along those lines, PH is designed for level 10, iirc, so at 14th - 15th level, whichever system you're running, your characters are going to be egregiously prepared to tackle this adventure. Keep in mind that your players will have access to spells that the module doesn't anticipate. They might make certain portions of the adventure (or the whole thing) that cakewalk about which you're worried.

(3) PH is R-rated (and, depending on the DM, can easily slide into an X-rating). How old/mature are your players? The depravity of the adventure (PH) could easily sidetrack your players from accomplishing the mission of the campaign (SoSC).

(4) Tie-In. Scuttlecove is an obvious setting/location for Porphyry House, but how does PH connect to the campaign. You'll need to place key information/people from SoSC in PH or else PH just become a side-trek.

I spaced out the kidnappings a little more so that it wasn't as rampant as the module made it out to be. With that buffer I made it clear from Kazmojen's records that the last sale had occurred one month prior, so the trail was long cold and the group's chances of tracking down slavers in the Beneath (homebrew Darklands) were Slim and none (and Slim had just left town). With no ranger in the group, they came to their own conclusion that it was hopeless.

Sorry for the thread necromancy but I had to tell someone: Last session. I pulled it off with an infiltrator.

At some point before Elaxan, everyone has had some alone time so that anybody could be the doppelganger.

The party slew Elaxan and now knew that doppelgangers were about. One of the player's aunt (a noblewoman in Wavewatcher's Bay [using Christopher West's Lands of Mystery map from Dungeon #150]) warns the players, "Anyone can be a doppelganger. Trust no one; not even the DM." I felt that a little fourth wall break was important for reasons which will become apparent.

So the party gets to the Hall of Reflections and everyone sees their double. The players are my wife, our eight-year old son, a married couple, and an engaged couple. At this point, I pause to explain the situation to our son. We've tried to instill in him the importance of honesty. And I wanted him to understand that one of the players was just pretending and not really lying; that it was part of the game. He listened attentively and seemed to take it seriously. The rest of the group began to try to ferret out the doppelganger.

Between the players they could all recall that everyone had been alone at one point so it really could've been anybody. They finally made their selection and they chose . . . poorly.

Because it was my son all along (not even my wife knew). He pulled it off swimmingly! They never suspected him. The engaged guy was bent because he felt I had tricked him as opposed to the villains. I reminded him that he'd been warned not to trust the DM. The married guy doesn't enjoy that sort of shenanigans, but admitted that it was well done. His wife loved it, thought it was amazing and that the guys were being petty.

We have the next session in a few hours. The doppelgangers get sneak attacks in the surprise round. And they'll change into different players every round giving them a kind of blur effect except that instead of a 20% miss chance, it's a 20% chance to hit the real person instead of the doppelganger. But it's the Week of Feebleness where everyone does minimum damage, so it should be okay.

I think it depends on your group size. I'm running a group of six through AoW using 1E Pathfinder and they're curbstomping a lot of it. For example, in TFoE, when everyone in the party was level 3, I doubled the number of krenshars and put in two kennel masters instead of one and the group had it done in three rounds taking minimal damage. I then gave all of the mook grimlocks the same stats as the one barbarian; it still presented no problem.

So I use the slow track. I might use medium if I only had four players. It is important to remember that Pathfinder characters are more powerful than 3.5 CR's.

I'm running AoW for a Pathfinder 1E group right now (they're in TFoE right now) and I have been foreshadowing Thessalar already.

Acid beetles? Those are Thessalbeetles, created by a wizard long ago.
Owlbears? Those were also created by Thessal.

No one will really know he's still around until they encounter him as a lich, where he will unveil his most dastardly dilemma:

"Yes, I'm Thessal. You've heard of me? Good, good, that'll make this much easier. You see, the spirit fragment you seek is here in this rather large gem, soul bound. What? The gem seems a bit over-sized for Balakarde? Oh, it isn't for him . . . only. You see, this gem is also my phylactery.

To free Balakarde's spirit you only have to destroy me and then my phylactery. Ah, but I can see by your avaricious appraisal of this beauty that even I wouldn't need all of the room in this gem. And I do so hate inefficiency; hence my efforts to improve on the randomness of Nature.

But I digress. Demodragon (Dungeon #147) is also trapped inside. A modified Imprisonment of sorts. And Demodragon is the last remaining vestige of Demogorgon. If you slay me and destroy the phylactery, you'll retrieve Balakarde's spirit, but you'll also release Demodragon. He'll be at full strength and, as he's always in agony, ready to fight whoever is nearby, which will be you. And you? Well, you won't be at full strength because, and I promise you this, I will not go down easily and I will not go down alone.

Destroy me, rest up, then shatter my phylactery before I can reform? Believe me, I have thought of this. You see, I have spent centuries and more Wishes than were needed to insure a little contingency. Three minutes after I am destroyed, my phylactery will be teleported to a secure location, where I may revive and plot my revenge. Trust me when I say that a Dimensional Anchor will be woefully insufficient to the task of keeping my phylactery here. In fact, you would need the direct intervention of a greater deity.

So, that is your choice. Allow me to continue my experiments in peace or be the harbingers who usher in a new age of abyssal chaos by bringing Demodragon (and maybe even Demogorgon) back into existence?

Name(s), Race, Class & Level:
Shaerona, shae Druid 3 (my wife's character)
Astrid, human Wizard 3 (Lyra player's mother)
Lyra, human Ranger 3 (Astrid player's nine-year-old daughter)
Adventure: Trail of the Hunted
Location: H5, Ironfang Supply Wagon
Catalyst: Individualism, Lucky DM rolls, lack of resource utilization
The Gory Details: We've been playing once a month for a while, but the two kids (7 and 9) have a one hour max attention span. I decided to just do set pieces and combine things together. The Supply Wagon encounter also had Yorc, Shalra, Orlu and Carf present. Those four were hidden in the woods. Their tactic was to move in a clockwise direction and focus all of their attacks on whomever was closest and then move on to the next closest.

Some of the players hadn't gone up to level 3 on game day and said it was fine, they'd just play at level 2 and go up later. I said, "No, this is a really tough encounter, you should go up your level." I later emphasized how tough it was going to be and that they should make use of all their resources.

So did the players bring the combat capable refugee NPCs with them? Of course they didn't. Did the adults coordinate with the kids to organize any sort of cooperation? Of course not, they each just did their own thing. Did this separate and expose individual players? Of course it did.

Did the DM roll two sets of 20/20's and another confirmed crit? Of course he did. Does the DM roll out on the table where everyone can see? Of course he does.

#17 only works if these PC's promptly escape from a maximum security stockade to the Waterdeep underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire . . . the Ao Team.
thwip thwip thwip thwip

Mykull wrote:

General Tips; A Well-Played Dragon . . .

ALWAYS . . . NEVER

I love this!

I wish I could take credit for this, but it comes from page 41 of Dragon Issue 284 (June 2001, Volume XXVI, Number 1); the 25th Anniversary Issue.

( 1 ) It Isn't Really a Red Dragon:
Disguise Self: . . . You cannot change your creature type (although you can appear as another subtype). Otherwise, the extent of the apparent change is up to you. You could add or obscure a minor feature or look like an entirely different person or gender . . .

And the duration is 10 minutes/level. Your adult red dragon could very well, as SOP, cast this spell when it leaves its lair as a precaution against just this sort of thing. Your group prepares its defenses against a red dragon and, whoops, its actually a crystal dragon.

( 2 ) Minions:
A usual red dragon lair has lava. Give this one lava . . . and iron golems. The dragon swims around under the lava while the group fights the golems. Whenever the golems are seriously wounded, have the dragon surface and breathe its fiery hot breath . . . on the golems (recall that fire heals iron golems). Repeat until dead, thus preserving all that juicy, juicy cheddar to add to the dragon's horde instead of melting into slag.

( 3 ) General Tips; A Well-Played Dragon . . .
ALWAYS looks out for number one and
NEVER loses a game of chess.
ALWAYS uses the home field advantage and
NEVER knowingly shows weakness.
ALWAYS acts like royalty and
NEVER wastes its breath weapon.
ALWAYS has an ace up its sleeve and
NEVER makes stupid decisions.
ALWAYS speaks many languages and
NEVER trusts anyone.
ALWAYS uses its wings and
NEVER forgets a slight.
ALWAYS looks for the hidden meaning and
NEVER acts predictably.
ALWAYS overestimates itself and
NEVER fears a human threat.
ALWAYS has an escape route and
NEVER takes meaningless tasks.
ALWAYS is awesome to behold and
NEVER acts on a whim.

I second minions. Pepper the field with level 10 fighters with 10 Constitution who rolled a one on hp every level so that they have a chance to hit but die very, very easily. Also have a few sargeants and one or two lieutenants.

Gunslingers only need a touch attack to hit, so high Dexterity, Dodge, and Deflection bonuses are your friend. If the boss has been the ongoing antagonist, it is reasonable for him to know the party's strengths and for him to have taken steps to counter them.

Does the ranger have an animal companion? How about the boss has a trained magical beast for it to fight? Is the ranger an archer? The Flickering Step is a good solution. So is a first-level wizard (or higher) minion with one scroll of invisibility and several scrolls of wall of force.

As for the close-ranged sorcerer, I suggest another first-level wizard with one scroll of invisibility and many scrolls of dispel magic who takes the readied action to counter the sorcerer's spells. Dispel magic won't work every time, but it'll probably divert the sorcerer's attention from the boss for a round or two.

Invisibility: For purposes of this spell, an attack includes any spell targeting a foe or whose area or effect includes a foe.

The walls of force won't cancel the invisibility because no foe will be in the area of effect, the AoE will be between foes. Neither will the dispel magic cancel it because the foe is not the target of the spell, the foe's spell is the target. That might seem like splitting hairs, but if you want the Boss Fight to last longer than two rounds, sometimes you have to be the DM and just make that ruling.

Thanks for the update. Yeah, BBEG's usually get curb-stomped in a round or two unless there are a bevy of mooks to even out the action economy. Unfortunately, the way the AP is structured, it really doesn't make sense for Adimarchus to have those.

I took two d10's and used them to count up the rounds during the fight. That way they knew something was going to happen, but not when. It wracked their nerves.

As for destroying the statue, I'd say that it is immovable as long as Aushanna lives. But if she's slain, then the statue becomes unstable and can be toppled.

I'm just starting AoW. I'm going to drop lore about Thesselar as we go:
(1) Know. (Dungeoneering/Nature): Those are thesselabeetles, they spit acid!
(2) Kn. (Nature [or arcana, but with a higher DC]): This cute wittle-bittle? It's an owlbear, created by the wizard Thesselar. Nobody knows why.
(3) Know. (Nature/Arcana): That thing in the cage? It's a thesselahydra (I'll change it from a chimera and tweak the stats).

"Oh, me? I'm Thesselar. Perhaps you've heard of me? Oh, goody, that'll make this much easier. See, kill me you could, maybe even destroy my phylactery. However, I do have the two-headed demo-dragon soul gemmed into my phylactery. Destroy it and you'll release him. Oh, and a very powerful contingency, protected by some rather carefully worded wishes, guarantees that two minutes after I die, my phylactery is teleported to a safe location. So, do I still need to die?"

( 1 ) Does the druid summon the same creatures each time? Has he turned a friendship/bond with them? If so, how about the druid calls them for final fight instead of just summoning? The risk of permanent death is real and that should be a good work around.

If they're just generic summons, then he has to beat the DC 30. Effective most of the time doesn't mean effective all the time, even if it's the Final Battle.

( 2 ) Death Ward: +4 morale bonus against all death works and magical death effects . . . does not protect against other sorts of attacks, even if those attacks might be lethal.

Change his Implosive Strike to Implosion instead. It's an evocation, not a necromancy and deals 10/caster level (FOR negates). I think that would bypass death ward. He's 30 HD, so that's 300 hp per hit. Make it CON based and that's DC 32 (10 + 9 [ninth lvl spell] + 13 [CON mod]). He has 11 feats listed, but if you're playing Pathfinder, he should have 15, so that gives you 4 to play with and you could beef up that DC if you wanted. Also, since it isn't an instant death effect, you can give him more of them (unlimited?)

The Enervating Bite could be insanity instead, that's a good idea.

( 3 ) Anyone grappling Adimarchus should automatically take damage from his razor wings (which, imo, should be vorpal). The freedom of movement in demon form is good.

Interesting idea. Take a traditionally chaotic artifact and make it lawful.

Personally, that wouldn't work for me as I enjoy the chaos.

I'm working up variations of how the Deck of Many Things is dealt. The idea is that the DM would roll a d12 and that is how the players have their cards dealt to them. Here's my first pass at it:

( 1 ) RANDOM: Player draws 1d4 cards. Cards may not be used to avoid the effects of other cards.
( 2 ) SPIRIT: Player draws 1 + Charisma modifier number of cards (or none, if they so choose). Cards may be used to avoid the effects of other cards.
( 3 ) CHOICE: Player chooses to draw from zero to five cards (no more than five). Cards may be used to avoid the effects of other cards.
( 4 ) FATE: Player is dealt three cards face-down. Each card is turn face-up one at a time and the results are read. The player may choose to discard it if they choose, but the card is reshuffled into the deck and a new card is dealt to the end of their fortune. Once a card is accepted and a new card is turned face-up, the player may not go back and discard any previous card. Once all three cards have been turned up, the results are then resolved, in order, one at a time. The player may only discard once. Cards may not be used to avoid the effects of other cards.
( 5 ) DESTINY: Player is dealt five cards face-down. Each card is turned face-up one at a time, but the results are not read. The player may discard it if they choose, but no new card is dealt at the end. A player may discard their Charisma modifier minus 1 (to a minimum of once) number of times. Once all five cards have been turned face-up, the results are then resolved, in order, one at a time. Cards may not be used to avoid the effects of other cards.
( 6 ) TRUE GRIT: Player draws from zero to five cards. These are turned up one at a time and their results are read. After each effect, the player may decide whether or not they wish to continue. There is no avoiding a card's effect. Cards may be used to avoid the effects of other cards.
( 7 ) THE PATH: The player is dealt two columns of four cards. The first row is then turned face-up. The player chooses which one they will keep and which one they will discard without having their effects read to them. The process is the same for the second, third, and fourth rows. Once a player has chosen their path, the cards are resolved in order, one at a time.
( 8 ) THE PASSAGE: The player is dealt three columns of four cards. The first row is then turned face-up. The results of the three cards in the row are read to the player. The player chooses which one they will accept. The DM is encouraged to remove one row of cards before the player makes their selection. Once the DM has wiped a row, s/he may not remove any other rows. Cards may not be used to avert the effects of other cards.
( 9 ) THE JOURNEY: The player is dealt two columns of twelve cards each. The first row is then turned face-up. The player chooses which one they will keep and which one they will discard without having their effects read. Once the player chooses a card, its effect is resolved. A player may choose to nullify the effect. Once an effect is nullified, the remaining cards are discarded.
( 10 ) MAKE A DEAL: Player selects any three positive cards they want. These are placed, face down in a pile. The DM places two other stacks of three cards before the player. The top card of one pile is the Skull and the top card of the other pile is Donjon. These three piles are then randomized for the player (not for the DM). Then the player plays Let's Make a Deal.
( 11 ) POKER: The Player chooses seven positive Major Arcana cards and shuffles them. The DM shuffles the seven negative Major Arcana cards and shuffles them as well. The player then chooses to play either Five Card Draw, Seven Card Stud, or Texas Hold 'Em (nothing is wild in any of these versions of poker). Each of the seven Major Arcana cards are the 'chips' used for betting. There is no ante. The maximum bet is three cards (there is no All In). If a Player wins a hand, then s/he wins the positive Major Arcana cards and discards the negative ones. If a Player loses a hand, s/he takes the effects of the negative cards and loses the positive cards. If either the player or the DM fold on the initial deal (before card exchange in Draw, first face-up card in Stud, or pre-flop in Hold 'Em), then it is a push and nothing happens. If the DM folds after initial deal, the Player wins the pot. If the Player folds after the initial deal, they do not take the effects of the negative cards in the pot, but the game stops at that point and there are no more hands.
( 12 ) TRADES: Players may draw up to three cards and know their results, but those effects are not resolved. Cards are not returned to the Deck. Once everyone has their cards, players may trade cards among themselves.

I have expanded the Deck of Many Things to include and effect for all 78 cards in a tarot deck (two-thirds good, one-third bad), but that's another post.

I'm just curious as to what people think about these ideas. Are there any tweaks you'd make? Any other drawing options that you'd suggest?

Love this... I'm stealing it if that's alright with you :)

Its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission; but, sure, by all means, purloin away!

( 66 ) Damage Reduction: Magical bonuses do not meet the requirements for non-magical DR. For example, a werewolf must be hit by actual silver to bypass its DR; a +5 sword doesn't cut it.

djdust, thanks!

This isn't a houserule <regarding true seeing vs phantasmal killer>; it's actually a perfectly legitimate interpretation of how True Seeing interacts with phantasms. This is because phantasms do not actually affect the senses of the target, and instead attack the mind directly.

Phantasm: a phantasm spell creates a mental image that usually (emphasis added) only the caster and the subject (or subjects) of the spell can perceive. This impression is totally in the minds of the subjects. It is a personalized mental impression, all in their heads and not a fake picture or something that they actually see. Third parties viewing or studying the scene don’t notice the phantasm. All phantasms are mind-affecting spells.

Usually. Except that Phantasmal Killer does actually affect the senses as the spell says that those that are not the subject “see only a vague shape.” So, this does not fall under the usual phantasm that's only in the target's mind because there is something that other people can see.

And True Seeing says that the subject “sees through illusions,” which a phantasm is. But if the phantasm is only in the mind, then it wouldn't see through it.

The point is, it has come up enough at tables I've played at and I've seen it hashed out here on the boards several times that we made a house rule about it.

And I apologize to anybody who feels that my house rules are not common; I have a subjective frame of reference as to what constitutes “common.”

( 63 ) Casters may use bonus slots for a high ability score to prepare or cast lower level spells. Example: An 18 INT level 1 wizard may use the bonus second, third and fourth level spells to prepare three additional first level spells, just as she would be able to if she were a level 7 wizard with access to fourth level spells.

( 64 ) Petrification: Such as flesh to stone has two saving throws. During the round of the first failed save, the victim is paralyzed as they begin to turn to stone. There is a second save on round two. If failed, victim completes their transformation and is completely turned to stone. If the second save is successful, the victim is partially stoned (a fist, foot, half the face, etc.) and stunned for the remainder of the round.

( 65 ) Capstone Abilities: Are now acquired at 16th level (instead of 20th), so that players may enjoy them for a while before the end of the campaign.

( 58 ) A giant throwing a rock makes a ranged touch attack instead of a ranged attack.

( 59 ) All iterative attacks (2nd, 3rd, haste, speed wpns, etc.) are made at a static -5 instead of a cumulative -5.

( 60 ) A nat 20 on initiative grants a standard action in a surprise round. If one already had surprise, then a full round of action is allowed in the surprise round.

( 61 ) True Sight does not make one immune to Phantasmal Killer

( 62 ) A character with precision-based damage that wins Perception vs. Stealth three times in a row (Vicinity, Approach, Poised) may make a coup de grâce. This house rule allows rogues to "take out the guards."

In Dungeon #150, Christopher West was able to make a full-page Lands of Mystery for all of the Maps of Mystery he'd made for Dungeon throughout the years. He told us to take this map and run with it.

I did.

I made an entire campaign setting out of it. I'm at page 150 so far, incorporating all of my house rules on abilities, races, classes, skills, feats, combat, and magic (following the CRB order). Now I'm writing down the settlements, affiliations, pantheon, units of measurements, and timeline.

But it uses PF1 rules. This creation has been a labor of love for many years, first as an amorphous idea back in 3.0, but has now coalesced into an actual campaign setting . . . using the PF1 ruleset.

I would have to learn PF2 inside and out, play it for a year or so before I felt conversant enough in it to be able to adapt my homebrew world to the new ruleset.

I am loathe to leave my globe behind. So, I guess that puts me in the camp of "My group & I are going to continue to play PF1." But this is the reason why we're going to continue to do so.

The original, Shackled City! Just make Lord Vhlantru the patron of the group.
Life's Bazaar: Kill the slavers and retrieve the child because I need him for a ritual.
Flood Season: Triel and Tongueater are upsetting my plans for the city, kill them and retrieve the wands of control water.
Zenith Trajectory: I need Zenith Splintershield for the same ritual I needed the boy for; butcher the kuo-toa (to placate our allies the yuan-ti), but bring back Splintershield unharmed . . . well, alive, at least.
Demonskar Legacy: Maavu Arlintal has organized a protest. Insure it turns into a riot instead. Also, Alek Tercival has become a nuisance, eliminate him.
Test of the Smoking Eye: The potential to become the ruler of a plane of the Abyss? This one needs the least adjustment!
Secrets of the Soul Pillars: Fetor Abradius has outlived his usefulness and is no longer answering my hails. Bring him back to the fold, or bring him back to the dust, whichever is easiest.
Lords of Oblivion: The PC's having outlived their usefulness are targeted for assassination. Understandably peeved, the group seeks retribution.
Foundation of Flame: This one deals a lot with a "good" group saving people from the dangers of an almost erupting volcano. An evil group is going to ignore most of that to get right to the source of the problem, because, hey, it's our home, too and we don't want it turned into boiling hot lava.
Thirteen Cages: Whoa, whoa, whoa, yeah, sure, we're evil, but it is really more of a "look out for Numero Uno" Neutral Evil kind of evil, ya know? It isn't a "let's open up a permanent portal to Carceri so demodands can, literally, rain down from the sky kind of chaotic evil. So, um, yeah, we're gonna have to nope right outta that whole activation of the Tree of Shackled Souls.
Strike on Shatterhorn: I know how I'd feel if my half-a- millenia-in-the-planning operation just got torpedoed along with my master and key to ultimate power being sent down for the big Dirt Nap: I'd be wantin' some revenge. So let's hunt down those apprentices and wipe them out, all of them.
Asylum: Ya know what? We do want to rule a plane of the Abyss. We gotta kill Adimarchus to do it? Sure, we can do that.

In my homebrew (set in Christopher West's Lands of Mystery from Dungeon #150), since demons and devils can teleport at will, the investigation of such magics is considered diabolism and infernalism, respectively because, so far, it is. The offending wizard is usually executed in a very public and rather unpleasant way.

Elves maintain a secret network of tree stride, but they're not sharing.

Until Zim. Zim was the first PC in the game world to research teleportation magic. His first work in the area was Zim's Door. He later refined it into Zimportation. Zim is currently the headmaster of the Blue Crater Academy in Cauldron (transplanted from the first AP, Shackled City).

Just because they're in the CRB, doesn't mean they've been developed yet. Simply say that they haven't been invented. And if a PC wants to create them? No problem. They'll just have to, literally, make a deal with a devil to do it. And I cannot see any unfortunate entanglements arising from such communication [/sarcasm].

Sinkhole in Dungeon #103

The Stink from Dungeon #105

Wedding Bells in Dungeon #89

Wingclipper's Revenge from Dungeon #132

I know you said you were limited on prep time, but some is going to be required, it seems. A small village could be a suburb of Sasserine. Or maybe its just a neighborhood within a district itself.

"The Styes" from Dungeon #121 is designed for 9th level. It is sequeled in in #138's "The Weavers." It is the perfect sewer crawl.

Unattended, Starbrow rocks his cage until it falls off the mimic chest. The cage breaks open and the rat makes a mad dash for it.
He escapes from the mimic room. The mimic, being well-fed and somewhat lazy, doesn't pursue. Starbrow, being within one mile of Keygan scurries towards him. All of this happens "off screen." Have the timing work out that the party meets Starbrow just as they're returning to Cauldron from the Malachite Fortress after they have cleared it out.

Speak with Animals or Keygan can relay Starbrow's story. He can tell them about the magically cursed gnome city of Jzadirune, painting it as dangerous as you like.

Alternatively, you can eliminate Jzadirune altogether, simply delete the city entirely. Place Starbrow on top of the mimic in a cell down in the Malachite Fortress in one of the Empty Cellblocks (M16 or M17). Change J3 to be a room with no doors. Make it a lounge of the Malachite Fortress where people used to wait for clearance to ride the elevator and for the elevator to arrive. Jzadirune comes up exactly zero times after Life's Bazaar, so removing it will not affect the rest of the AP one whit.

Remember, just because you know you've changed the adventure doesn't mean that the players are aware of it at all.

Skulks and creepers aren't going to continue a kidnapping/slavery operation once they know that:
(a) Their hide-out is discovered.
(b) Their muscle in Kazmojen and hobgoblins are dead (presumably)
(c) The Underdark buyers are unreachable because they were Kazmojen's contacts.

As for the Keygan's key ring, I think it is very plausible that Kazmojen would not allow a lackey to carry around so valuable an item when not on mission. Just place the key ring on Kazmojen's body.

There are a few options (all of these are keeping in mind newer players):

( 1 ) If they find the secret door, then give them a level for by-passing Jzadirune, because it basically exists to whittle resources and provide XP to level anyway.

( 2 ) Since the players find the elevator, there's no one from Jzadirune to alert the Malachite Fortress. The Fortress, preparing for its impending slave sale and secure in its safety due to secrecy has very lax security. If and when Cauldron discovers the slave ring is literally right under its feet, Kazmojen figures it'll be a stomping detachment of city guard, not a small group of doughty adventurers (who could ever plan for those?). Perhaps have the roar of the furnace make so much noise that it obscures combat sounds. Maybe off-duty guards are in a garage band and they play really loud, also drowning out combat sounds. Allowing the lower-leveled group to take the Malachite Fortress piece-meal could make it more do-able.

* Bonus: I'd eliminate Vhalantru from the end. Allow the group to rescue him. Vhalantru can pick the child up from the orphanage later. Railroading the group should be avoided.

Well, is it pronounced "EYE-bue-sore" or "IH-bue-sore"?

My son is six-years-old. When he’s eight and better able to distinguish between fantasy and reality we’ll start playing Pathfinder. I loved Keep on the Borderlands, so I thought that Ironfang Invasion would be a good AP to start. Assuming 1 - 2 years to complete an AP, we’d start the next one when he’s ten. It would take place in the same region and I thought Giantslayer would be a good follow-up; it would be, in game, the next generation. The third (when he’s around twelve) would be Kingmaker, also in the same geographical area. And the last one would be Wrath of the Righteous. This will be cross-posted in the other AP forums.

I have two questions:
( 1 ) Does anyone foresee any problems running these four APs in the same general location, separated in time by a generation (about 30 - 40 years)?
( 2 ) What elements from the later APs would you recommend be foreshadowed in earlier ones? By this I mean NPCs, locations, items, lore, etcetera.

I am setting this in Christopher West’s Lands of Mystery from Dungeon #150 in the area of Kembridge. If you’d like a more detailed description, here it is:

My son is six-years-old. When he’s eight and better able to distinguish between fantasy and reality we’ll start playing Pathfinder. I loved Keep on the Borderlands, so I thought that Ironfang Invasion would be a good AP to start. Assuming 1 - 2 years to complete an AP, we’d start the next one when he’s ten. It would take place in the same region and I thought Giantslayer would be a good follow-up; it would be, in game, the next generation. The third (when he’s around twelve) would be Kingmaker, also in the same geographical area. And the last one would be Wrath of the Righteous. This will be cross-posted in the other AP forums.

I have two questions:
( 1 ) Does anyone foresee any problems running these four APs in the same general location, separated in time by a generation (about 30 - 40 years)?
( 2 ) What elements from the later APs would you recommend be foreshadowed in earlier ones? By this I mean NPCs, locations, items, lore, etcetera.

I am setting this in Christopher West’s Lands of Mystery from Dungeon #150 in the area of Kembridge. If you’d like a more detailed description, here it is:

My son is six-years-old. When he’s eight and better able to distinguish between fantasy and reality we’ll start playing Pathfinder. I loved Keep on the Borderlands, so I thought that Ironfang Invasion would be a good AP to start. Assuming 1 - 2 years to complete an AP, we’d start the next one when he’s ten. It would take place in the same region and I thought Giantslayer would be a good follow-up; it would be, in game, the next generation. The third (when he’s around twelve) would be Kingmaker, also in the same geographical area. And the last one would be Wrath of the Righteous. This will be cross-posted in the other AP forums.

I have two questions:
( 1 ) Does anyone foresee any problems running these four APs in the same general location, separated in time by a generation (about 30 - 40 years)?
( 2 ) What elements from the later APs would you recommend be foreshadowed in earlier ones? By this I mean NPCs, locations, items, lore, etcetera.

I am setting this in Christopher West’s Lands of Mystery from Dungeon #150 in the area of Kembridge. If you’d like a more detailed description, here it is:

My son is six-years-old. When he’s eight and better able to distinguish between fantasy and reality we’ll start playing Pathfinder. I loved Keep on the Borderlands, so I thought that Ironfang Invasion would be a good AP to start. Assuming 1 - 2 years to complete an AP, we’d start the next one when he’s ten. It would take place in the same region and I thought Giantslayer would be a good follow-up; it would be, in game, the next generation. The third (when he’s around twelve) would be Kingmaker, also in the same geographical area. And the last one would be Wrath of the Righteous. This will be cross-posted in the other AP forums.

I have two questions:
( 1 ) Does anyone foresee any problems running these four APs in the same general location, separated in time by a generation (about 30 - 40 years)?
( 2 ) What elements from the later APs would you recommend be foreshadowed in earlier ones? By this I mean NPCs, locations, items, lore, etcetera.

I am setting this in Christopher West’s Lands of Mystery from Dungeon #150 in the area of Kembridge. If you’d like a more detailed description, here it is:

I've run SCAP a few times, learned my lesson on Davked the first time. Being a doppelganger, he still has to roll Bluff checks. Even with his bonuses and situational modifiers, a 1 is a 1 on the die. And the PC rolled high. Then the players were, well, players. They picked and picked and picked until they finally uncovered that it wasn't a dwarf at all.

That's when the battle broke out . . . right in the middle of the Cusp of Sunrise. Being guests and not nobles earned then some harsh first degree charges.

After the fines and prison time they were released and banished from Cauldron. So they ended up in Redgorge getting recruited by the High Handcrafters. The entire AP morphed into a political intrigue about the corruption in Cauldron. They never went to Occipitus, instead not really getting back onto the AP until discovering the church if Wee Jas's involvement in smuggling (parts of the soul cages).

While it didn't end the campaign, discovering Davked to not be Davked caused some serious off-roading.

In future runs, I just made it the real Davked. He never comes up again, so there's no reason for it not to just be him.

I'd like to see what you do when you're done, please.

When I first started reading this thread I was honestly very confused by all this talk about 1E and 2E. I said to myself, "Self, I think that some sort of Renaissance is occurring." I provide the following key to eliminate any further misunderstandings:

BECMI = Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, Immortal
1E = Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, first edition
2E = Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, second edition
3E = Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, third edition
3.5E = AD&D, third edition revised
4E = AD&D, fourth edition
5E = AD&D, fifth Edition

PF1 = Pathfinder, first edition
PF2 = Pathfinder, second edition

And, if you're like me and too invested in PF1 and the home brew globe you've created, I can keep playing PF1, right? I won't be compelled to by the new system?

PROBABLY
Cloak of Chaos
Entropy sub-domain
Entropic Simple Template

MAYBE???
Protean Bloodline

THIRD PARTY
Entropic Storm
Entropic Sphere
Entropic Strength

Comet: The character must single-handedly defeat the next hostile monster or monsters encountered, or the benefit is lost. If successful, the character gains enough XP to attain the next experience level.

The long version supports the second card being wasted; such is the capriciousness of The Deck of Many Things.

But the short description (which is also RAW) indicates that one gains two levels.

This, it's up to your DM to decide and either way, s/he's within the rules.

SHORT ANSWER: I would say that they stack.

A green dragon can attack by a claw/claw/bite routine or by breathing a cloud of poisonous chlorine gas.

And while chlorine gas is acidic, I always focused on the poisonous part. I even required players to make a Paralyzation/Poison/Death Ray save instead of a Breath Weapon save.

But as I look in the Bestiary, I see that it is now an explicitly acid breath weapon for the greens. Huh, old habits die hard.

I suppose one could go with an arctic swamp and make it a white dragon instead.

Remember that if the dragon is underwater, it shouldn't have its size penalty to Stealth. Give it some rogue levels and have it sneak attack the first character in a Snatch as its taking to the air. *munch munch munch*

Once the dragon is above the dense foliage of the swamp, the group won't have line-of-sight, so the dragon won't be subject to most things and will be able to Stealth again. Dive back into the water thousands of feet away (-1 to Perception for every 10 feet) and Stealth swim back up to the group, picking them off one at a time.

I like Bjørn Røyrvik's suggestion. Keep in mind what terrain the black dragon is trying to turn into a swamp. If it is a desert, the disguise as blue is fine, but that eliminates the water strategy. I suggest a forest (easier to swampify) and disguise as a green.

Minions! The dragon should have a small tribe of lizardfolk, kobolds, goblins, ulat-kini, something. They should recklessly throw their bodies upon the swords of the group.

Yes, I want to hear all about the crunch of bones and splatter of visceral!

Give the dragon levels of rogue. With its burrow speed, sandstorm, and control weather, it shouldn't be too hard for the dragon to get a sneak attack on the first party member. If you go with the feats in the Bestiary and have Improved Vital Strike, you might easily kill that first player.

Snatch the second, take to the air and munch away.

Also, give the dragon four iron golem guards. Every d4 rounds, have the dragon surface from burrowing in the sand to breath fire . . . on the golems. Remember: any fire damage cancels a slow effect on an iron golem and heals it for 1 hp per 3 points of fire damage. Stay hidden under the sand and whittle away the group's resources.

I would avoid most of the dragon's illusion spells (mirage arcana, displacement, alter self) as a group as powerful as you've described will almost certainly have true seeing to by-pass those. But it doesn't defeat mundane Stealth, hence rogue levels and staying burrowed.

And I can't stress the burrowing enough. Most parties expect to fight a dragon with flight or on the ground. They'll probably not be prepared to burrow after the dragon, meaning you have the advantage of deciding when and where the dragon engages the party. And as soon as it burrows, it is out of sight, meaning it gets to Stealth again for another sneak attack.

Why do social skills get rewarded for being good at them IRL but not other types of skills?

Because we are playing a roleplaying game.

If you would like a bonus for your real physical abilities, try LARP'ing. However, I do grant a small bonus if players describe their skill check with vibrant detail. In your Sleight of Hand example, if you were to describe how you misdirect your mark's attention from what you're pick pocketing, I'd give a +1 or +2 bonus.

Conversely, this isn't Night at the Improv, either. I have DM'd shy players who've had social characters and just let their Diplomacy roll be their check. I didn't penalize them for not acting it out.

(06) Daisy chain made of dead centipedes.
(07) Huge bucket filled with dried and flattened frogs.
(08) Milk churn full of stuffed voles.
(09) Four jars labeled "Kobold Repellant" filled with soap.
(10) Twenty gravestones with spelling errors in the epitaphs.
(11) Welcome mat with "Leave or Die" written in Goblin.
(12) Selection of nasty looking clown costumes, sized for Gnomes.
(13) Three delicate porcelain dolls in elegant lace dresses. Each of their faces has been deliberately sanded off with fine grit sandpaper.
(14) Five hat boxes each with a mummified Kobold head inside.
(15) Death records from a nearby town, going back centuries, line a bookshelf.
(16) Stirge mounted on a plaque, engrave with the name "Stabby."
(17) Dissected imp pinned to a board.
(18) Potted assassin vine seedling that undulates and can trap mice or fingers.
(19) Basilisk egg that has been drained through a tiny hole.
(20) Storm giant's molar that lets off tiny electrical sparks when metal is nearby.
(21) Clay jar with stale gorgon breath.
(22) Dried hellhound claw on a chain with several keys attached.
(23) Pseudodragon skeleton mounted on a childish diorama.
(24) Twitching length of kyton chain.
(25) Massive tome of diabolical contracts. Pressed between the pages like a flower is a long-dead goblin.
(26) Severed gargoyle claw used as a paperweight.
(27) Cracked stone cylinder engraved with glyphs. The glyphs tell the story of the lich whose phylactery it once was.
(28) Sealed glass tank full of spider eater eggs.
(29) Barrel filled with roc feathers.

This list compliments of various Campaign Workbook articles from Dungeon magazine.

I create a Google spreadsheet called Loot List and share it with all of the players. I divide monetary loot for them. They put their characters' name next to items that their character wants. If an item isn't contested, that character gets it.

If an item is contested and no one backs down, then the other party members vote on which one gets it. I, the DM, only get to vote as a tie-breaker (which very rarely comes up).

The party usually votes for the person who has selected the least number of items. After that, the next criteria seems to be the person who has selected the least value of items. Since I have a regular group that has known each other for decades and they know how the voting goes, usually one player ends up removing his/her name from the contested item on their own.

This process has the major advantage of taking place in between sessions and doesn't bog down table game time.

All false leads, red herrings, wild goose chases should lead back to the cause. Let's say it is a secret guild poisoning people (the Herbalists Guild trying to drive up prices for their goods). The group discovers that a powerful wizard's apprentices have been spending a lot of time with the diseased people. This makes the party think that it is a curse by the wizard.

But, no, the wizard is actually trying to diagnose the disease, not causing it. Not only that, but the wizard should be able to tell the group that while he doesn't know what the disease is, he can tell them that it isn't magical in nature.

Next, suppose the group suspects a particular deity because their clerics have been conspicuously absent from helping the diseased. Their investigation should lead them to the various churches and the discovery that the absent clergy have been dealing with an internal heresy or an unrelated crop blight or somesuch. But the party's investigation should yield the information that no deity is punishing the people with a disease.

Each wrong lead should not only prove false but completely shut down that line of reasoning. Not only is it not that wizard, it isn't any wizard. Not only is it not that god, it isn't any god. By process of elimination, they get closer and closer to the truth as fewer and fewer possibilities remain.

Okay, if you are Lawful Evil, what are the other characters'? Are they also evil? If so, you have your answer. Pay the entire costs of the scrolls you want. If another player wants a scroll, charge them three times what you paid. When they complain that standard rates are only double, just say that there's a convenience charge of not going back to town to buy it and a reading fee for the strain on your vocal cords plus the handling fee of, you know, handling the scroll.

These sorts of shenanigans is why I refuse to run evil campaigns.

To the player who said, "Then he should charge every time he swings the sword," I would respond that he doesn't consume the sword with every blow, whereas the scroll is *poof* gone.

Your DM has limited a class feature.
Has he similary limited the number of times the rogue can make a sneak attack?
Has he similary limited the number of times the fighter can attack?
No?
Well, then, he's being a d!ick.

Honestly, the more detail you provide about this game, the less pleasant it sounds.

Wait, what, you're splitting treasure equally and then asking players to go halvsies on scrolls that benefit them?!? Okay, that's a totally different animal than asking for extra. I completely revoke my first post.

You aren't being selfish. In fact, since your DM limits your scroll carrying capacity (which seems like a d!ck move, to me), I'd only scribe scrolls that benefit you, unless your character has a very altruistic reason to sacrifice the coin & space for his traveling companions.

you sir are evil

No, I'm just a Dungeon Master; evil comes with the territory.

But I see your point, a Mirror of Life Trapping with a WIL DC 23 could be a tpk . . . better up the DC to 35 to guarantee it ! ! !

I didn't know what the EL was going to be, so shot for the moon with my suggestions. Of course tone it down if you like.

On the other hand, if you felt that the sphere of annihilation in the mouth of Tomb of Horrors was a fantastic idea (even though you walked right into it), then ramp up the fine pink mist factor!