Nevarre's page

Great stories. Glad you enjoyed the adventures and had fun with Ultimate Battle and the Ultimate Campaign version of the kingdom rules.

Thanks The Ultimate Battle made a really positive difference to the 'feel' of the battles in parts 5 and 6! :) (Thanks again!)

I forget how long in game time my Kingmaker campaign ran, but it definitely covered at least six years or so. Probably 3+ years in real time. It's a great campaign for adding in bits and pieces.

I found a lot of stuff from Rise of the Runelords was a great fit. We used the haunted house and clock tower from Skinsaw Murders on the creepy island with the will-o-wisps in Rivers Run Red. We used Hook Mountain Massacre to account for the missing fourth colony off to the west and what had happened to it, although the part with the dam and Black Magga we moved over to Varnhold Vanishing and made it part of the ancient cyclops ruins. We also (for a variety of reasons) switched Varnhold Vanishing to happen much later in the campaign, after War of the River Kings, and we had Vordakai's destruction of Varnhold be much more complete, using "Shadows Of Gallowspire" from Carrion Crown to represent the destroyed Varnhold after V had unleashed his power on it. Very memorable campaign and a lot of fun.

I can well imagine ROTRL would - though we've been alternating between the two APs (I'm playing in ROTRL) and we start part 6 next week!

On the subject of the Island. I forgot to mention that I did something fun with that. In fact, the players were so concerned about the island (because of the spooky lights on it) that they avoided in for a number of levels - to the point that it was the only unexplored hex in their Kingdom. When they finally decided that they were ready to venture across to it in a boat I used the map from the Shore to Sea module. I decided it was an Azlant university (including some liquid metal professors of learning) but had been destroyed by a Colour out of Space that came Golarion about the time of the Starstone. The PCs explored the weird island, encountered some Mi-Go (I decided to draw on and extend the Lovecraft influence inferred in the KM AP) who were experimenting with a planal orerry which had been drawing the will-o-wisps. Once the PCs dispatched the Mi-Go they had to learn out to use the Orrery from the memories of the Azlanti magi, and disable the orrery. Finally they had to deal with the Colour (a NASTY monster in Pathfinder!) they finally sent it fleeing to space...

The party's wizard claimed the island and build a magical school on it. The party druid spent the rest of the campaign trying to re-vitalise the soil that had been drained by the Colour. At the end of the campaign he had finally managed to get life to return to the island.

Awesome.

Sounds like you did an awful lot of extra work to make the adventure more cohesive, expand on it, and generally more interesting.

I love the extra bits you put in, sounds like they helped a lot, and I really love the epilogue.

Thanks! The key for me was not rewriting the AP, just supplementing it. The brilliant thing about KM is that the GM (and players) have the space to make it their own whilst supported by the overall framework.

Yesterday, after 4 years of playing (on and off - my group is also playing ROTRL and other games), I finally finished my Kingmaker campaign. I thought I would summarise the game, and highlight some of the changes I made throughout, and their effects on the game. Hopefully this will be of interest to other GMs.

Suffice to say that this has MANY spoilers. I'm not going to call them out, so if you're playing or going to play, then probably not a good idea to read on.

So...

I had PCs in the game:
Human Cavalier (became the King)
Human Cleric (Gorum) - died, not raised, and replaced with an Aasimar Rogue
Human Druid
Human Ranger (who later took Leadership and brought in a Cleric of Erastil companion)
Human Wizard

Before I started I read a number of the forums and identified that the BBEG was not obvious enough throughout the campaign, which became disjointed as a result. In addition I wanted to include closer ties with the broader history of Brevoy. To this end I added to significant changes to the metaplot:
1. Nyressa was 'allied' with Choral the Conqueror. She added him in uniting Brevoy, but at a cost. 300 years after he united the country his entire line (the Rogarvia house) as well as Choral himself - who is a Red Dragon in my version) were all pulled into Soul Jars and Nyressa and remain in her Fable.
2. Nyressa has a mirror which she smashed and then sent the shards into the Stolen lands. She could spy through them and over the course of the campaign the PCs learnt that there was someone behind this. Shards ended up in the possession of most of the bad guys in the AP:
Staglord
Hargulka
Witches of Gyronna
Vordakai
Irrovetti
etc.
3. The Druid PC regularly had dreams about a boy lost in the woods. From time to time he could hear someone (a girl?) calling 'Briar'!) He had not idea what or who Briar was but knew it was important.
4. The Aasimar came in the world with a prophecy that she was here to protect Briar.

Other adventures
Partly because I had 5 players and partly because I wanted to tie more of the fey aspects of the campaign together stronger, I incorporated a few other modules into Kingmaker:
1. Carnival of Tears.
A wickedly evil module which works with little effort. The carnival came to their capital city and then people started to die. They learnt that someone was behind the events and gained at least one mirror shard. The varisan harrower left behind a single harrow card with a blue dragon on it (The Tyrant I believe?)
2. Realm of the Fellknight Queen.
I incorporated the locations from the module into the Narchmarches (which was easy) and then started the adventure when the PCs were 6th level. Pretty much ran this as is. By now they add enough circumstantial evidence to believe that the Fellknight Queen was behind the shards and the attacks. They were wrong - it's Nyressa and Roswyn is her daughter(!) Of course they would find no broken mirror in the Fellknight Realm, which confused them.
3. The Harrowing
Two of the first KM NPCs - Oleg and Svetlana Leveton had twin children in the first year of the campaign. They were kidnapped on there birthday and taken to the Harrowed Realm. behind was left a harrow deck with one card missing. As soon as the PCs brought it together with the one left from the carnival of tears they were whisked away. They had to find the twins and return. It was during this time that tazlford was attached and razed to the ground.
4. Revenage of the Kobold King
Chief Sootscale (who was originally an ally of the PCs, but was convinced to cause them issues by Hargulka and was 'put down') returned in undead form to raise an undead army using the magics in an ancient Azlant tomb (taken from the module) and discovered in the plans to the east of the Narlmarches.
5. Dragons Unleashed - Eranex
I added in both the Fey Dragon and Vespyrs Blade. The PCs helped her and she returned the favour by telling them about Briar and Nyressa. They gained Vespyrs blade which helped them later in the campaign.

Comments on the individual parts:

Stolen Lands
1. Ismort betrayed the Staglord and ultimately became a member of the PCs Council.
2. There is a much bigger Gyronna temple under the hill - this would be found later...

Rivers Run Red
1. Grigori was arrested and forced out the Kingdom. He returned to Pitax and was later encountered.
2. I expanded on Cult of Gyronna. Niska actually ingratiated herself with one of the PCs. Became his wife, had a son, and then was exposed and the PCs had to stop her from sacreficing the boy to the hag-goddess. She had a shard.
3. Kundal was saved and cured of Lycanthropy - he married one of the PCs and became the General of the kingdoms army.
4. Hargulka set up his one competing 'monster' kingdom. He had a shard.
5. I used the Ultimate Campaign Kingdom building rules rather than those in KM. Fortunately for me a couple of my players really like the crunch of this system and I encouraged them to spend time outside the game doing the numbers (they developed a spreadsheet). The rest of the players preferred the 'fluff' of naming cities, people, etc.

The Varnhold Vanishing
1. Pretty much run as is. Vordakai had a shard of the mirror.
2. The found a copy of Zuddigers Picnic but made no connection that this time.

Blood for Blood
1. I already mentioned that I used the Harrowing as a distraction whilst Tatzlford was attacked.
2. In Fort Drelev, Stroon became an ongoing villian after he escaped the battle, he would return time and time again before finally being killed in the battle for Pitax.

War of the River Kings
1. I started with invitation to the Outlaw Council for the King and his council. It was there that Irovetti delivered the invites to his Tourney.
2. I used Hex Maps the KM Map book, and Carcasonne board game components to represent the citys, and Game of Thrones Boardgame components to represent the armies. We used Jason Nelsons Ultimate Battle PDF to expand on the War rules in Ultimate Campaign.
3. The Siege of Pitax involved the thieves guild and the noble houses. The PCs allied with some that wanted a return to a time before Irrovetti. They destroyed the thieves guild that was controlled by the king and then organised a coup. Pitax became a vassal city-state and Irrovetti was killed.

Sound of a Thousand Screams.
1. By now they knew of Nyressa (and her relationship to Roswyn and Shards, and all the events that had happened throughout the campaign) and Briar and the Eldest.
2. The used Zuddigers Picnic to navigate Thousandbreathes and slew Nyressa.
3. They found the broken mirror.
4. The destruction of the house released all the Rogarvia house and Choral! He 'thanked' them and returned to reunite Brevoy.
5. The story officially ended with the wedding of a PC and Tamary Numesti of Drelev. It was a fully wedding of Erastil.

Epilogue
The campaign lasted 8 years. Three of the PCs had children during this time.
1. At the end I let the players tell me how they leaved out their lives. None of them adventured again.
2. Finally I accelerated forward 11 years and gave out 2nd level characters - the children of the original PCs. They had an encounter in the Narlmarches and found a shard of mirror with a flickering light within.
The End

General comments.
Kingmaker is not, in my opinion, an AP you can just read and run. Due to the sandbox nature it needs to be customised to suit the group. It also needs more 'story' in places and incorporating other modules helps.
The PCs NEED to care about the Kingdom and do everything possible to encourage that. Create loads of NPCs, some important, some not. But breathe life into them and then kill them later (or marry them, or whatever).
Encourage the PCs to enjoy the kingdom building, and don't make it all number-crunching. All know when to stop using it.
Do the same with the Army/War rules. Use it to create an epic story, but don't let it get in the way.

In Review.
I loved Gming this. It was a lot of work but hugely rewarding. The sandbox nature made it easy to customise and therefore personal to the players. I suspect that Kingmaker will be remembered for many years.

If you want to find out more check out - https://the-conquerors-legacy.obsidianportal.com It's not complete, but there's an adventure log and NPCs there.

I play him as an over enthusiastic, forgetful, slightly crazy old man, with a flair for the dramatic - especially if he's in disguise!
He sort of remembers every young pathfinder (making reference to previous adventures) and also makes the PCs repeat what they have to do (and then seems surprised 'Really? How interesting, you must come and let me know how it goes!')

I like Dreng. :)

I consider it a personal challenge, as a PFS GM, to make every scenario fun for the players, in spite of any issues with the content, and without changing any of the rules :)

And I'm fine with the number being a mystery when it's something I don't actually know. It's just kind of silly it being a mystery when it's something easy to calculate from the rules and known information.

Absolutely agree. I think that's really about personal style of play rather than rules.

In my own game, I have 1 player who ALWAYS takes a 10 (when possible) and another that ALWAYS rolls. Neither of them is wrong, it's their choice and I get some people like the excitement of the roll of the dice to determine their 'fate'.

As for the PFS GM? I'm not telling other GMs what they should do. Me, I think the Take 10 rule is there to be used, and find it's meaning clear enough.

Here are my notes on running The Wounded Wisp.

I've run it 3 times now and take the following approach.

First things first:
I have a piece of the paper with the chosen Fake Pathfinder, three Aspirants, and all the randomised content all on it.

Personally I tend to:
1. Use spiders in the first encounter. Dog sized spiders are creepy and they have just the right amount of HPs and AC to make the first fight interesting.
2. Consider any religious PCs when deciding which NPC to have in the Graveyard. Same faith is always interesting - especially if it's Sarenrae! I like giving the Cleric etc a chance to shine/roleplay this scene out.
3. I usually go with the Aspis Consortium for the final encounter. It ties in closer to the events of the rest of the season and feels 'right'.

Before the first scene, I introduce the Pathfinder Society, and then give a little bit of history about Golarion, Absalom, and The Starstone - including the test, and mentioning those few that have become gods.
I do this for 2 reasons:
1. A lot of players of The Wounded Wisp are new to PFS (and also even a few more experienced players don't know the history).
2. It adds some context to the backstory, and the events taking place in the city during the adventure.

I typically start with the PCs in a boring 'class' in the Grand Lodge listening to a tedious tutor talk about fauna in the Mwangi Expanse - namely fire beetles. Drone drone drone. Then they get a 'pass' when a message comes from Drendle..
Later of course, when the fire beetles are summoned in Fimbriks house, this puts a wry smile on the faces of the players.

The Wounded Wisp:
I find this the hardest part to get right. Straight off the bat we're asking PCs to start talking to the NPCs for no real reason. This can be tough if the players are new (I ran this Core at the weekend and most of the player were new to the game - 5 pregens!)
I try to:
Ensure Heryn tells them that these are fellow Pathfinders so might have some experience to share.
Make sure that they overhear the buzz about Sir Reinhardt
Ensure that they see a Wayfinder hanging around the neck of one of the NPCs.

Travelling around the city:
I mention that everyone is talking about Sir Reinhardt.
I mention the general lack of horses in Absalom.
I describe the various districts.
It's raining - heavily.

The Wall of names:
I ask the PCs if they have any other PFS characters that have died? If so, what does it say on their epitaph? :)
I don't waste too much time on figuring out that the underlined sections relate to Failed Apirants - if a player doesn't get it right away, I call for the knowledge checks.

Tomb
As above - I choose the Cleric. This can be a fun encounter.
I have a small coin (actually from the Prosperity set of Dominion! ;) ) that I give the person that takes it out of his mouth.

Fimbriks
This is run as is.
I've been tempted though to write out my own phys-rep, with a different password, just incase I have a player that's done it before and decides to be a jerk about it.
Perhaps next time...

Shrine
In all cases so far, the PCs go there before they have all the information they need. Usually they find the chalkboard and once they found the secret door.
I give them a wipeoff card and marker so that they can write down and show me exactly what they write.
I always have them ambushed in the large room on the way out. I tried it in the cave area once, and the combat didn't work as well. With a minimum of 4 v 4 it needs room to breathe.

Once they report back, I then make up a cut-scene of Sir Reinhardt galloping towards the gap surrounding Ascendant Court. The rising cheers of the throng of people, the pounding of his steed, the mirror-like sheen of his armour.
He leaps, rising up to the sky! The crowd cheers!
He drops short, descending into darkness and is never seen again..Someone says 'Well that was a waste of a good horse...'

Finally, I print the letter from Valsin on the back of the Chronicle sheet, as it feels rather special.

I'm a big fan of The Wounded Wisp. I hope we see it around for a long time.

I've GMed this a few times now, and Arkaths Tomb isn't really needed. It's useful to know and can put the PCs on the right track if they've failed perception checks.

BTW - I love this scenario. One of my faves to run! :)

Not had a problem either time I've run tihs.
I used the priest of Sarenrae when I ran it first time. It's a great RP encounter with this overly aggressive cleric spoiling for a fight! :)
I used the cleric of Pharasma the second time. This was because one of the PCs was also a cleric of Pharasma and it gave them a moment to shine (RPing).

I'm confused about Handout #4. Doesn't the underlining telegraph a substantial portion of the puzzle? Figuring out the area of concern doesn't seem to be that hard anyway, and with the underlining there, it's pretty bloody obvious.

If I remake the handouts to remove the underlining, would that be naughty?

I'd leave it as is. I've run this a couple of times now and one group breezed it and the other struggled. The underlining is a useful clue that's not sooo obvious IMO. :)

Here's how I run combat:

1. I use a custom GM screen (The Savage World one). I have clips on the top and I clip pictures of NPCs and monsters on the outside for the players to look at. On the inside I clip scenario specific rules and printouts of the Monster (so I don't need to keep referring to the books)

2. For Initiative I use the Combat Pad and I control it rather than one of the players. This is so that I can control the momentum of the fight - there's nothing that breaks pace more than having to wait for someone to tell the table whose going next. I prefer to point at the next player and say 'OK <name>, go!' - I always refer to the PCs name, never the players name.
I track time effects on the pad (poison, spell effects, etc)

3. I track monster HPs on a scrap of paper and track upwards, not downwards as I find it quicker to add rather than subtract.

Eg

Ogre 1 - 35: 4, 15, 24, 31, 36(dead)

4. I do use the Condition cards but only when I know that there will be an effect coming up (eg I know there's a grappling monster). I keep them nearby,

5. I have wipeable index cards (thanks 'All Rolled up'!) that I also write PC conditions on and throw them on the table to remind the PCs (eg Bard Inspire +2/+2, Bless +1/- +1 saves/Fear)

6. I typically print out the maps beforehand (and cut them into the rooms) - I can then lay them out - rather than waste time at the table drawing on plain flip-maps. They look far better too ;)

7. If I'm using flip-maps (eg Warehouse), I lay them out before the game and cover them with either black card, or the map of Golarion because....

8. I start EVERY PFS game showing the players the World, explaining where they are and, if necessary showing them the journey they have taken. It surprises me the number of players say they've never seen the map before!

9. Back to combat. I don't tell the PCs the AC of monsters for the first couple of rounds - once a couple of people have hit, then I tell them - this speeds things up and doesn't remove the mystery of how hard the monster is to hit.

10. I never name the monster ('a goblin attacks you'). I either show the players a pic or describe it and wait for a Knowledge roll.

11. I always roll my dice behind the screen - but I do ask the players at the beginning if they want me to roll in the open (as some people don't like it otherwise). This is only to maintain the mystery of how hard the monster hits (players can't work out the to hit + or the damage dice rolled).

12. I use descriptions of the damage, but most on the killing blow or when the monster looks really weak.

13. Though I have an iPad I try not to use it - I always have a physical copy of the Core and Bestiary with me anyway - everything else I tend to print out.

14. I prepare the minis beforehand and try to match them up as much as possible. I keep them behind the screen - this means I don't waste time looking for an appropriate one.

15. If a Monster has multiple attacks I will roll multiple d20s (different colours) at the same time after mentally assigned each one (red=bite, black=claw1 etc). This speeds things up a lot. I never roll damage until I've confirmed a hit though - not sure why. :)

16. I have 2 A3 sized transparent perspex sheets which I bought on Amazon for a couple of £ each! I put these over paper maps to hold them flat and they also allow me to write on them.

I think that covers it.

Basically i try and make the rules/numbers/wait time disappear into the background so that the Players aren't waiting for me, and also so that combat feels a quick as possible.

I hope that helps.

One dawn morning in the month of Rova, just as the leaves were stating to fall from the trees, my druid Nev arrived in Absalom with his wolf Kira, after a voyage from Andoran, his homeland. As he climbed down from the boat and looked back with a smile across the bay, a wind picked up and leaves were swept up the road further into the city, whirling and dancing to a song that could only have come from Gozreh.

Nev followed and the leaves ended up clustered around the gate to a grand building set in wide green grounds. The gate was emblazoned with a sign that he would soon learn represents The Open Road.

Nev doesn't know why he was led to the Pathfinder Society, but then, he's never been one to question Gozreh, who can be mean and works in mysterious ways...

He is loyal to the Grand Lodge. He doesn't really understand the politics, but he knows that Gozreh has a plan for him and the society. That's all he needs to know.

mental note to add drunken pathfinders at a table arguing whether the whisp or the pigs paunch is where it really started. This being the whisp of course anyone mentioning the paunch has to buy the next round.

Re-playable season 6 Special? - 'The Gangs of Absalom' In which a street war breaks about between rival gangs of agents, with one side shouting 'Pig Pig Pig!' and the other shouting 'Wisp Wisp WIsp!'! :)

Which side will the PCs take to end the violence..? ;)

I ran this over the weekend at Paizocon UK and prepped this more than any previous PFS scenario, but it was worth it. Or to put it another way, I would never dream of running it cold!

Here's a list of things I did:

1. Use separate sheets covering the 2 tracks so you can quick update progress - there are good ones in GMPrep for this.

2. I printed off the rumours on card and cut them out. Shuffled them into false and true piles and read them out before giving them to the players. This worked really well as they could sort through the rumours on the table.

3. The letters were a victim of a strict word count and I recreated one in the scenario, plus the letter to the Society and the letter to Tobias. This worked really well and drew in the players to the investigation. The letter to the PFS read:
"Sirs. I’m a pilgrim travelling North through Mendev. I have discovered something that will be of interest to the Pathfinder Society. On the North Road on the crossing of the River is the village of Dawnton. In the farmland northwest of the village I have found an undisturbed ruin which I think is of Sarkoris origin. Tomorrow my journey takes me further North. I am hopeful that you find this information useful." Joral gave the PCs this.
The letter to Tobias read:
"Sheriff. Help me I’m scared. Last night I saw a man killed by three ruffians near Ottos farm. One of the killers was a halfling and the other two were dwarves with black braided hair. One also had a scar on her right arm. What I saw was too terrible to describe. I am scared that they might have seen me. Please do something!"

4. I printed off a 'timeline' of the days the PCs had so I could track the phases accurately.

5. When the PCs arrived in town I briefly explained the investigation system to them as follows:
Each day is split into 3 phases: Morning, Afternoon, Evening and you can investigate one location per phase - more if you chose to split up.
At each of the locations you can obvious ask specific questions and you can also ask for rumours. Rumours will require a skill roll, but this will vary depending on the location and how you decide to approach the situation. For example, there are games at the fairground and participating in the games will give you a chance to get to know people and overhear rumours.
No doubt that there are many rumours flying around so you might want to return to a location later.
VC Joral made it very clear that you have to tread carefully when in Dawnton. The more ‘obvious’ you make yourselves the more chance that trouble will result. If you want to you can take steps to keep a low profile by making bluff, disguise, or Stealth checks every day. It you’re successful you can keep a lower profile.
Locations in Dawnton are:
* Village streets (includes the Inn)

* The General Store

* The Fairgrounds

* The Beer Garden

6. I printed off a map of the town and laminated it for the PCs to draw on.

8. For the house encounter I used a Teraclips 3D house (it drew some attention). There was only one real fight and these (I hope) focused the PCs on it.

7. GM Notes. Added my own notes to create the mood I wanted in the adventure (which I should add, is based visually on the movie 'Solomon Kane' - go check it out).
I added:
Boxed text covering the journey and arrival:
"Your journey takes you North East through the Hinterlands of Mendev under a sky the colour of dull steel.

The road is rough, churned to mud by the passage of thousands of crusaders and pilgrims travelling to fight the demons of the World Wound. On either side you see stark evidence of previous crusades; the dark shells of castles long since abandoned. Empty villages, devoid of life beyond that of scavenging dogs and crows.
And The gallows, and stakes, the pyres. How many people died in the Third Crusade? How many lives destroyed because of the fear, suspicion, hatred that covered this land in the name of Inquisition. Now cruel structures mar the road like ugly scars left over from the failed attempts of healing the wound in the world. They creak in the wind.

The weather is gets colder; snow floats in the air dreamlike and the wind numbs exposed flesh. This is a colourless land. There are few travellers on this road, and those you see are of an ugly cast - dirty and scarred. Distrustful. They are travelling in the same direction as you. To Dawnton they say. To witness the executions.

Late in the third day of riding you arrive at the village; sitting at the crossroads of the road and a dark listless river and accessible by a covered tunnel-like bridge. The buildings are dark, the gabbles black, smoke rises from stacks, and wooden piers stand out on the water to the east like blackened teeth.

Dawnton is far from empty though. Beyond the buildings to the east you can make a crude tent-city swollen with carts and horses and people. As the light fails, camp fires light them up with a hellish glow. You can make out the muted sound of music coming from a large well-lit Inn to your right, the rain-swollen sign hangs from a metal frame and reads ‘Heath and Harvest’.

Somewhere off in the distance you can hear the lonely sound of hammer against wood, the sound, you suspect, of a new gallows frame being constructed... "

Mood Notes I wanted to evoke:

Snow floats in the air like cotton, later in the plot it turns to driving cold rain. Lashing down. Mud everywhere.
Cold mud everywhere.
Gallows in the market near Tobias Luins House. Room for 3...
Worn buildings look near collapse. Lean against each other.
Air of suspicion and fear
Tense. Will not take much for things to turn violent.
Dirty children play ‘Crusaders vs Pathfinders’ - play fighting, ‘Burn the witch’ - hide and seek
A bard in the Inn (‘Valik’ M Human - Bard1) plays a mandolin and sings 'Song of Sarkoris’ and 'The Ballad of Prince Zhakar’
Dark Streets at night.
Buildings are lit only by greasy smoky candles
People huddle together in the darkness.
People are plain, scarred, generally ugly.
The life of the village is at the tents.
Mobs with torches and pitchforks
Scrawled symbols on the doors and fetishes hang from the windows to ward off evil.

Sample NPCs:

Valik - Human Bard. Old, and grey eyed. Friendly and talkative.
Jezibel Sacha- Leader of a gang of children (includes Jera, Musk, Henrik, Red). Proud but fearful. Is awed by magic.
Torben Sacha- Leader of the villages Toughs. Others include: Alex, Ranse, Markus, Tomas, Orest.
Josiah - Pilgrim of Erastil. Heading to the War. Young and plan. He looks for the good in people.
Nelly - waitress. Friendly and crude.
Crowthorn - Merchant. Sly and eager to spread rumour. Likes the PF. Has two guards - Elra and Pord.
Gill - Drunkard. Will say anything for money to buy beer.
Stone - Blacksmith and builder - scarred and ugly. Building the gallows. Believes the PFs are guilty.
Malachi - Low templar. Stopped here for the execution. Trying to make money.
Garrick - Owns the Heath and Harvest. Married to Fara and has one boy (Henrik)
Tobias Luin - Mayor and Sheriff. Likes Tea, Cake, and an easy life.
Dirk - Militia guard. 1 armed - fights with a short sword and spiked fake arm.
Veldak - Militia guard. Horribly burnt and wears a leather mask.
Catherine Dumis- Runs the games at the fair
Lilianne - Elven traveller enjoying the fair.
Faris and Jorg. Two dwarves brewers. The local beers are 'Crusader' and 'Old Forest'. There is no wine or mead available.

Games at the Fair:
1. Swimming across the river- race (swim check to win)
2. Hay climbing (Climb)
3. Race (Acrobatics)
4. Arm Wrestling - contest (Strength rolls)

Details of the murder victims (as missing from the text)

The Murder Victims

1. 1st Victim – Trader ‘Brend’ and travels from village to village. Found skinned by Otto. (page 10)
2. 2nd Victim – Farm hand ‘Aldo’ young and dumb. Was drunk - found in front of the general store by Orug. Dagger found at the scene.
3. 3rd and 4th Victims - Fasil (older) and Uthanc (younger) Mummers. (Enc 3, page 13). Stabbed and the dagger is still in eye of one of them.

The prepping really helped me keep the scenario following and it was all about the story, the town, and the people.

I hope some of you find the above useful.

I've GMed CoT through to conclusion. I changed some things (nothing as big as changing around the order of the modules) and overall my players really enjoyed the AP

Here are my thoughts on why CoT is unpopular.

It's inconsistent:
The first book is low key; it doesn't really provide strong motivations in the PCs.
The second book (especially the play) is very very good, but the story is contrived (do this, to do that, to get there, so you can do this, etc.)
The third book feels like it should be a one-off module (it could easily be a PFS module TBH)
The fourth book leads to an epic conclusion that wouldn't be out of place as the climax to an AP (ahem! PIT FIEND?!) and leaves players with a 'ok, so what now...?' feeling.
The fifth book has to follow on from the fourth - a difficult thing to do - and focuses on dealing with the shadow beasts in the city - with the CoT sort of tacked on. The Shadowbeasts could easily be the main plot of the campaign (and my players actually thought they were!)
The Sixth Book is the reveal that basically explains the Drovenge family and their 'big plan' - which the PCs have disrupted (without realising it). It struggled with delivering a threat to the city greater than the one in book 3. It was dramatic, sure, but in danger of being an anti-climax, without proper prepping.

There are highs and lows throughout but it does fell like 6 modules that could easily be run separately with a couple of metaplots (Drovenges, AOHL, Shadowbeasts, Crux) tacked on as clue to hold them together.

The 'Council of Thieves':
My players are experienced gamers and the 'players guide' and name of the AP set expectations about the AP that took too long to really fulfil. Six months after starting the AP and they were asking me 'so what do the COT really have to do with this then?' - they were interested in the answer, but also frustrated that there wasn't as much interaction with the Council. Because there weren't answers coming, they started making up their own ones - some of which proved more interesting that the reveals later.
It's really not evident that the Council is involved and the players had to have faith that somehow they are. It's a bit of stretch. Even then, the CoT comes across as just a bit of tool used by Eccardian - and a weak one.
Rename it "Shadows over the Twilight City" and reset expectations :D

The Metaplot:
Or should I say plots. It felt like every author had their own plot and somehow these were all stitched together like some Frankensteins Monster (I know, thats Carrion Crown... ;) ) and in places it really showed. In fact some of the books contradicted each other and I got a really sense that the detail of the story wasn't actually fully understood by the authors until close to the publication of each part. Make sure you read the whole thing before playing (though I say what about all APs)

Each of the metaplots could have been a decent separate adventure, without muddying the waters each is trying to swim in...

The City:
It's all about Westcrown, and I really wish it had been given more love. As Garbocz said - Westcrown NEEDED a decent sourcebook. For the AP to be successful, the PCs need to care about Westcrown and everything needs to be done to make it come alive. In play it was what I spent the most time doing. "This is YOUR city and YOU are the only ones that can save it"
Oh BTW, do NOT use a roll to dictate the fate of the city in Book 6. I did, and it was a mistake. The ending was the best one, but that's not the point. All down to a dice roll (even with heavy mods) after all that effort by the PCs? Forget it.

Summary:
Look, I really enjoyed it and I know this comes across as hyper-critical. I haven't read many other APs and am currently running my second (Kingmaker), and CoT provided a year of fun gaming. I can understand why people consider it one of the weaker APs though.

If the GM puts a bit of time in (not a lot, I didn't rewrite it from scratch), there is a great adventure there to be enjoyed. That was my experience, and I really don't want any thinking I regretted running it - I didn't. If taking all the above into account, it's a hell of a lot of fun, with some great set pieces, and overall is a very memorable experience. I'm happy.

If you want to read my own recap its here...

Conquerors Legacy

Just started RRR and really enjoying it. The PCs have just completed their first year of building - it's not been easy for them..

Check out the adventure log for a blow-by-blow account of the events, including hexploration.

Has anyone come up with any rules for automating hexploration later in the AP? I've read a number of posts about the 'issue' of the new kingdoms rulers being forced to explore hexes and how this ruins verisimilitude.

We've just completed Stolen Lands and my players are looking forward to the Kingdom building aspects of the AP, but they are already questioning whether their PCs are expected to continue to explore the land. From the conversation I think they are looking to see the kingdom grow, still deal with the threats/plots (I'm going to be bringing the threat of the fey queen into the picture sooner), but don't really want the relatively trivial task of exploring.

I was thinking of introducing a simple rule, something along the lines of:

In the Improvement Phase each month, spend 1BP to hire/outfit Experienced Scouts (emphasis on the 'Experienced'. These folks need to be good enough and equipped well enough to survive out the wilderness). They can explorer 10 hexes per month - they have to be adjacent to one another as chosen by the PCs.
The Scouts will not deal with Landmark sites/fixed locations, but can handle wandering monsters (I did think about % chance of them not coming back, but that seems a bit overly complicated tbh). They will map, identify landmarks, report on the types of monsters etc.
The PCs do NOT get the 100xp per hex explored (which is irrelevant really in my opinion) and obviously miss out on random encounter XP/items, but there are other ways to get XP so I'm not too concerned about that.

Obviously this could be extended by extending the Event Phase to include scout events, having the Marshal be in charge of extending the kingdoms boundaries, or introducing a Ranger position to do that.

So, has anyone tried something like this in their own KM games, or aware of any pitfalls of doing so? To be clear, I'm not looking to remove that aspect of the game, just allow it to happen once the PCs have bigger issues to deal with (like Pitax, Nyressa, rampaging Owlbears etc)

WARNING: CONTAINS LOADS OF SPOILERS!

I've just finished running Council of Thieves, and thought I would share my experiences and some of the changes I made to the AP. COT was the first Pathfinder AP I've run, though I'm planning on running Kingmaker next, and certainly others in the future.

The group make up was as follows:
CG Human Bard
N half-elf Cleric (Pharasma)
N elf Sorcerer (though became NG later - read on)
CG gnome fighter
LG elf Paladin

The players all had read the COT players guide and had bought into the premise of the AP. so no issues there.

Heres's my thoughts and changes:

The NPCs
Make more of the Children of Westcrown (or whatever they end up becoming called) throughout the whole AP. I used them extensively to help build roleplaying situations, then started to kill them off as the problems in the city grew. Get them caught up on the action, but really not being powerful enough to deal with it. Loads of them died when the COT attacked the safe house in book 6! I actually had Janniven possessed (as per the rules in the AP) by a devil for a couple of adventures then reveal it when the safe house is attacked in the last part.
Use the information at the back of the Bastards of Erebus to build up the Nobles and the Dotarri. The nobles have a part to play in book 6 - but theres no reason why you shouldn't detail these beforehand so that the events in that part have more impact.
The Dotarri have very little involvement as written, but should, so it's good to develop this, especially in preparation for the final book.
Understand the history of the mayors of the city; Dargentu Vheed is really interesting so it's worth understanding this to bring him alive (um not literally..)
Ilnerik - he's a great bad guy, but consider making a pathetic (in the literal sense) character. He's a victim of the Totemtrix and if the characters start to relate to him it makes the events that take place The Mother of Flies more interesting (especially if one of the PCs is connected to the Morrowfell - see below).

The City
At it's heart COT is about the city of Westcrown. Do everything you can to make the city come alive. Use the information in the back of the first book and supplement with your own information. Create NPCs, shops, descriptive encounters, let the players constantly see a map of the city. By the end of the AP you want them to live and breathe Westcrown as it's really important for the final part of the story to have maximum impact.

The Aohl
I always felt that not enough was done with the Aohl in the AP - it IS an artefact after all. The Totemtrix curses it's owner to Vampirism, and we know that Bisby was obsessed by the Morrowfell. What I decided to do was have the use of the Morrowfell have an effect on the owner. This manifested itself in a number of effects:
+1 Positive Levels (think of it of the opposite of negative levels), when it's power was used for good. This was temporary of course.
An obsession with it (think of it like Frodo and the One Ring - it becomes 'precious' to the owner)
A gradual shift towards LG alignment if not already.
Ultimately it's owners life is linked to Morrofell.

The beginning effects I allowed the PC a Will save to resist, after telling them what would happen ("you're going to get a positive level, do you want to resist?"). I did this a few times, giving them more each time, with the will save increasing by +2 each time, whether they chose to make the save or not, long as they kept using it. The effect on the game was great (I worked with the player on roleplaying the obsession with it). By the end the PC had shifted to NG from N and the will save needed to resist the effects was pretty much impossible since the PC had allowed himself to be bolstered by it for so long.

When they came to Ilnerik, I had the vampire look upon the PC with pity and say they were kindred spirits, stating that they were both used by the Aohl and would be destroyed if artefact was joined (bluffing??)
In my game, when the vampire was killed and the Aohl was neutralised by bringing both parts together the PC actually died (will save to resist), as by then his life force was linked to the Morrowfell. The Paladin in the party activity used his sacrifice spell to 'take the damage' and died instead! Poetically the group used the Philosophers Stone to resurrect the Paladin. It was a great moment in the story, especially as afterwards the originally obsessed PC (no longer affected by the Morrowfell now its power was suppressed) shed a tear as it was melted down.
The price for the end of the Shadowbeasts was high, but well worth it.

The Shadowbeasts
The existence, and therefore removal of the shadow beasts, is important to Westcrown and the story. Until they are destroyed I made it almost impossible to travel at night. When they are removed, I allowed the PCs the time to celebrate their success, but then had the final breakdown in authority take place, and the people started rioting and looting at night as well! Ironically the lifting of the 'curfew' just fuelled the (literal) fires of Anarchy!

Liebdaga the Twin
As written he can be a bit too easy - depending on your class make up. I raised the tension by having one of the PCs (with his amulet) having to make opposed rolls to keep him staggered.
Also consider having the pit fiend communicate with the PCs during their time in the Spiral - encouraging, or even helping them with clues. Knowing you're being 'added' by the creature that is being imprisoned makes for an interesting situation.

The Play
The Six Trials of Lazarod is one of the most memorable parts of the whole AP. My players actually read through the play and had a great time! I highly recommend you do this if your players enjoy the roleplaying aspects.

The last part
I found the non-linear aspect of The Twice Damned Prince required the most amount of preparation. I ended up changing quite a lot of it:
I put Thesing in the Nymmis tomb - which I extend downwards, because I didn't feel that dragging the PCs to another location in the Rego Cader made any sense. This fitted well because of Thesings previous obsession with Nymmis. I also had his Vampiric Spawns be the NPCs from the playhouse, including Robhl Nonan, as well as Nymmis' father (one was wielding the sword).
The undead army changed a lot - I through dozens of zombies at the PCs as they made their way through the streets. This gave them a chance to flex their muscle with things like fireballs etc. The encounters were not really meant to challenge them, just give an indication of the size of the problem. At the Sunset Gate I added a Graveknight from Bestiary 3 (I had previously made up a story about the Devourer that included a fallen Paladin) that was leading the army. This worked really well, and without realising it, the PCs put the armour in the Cheliax Crux; which was being used as a general storage container for loot(!) and yes, he came back to torment - literally "Where are you putting the jewellery?" "oh, just in the Crux" "No problem, roll for initiative!" "what?!"
I completely dropped the Rolan The Tinkerer encounter. It really added no value to the adventurer, nor any challenge.
The Blacknapes because a solely roleplaying encounter, when the napes realised who they were up against they pretty much surrendered.
Skarxs prison I extended and including Lhianna Strikis; the Duxotar from the back of the first book (who I made a lvl 11 Magus) that was aligned with the COT. I had told the PCs (via Ertein Oberigo) that Skarx was a lover of Chammady and the PCs, who had the contract, realised that if they could get to Skarx and convince her that Chammady would die then the tiefling might help them. That's exactly what happened.

BBEG
The Vacant Throne was run pretty much as is. But! I did give Eccardian a chance for a monologue. He's basically Ozymandis from the end of The Watchman - he wants to make Westcrown a better place; under his leadership. Hence the staging of the battle against the devils. In my ending he thanks the PCs for everything they've done, mentioning that everything was as he'd planned (though the killing of Liebadga was a little unfortunate). When confronted with the contract he retorted with 'Think of the songs that will be sung of my sisters sacrifice! Her legacy will live on far longer than any of us!'
Eccardian needs a chance to explain himself to the PCs really. When you're ready for battle to be joined, Chammady can turn up and force the issue by attacking him..

Once the battle is joined the most important thing is to get the PCs out onto the statue, because the cramped interior of statue is no place for a climatic battle. This was easy for me, as one of the PCs bull rushed Eccardian out of the 'eyes'. It's unfortunate that there is no tactical map of the head and shoulders, but it's not difficult to make one up.

All in all, I loved the AP. It's not without it's faults, but still stands as a very good campaign with lots of variety. I didn't deviate very far from the plot, and enjoyed the end result, as did my players.

I hope you found this useful.