If you look at the example of the human skeleton on the paizo website: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/skeleton.html#_skeleton you will see that the skeleton is wearing a broken chain shirt giving it more armor.
There is also this statement: "Skeletons are the animated bones of the dead, brought to unlife through foul magic. While most skeletons are mindless automatons, they still possess an evil cunning imparted to them by their animating force—a cunning that allows them to wield weapons and wear armor."
As I figured, my guys got tired of hurriedly looking for Eando, whom they have very little connection to. They decided to go back to camp and upgrade their gear, which is going to take a long time (20 days) to craft. That is fine as they were getting pounded by the serpentfolk company stationed in the fortress.
However, this leads me to a question, how long is it feasible to allow Eando to survive in the dungeon? Not only must the time exploring these darklands be taken into account, but the months that were spent slogging through the Vaults of Madness. By this time, all of the players assume that Eando is dead, and I don't disagree that he would have died as well.
Which leads me to another question, have any of you run this adventure where Eando died? If so what did you do. If not do any of you have any ideas as to how to do that, or how to justify him living through months of Serpentfolk torture?
Our group took the summer off, and recently has restarted playing this adventure.
As expected, the party went in the side of the snake fort that was wide open, explored until they were spent, then teleported to safety. During this time, I thought it unrealistic that serpentfolk in adjoining rooms would ignore the telepathic calls from a fight on the other side of the door, so I had them attack the party as the fight unfolded.
They raised numerous alarms during their foray and when they returned, I had the serpentfolk actually reinforce the opening in the side with an officer and a platoon of guards. This almost proved too much as the party teleported directly in the middle of them. The wandering Nagas who showed up invisibly didn't help matters either.
When they teleported back, then returned, the force guarding the hole in the side was a little smaller, especially with the missing Nagas. They were able to over come this fight with spells to spare, so they will push through the fortress some more during our next adventure.
Rather than having an endless and unrealistic number of guards, I put the number at 150 initially scattered all over the fort as noted in the book. When the third alarm was raised I followed the directions in the book as well, but when the PC's left, I had the serpentfolk realize that there were more strategic locations to mass their forces (gaping hole in the side of the fortress).
This makes it harder for the PC's to fight the defenders in each fight, but with each attack they reduce the total number of guards, so when positions are reinforced they are weaker or abandoned outright. Ultimately I am planning on a last stand with the snake general, the snake wizard, and the remaining troops in the bottle neck on the top floor map.
I like the fort, especially the size, but this book as a whole is not well thought out as it assumes the PC's want to explore rather than try to immediately save Eando and prevent the serpentfolk invasion.
I did not do any fleshing, and it looks like if I do, it will be a waste of my time.
As of this writing, my players see no reason to explore the city. They have the impression that all of the NPC's are hurrying them towards rescuing Eando. In our game, he has been imprisioned for over a month while the party struggled through the vaults, and they think that there is a good possibility that Eando is dead.
Not only that, but they completely diplomicized, then intimitaded the Urdefhan guards and wound up bypassing all the fights in the city of fiends. Again, they felt that exploring the city would be against their characters' nature if this army of snake men is rising up and they need to rescue the one man who can stop it. I couldn't disagree with them.
It looks like they are going to miss about 1/2 of this book. What I wound up doing was giving them all the XP they would have received from the encounters had they fought the urdefhans because of their extremely successful encounter with the guards. Otherwise they would have definately wiped in the fort.
Our group has not assulted the fortress yet, and I appreciate all of the advice about what to expect and plan for. I went ahead and assumed that there were 150 serpentfolk guards including those in the fort, partols, and guards stationed at important locations in the city. I am not planning on our group walking into the fortress and clearing it out without going to rest, so what I plan to do is when the party leaves (if the alarm has been raised), have the serpentfolk replinish some of the fortress numbers with the wandering partols, focus the partols in more strategic places, and redistribute the remaining troops in more strategic places within the fort.
I agree that when the king snake and most of his officers die, the rest will most likely retreat to book 6. If not, then the freed morlocks could do the rest.
My players did not run into any partols before discovering the barbican, and though they managed to overcome the guards there pretty easily, I think they realized that these guys en mass will be a problem given that they communicate via telepathy and have a +21 to hit. Their plan for taking down the barbican was to pretty much run strait at it, and take it by brute force. Fortunately there was not a wandering patrol within 100ft.
I think they are planning on teleporting back to the surface to rest. If so, I am going to have the barbican remanned by a passing/returning patrol. At this point the serpentfolk will assume that this was an urdefan assualt.
TPK
Name: Stands With a Fist
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Barbarian 11
Adventure: Vaults of Madness
Location: Vault of Silence
Catalyst: energy drain & nausea
Name: Skank Williams Jr.
Race: Orc
Classes/levels: Rogue 11
Adventure: Vaults of Madness
Location: Vault of Silence
Catalyst: energy drain & nausea
Name: Nigredo
Race: Elf
Classes/levels: Alchemist 11
Adventure: Vaults of Madness
Location: Vault of Silence
Catalyst: energy drain & nausea
Name: Sloppy Joe
Race: Elf
Classes/levels: (Man)Witch 11
Adventure: Vaults of Madness
Location: Vault of Silence
Catalyst: energy drain & nausea
The Gory Details: While exploring yet another spore infested vault, the PC's run into Gbala the terkow vampire. When he sees the party, he hisses "skins" and orders his two rawbones to circle around another tunnel chamber and surround the party. The barbarian was able to hit Gbala, initially, but her low AC allowed Gbala's energy draining hits to score almost every time significantly reducing her combat effectiveness. The rogue was also frustrated by his inability to sneak attack Gbala, and his attacks were all but ineffective. Gbala's energy resistance further reduced the effectiveness of the witch and alchemist, and allowed him to hold out until the rawbones appeared in the rear.
The party almost had Gbala beaten, but they now saw the rawbones as the larger threat due to their auras which nauseated the witch and alchemist, also because they threw up the contents of their stomachs in thirty foot cones all over the rear echelon fighters. The rogue and barbarian broke off their attack with Gbala but were also nauseated by the rawbones stench.
The alchemist gave the order to retreat, but by then it was too late. Hemmed in and unable to fight back, the rawbones allowed Gbala to score the killing blow on each PC. Afterwards he used their skins for his own.
I wanted to also note that my PC's had a VERY difficult time with Gbala. Their main problem is that they do not have a cleric and no one else who can specifically damage undead.
Fortuately the party went through E7 and was able to detect and disarm the trap, but that meant that they did not clear out the rawbones first. When Gbala saw them he ordered the unseen rawbones to surround the party. It was all down hill from there. Gbala apparently was designed specifically to destroy this party. The fact that he was a 12th level rogue negated the party rogue's sneak attack, and his elemental resistances significantly reduced the alchemist's bombs. However, his most damaging ability was his two levels of energy drain. With her low AC, the barbarian was repeatedly reduced.
With all of that, the PC's almost had him dead before the rawbones and their 20' nausiating auras showed up. In their weakened state, all the PC's failed at least one fort save from them, and were sickened. The 30' come vomit attack was just a spit in the eye to the embattled party.
Once the PC's realized that what had happened and decided to retreat, they couldn't do more than a move action and were all cut down.
My players were so mad, that we all vowed not to play with energy drain again. I also had to create an alternate universe verson, where right before the PC's gave up, they got over their sickness, the rawbones smelled better, and Gbala lost the energy drain ability.
Is there already an adventure path that exists that is more geared towards two players? I want to do one with my small groupbut don't want to have to constantly nerf everything or try to figure out how much to boost the PC's.
I wound up having the pirates all pool their money and buy the PC's a wish spell which they promptly used to rid the first vault of spores after it was cleaned out. THe PC's have been mad at all the factions and allies claiming that they do not help them at all and that the PCs are the ones shouldering the load. So then the pirates did that, you could feel a deep feeling of frustration at the uslesness of what had been done. A wish spell wasted on a vault that had already been cleared.
I also wanted to know if any of you have incorporated any of the death traps into the vaults listed in the back of this book, and if so how did it go and do you have any suggestions for running them?
I have used the Pendulous Staircase and Philosopher's Stone thus far and they have been very memorable encounters, causing the PC's to think outside the box a little.
As I noted above, the in the Philosopher's Stone trap, the PC's really didn't push each other out in the hall, but tried to stop the ball with a stone elemental which failed. I did not did not do the staircase right as I forgot to roll a reflex save for the PC's every round only when they broke another stair (it was about 1am at that point) so the stairs didn't fall. The PC's did get smacked around a lot though. In the end, the PC's did cut the chain at the top of the main shaft causing the whole thing to come down. They will use a rope next time.
I am going to try to use all of these traps in the halls and caves, though I may need to adjust the save DC's for some of them as my PC's are at a higher level than what is suggested.
Kudos to Gareth Hanrahan for these traps. They are very well written and provide some different play as opposed to fighting or diplomacy.
My group almost finished the mud vault last night. I say almost, because they had a lot of trouble with the mud elemental.
I changed the order of the monsters around and had the PC's fight the mud elemental before Kahlid-Shah. As I noted above, my guys are super heros, and I figured the mud man would soften them up before they hit the boss. Soften them up he did.
The two main melee fighters (barbarian & rogue) approached him, but with his high to hit bonus and damage modifier, he never missed and quickly wore down the PC's. The room being covered in mud also allowed him to move 5 feet back and denied the PC's a free 5 foot step granting the mud ele an attack of opportunity. Not only that, but it was only a matter of time before the rogue and barb. failed two fort saves and were encased in hardened mud.
The witch and alchemist did have to use some spells and arrows to whittle him down, his DR made the arrows almost worthless though. I thought it was the best fight the PC's had in a while. They definately had to spend a week or two in camp to heal up after this one.
I was wondering if everyone had this kind of problem with this guy. I can't imagine having to fight him after the boss, and having to do that with a normally powered party.
What did you guys do about the initial vault being seeded with spores after this adventure is over? If the PC's are using the portal to go back and forth between the cities, then they will be repeatedly exposed to the madness spores (two per trip).
It is a fun part of this book, but I am thinking that it would get old having to worry about all of that in future books?
Thanks for your advice. The paranoia insanity is one that could go down many paths with regards to how the PC's want to play it. My guys aren't keen on the role playing, so what I wound up doing was allowing them to have the will save for the heal. If they made it then they could attempt another save for another heal until they fail. If they failed, then they could not accept any aid from that character for the rest of the day. I did not let them cast the spell anyway due to the fact that I don't feel they would play out the results, only accept the healing if they pass and ask for more.
This is all a moot point anyway, because all of the party went insane in the session last night, and no one trusts anyone any more either to aid or be aided.
My group's main problem is that there is no cleric. The healer is an alchemist, so no free restorations. Given that, plus the fact that they almost have to rest a week between fights means that they are in and out of the same vault multiple times increasing their exposure. Some of the PC's have failed their save so many times, that they would have to roll a natural 20 to beat the DC. Also, the witch's primary build has been around buffing the other characters, so the paranoia will not allow her to do that.
As bad as all this sounds, I like them being nerfed as I allowed them to build super players at the begining of this path, and have had to buff up all the monsters as a result. All these problems actually bring them down to a more managable level.
Jenner, how do you get around the fact that the people can't willingly accept aid if they are paranoid? That is the problem we have run into. Those who are insane cannot take the resotrations whether they are spells or potions from other players. One of the paranoid players has even gone so far as to say that not only are they not going to accept aid from others, but they are not going to give aid to those who would willingly accept it. That sounds what an extremely paranoid person would do to me.
If they were truly paranoid, I would even argue that they wouldn't trust their faction either, and would not spend their faction points for services, as the faction is most likely out to get them.
This is all on top of the fact that the magic fountain can only be used once per year. At first I was thinking that once the PC's found this thing that they could just come back to that vault to heal up once they became insane again, but they can't. In fact, since the portal is in a vault infested with the spores, every time they use the portal to go there or come back to camp, they have to make a will save against the madness. Or maybe there is something written in the other books that says the spores lose their effectiveness, but I haven't read it if it is in there.
Given all of this, to really play out the insanity and the lack of cures, could potentially add harmful effects to the players and NPC's for the rest of the AP. I understand having to bend the rules, but I really do not like changing the adventure all around just because something is uncomfortable, but it seems like I am going to eventually have to ignore the spores, and or the one year limit on the fount. Tell me I am missing something.
My group is having a difficult time dealing with the paranoia. As of now, two of the for PC's are paraniod. One of those is the healer. The players predict that it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the party is crazy and no one wants to help anyone. They are all upset at this, and feel there is no hope other than going back to camp after they have taken significant damage, resting for days, then trying it again, further exposing themselves to more spore infestations.
They really see no other way around this and generally see the madness as something that is just going to bog the game down. Have any of your other players experienced similar things? If so, what did you do with regards to healing damage, and negative attitudes?
The paranoia states that the effected player cannot willingly accept aid from another player without making a save. Does this include buffs like bless, haste, etc...?
Paranoia:
Paranoia
Type insanity; Save Will DC 17
Onset 2d6 days
Effect –4 penalty on Will saves and Charisma-based skill checks; cannot receive benefit from or attempt the Aid Another action; cannot willingly accept aid (including healing) from another creature unless he makes a Will save against his insanity's DC
Description
The paranoid character is convinced that the world and all that dwell within it are out to get him. Paranoid characters are typically argumentative or introverted.
My group had a similar experience in the first vault. They fought the slug on their way out and completely saw through the stone golem. I was afraid I was going to have to make it come to life before they started to beat it down.
In the portal room, the rogue stated that he wanted to study the portal mural more. He actually said that he wanted to feel it and all the other paintings. I made the fire 20d6 instead of 18 (why not?) and the rogue made his save so he took no damage even though he was the one who set off the trap.
Speaking of traps, I added the philospher's stone trap that is in the back of the book to one of the halls. The PC's figured it out pretty quick and were cautious. The rogue moved ahead to the firse alcove and wound up pushing a statue out of the way, so everyone saw what would happen. The barbarian went up and the rogue went far enough to set off the trap. The rogue and barbarian hid in an alcove, but the witch and alchemist said that they would wait at the top of the stairs as the ball wouldn't roll that far. I had to lie and say that I drew it wrong, that the entry platform was a little lower than the one the stone was on. I guess I could have made the chemical power push the ball a the way up.
Anyway, the witch summoned an earth elemental to try to stop it, but the ball obliterated it since it got to do double damage. Then it bounced off the witch and alchemist, stopping in the middle of the hall.
The PC's found the secret lab a bit of a let down since the rogue failed his will save against the spores along with the witch failing again. They felt that there should have been more in there. They nailed the linguistics check so I pretty much read the adventure background to them. They do not value information as much as +10 swords and rods of 'cast as many spells at one time as you like.'
I will say that the group was so beat up that they literally ran through the last room of ketches rather than fight them. I had the ketches on the shelf in the room just take potshots at the PC's as they ran by. This group never runs away from anything, ever.
I am currently working on an adventure along the lines of the Pathfinder aventure paths, utilizing 6 "books" and a player's guide, and I wanted some feedback on what I have so far on the guide. The adventure will have the PC starting off as low ranking members of the Lastwall army, where they will begin with simple raids into the Hold, then advance to solving some of the internal Lastwall problems as outlined in the World Guide. Eventually they will be insturmental in expanding Lastwall's territory into the Hold. I am planning on using massed combat like in Kingmaker, in addition to maybe working in having the PC's recruit dwarves from the 5 Kings mountains, and/or play politics with the Orc factions.
Anyway, I have come up with some new ideas about how the characters could advance in the army and some traits that they could take. I would like to see what any of you thought about either or both or any of this guide. Do you see any problems with these systems? Any suggestions on how to make it better or aviod pitfalls would be very helpful. I'd rather hear it now rather than realize after we'd been playing it for 10 hours.
Thanks.
O.K.
Lastwall Player's Guide:
Lastwall Players Guide
Welcome to the army. You are now a part of the only force in all of Golarion that keeps the orc hoards in check. Life in the army is disciplined and rigid. Orders are followed or people die. Sometimes they die anyway. Below is some information about the country of Lastwall.
Lastwall was founded with a single purpose in mind, and that ancient purpose still drives much of life in Lastwall today. The nation was founded to keep watch over the Whispering Tyrant, Tar-Baphon, at the end of the decades-long war known as the Shining Crusade. The Shining Crusade ended with the defeat of Tar-Baphon, but the victorious crusaders could not utterly destroy him. Instead they imprisoned him beneath his cursed capital of Gallowspire. The nation of Lastwall was founded after this to ensure that the Whispering Tyrant would never escape his eternal prison.
Lastwall is ruled by a single person, the Watcher-Lord, Ulthun II. He is an ambitious leader who wants to secure and expand Lastwall's borders into the territory of its enemies in the Hold of Belkzen. Not only is Ulthun II a capable, talented young leader but he is also an eligible bachelor with suitors swarming his castle in the capital city of Vigil. Although his position gives Ulthun II absolute power, in practice he rarely exercises this, delegating authority and seeking good advice to help him rule as well as possible.
The absolute power inherent in the position of Watcher-Lord creates the potential for tyranny, but this has never been a big problem in Lastwall. The Watcher-Lord is elected by the Precentors Martial of the War College, who look for purity of heart, clarity of mind, and someone who embodies the crusader ideal. As a result there has never been a Watcher-Lord arrogant enough to try and assume tyrannical control over the country.
Since its founding, Lastwall has stayed true to its purpose, standing guard against the undead horrors of Ustalav and the savage orc hordes from the Hold of Belkzen. Both are tenacious foes and require constant vigilance in order to contain them. The orcs in particular have proven particularly troublesome, having pushed back the borders of Lastwall three times since its founding. The current border has held well due to an influx of money and troops from Lastwall's southern border. It is not as heavily fortified as the Sunwall, the first border with the orcs, or even the ramshackle previous border, the Hoardline.
Races:
DWARVES – Dwarves have been respected fighters since the day they crawled out of the earth. There are currently very few dwarves in Lastwall, but many soldiers know the stories of old when this was not so, and welcome dwarves committed to the Cause. Most, if not all dwarves have joined Lastwall’s army to reclaim their lost territory in Belkzen, specifically their lost Sky Citidal. This desire and willingness to sacrifice makes them some of the most dedicated and respected soldiers in the country.
ELVES – Elves have a long history of hatred of Orcs. Many elves have heard stories passed down from their ancestors about the reign of the Whispering Tyrant. However, Lastwall has few elves in uniform. Those elves that do serve do so mainly in magic support/archery roles, though elven rangers and back-stabbers are not unknown.
GNOMES – Even more of an oddity than elves, gnomes are looked at with some skepticism, especially in roles outside of magic. Lastwall boasts, few if any gnomes under arms, and their small stature, combined with their scarcity, means that any respect they receive will be hard earned.
HALF-ELVES – These are more common than elves but not as numerous as their human cousins. Like humans, half-elves make fine soldiers and their natural beauty serves them well as leaders.
HALF-ORCS – Due to the historically frequent orc raids, there is a sizable contingent of half orcs in Lastwall, but few join the army due to the general hatred of orcs that exists throughout the country. This may lead to initial and lingering distrust of half-orc soldiers, but those who show that they are committed to Lastwall and the destruction of their barbaric cousins, have the potential to earn the highest amount of respect from the most serious soldiers. Half-orcs may also have a special advantage in establishing a lasting peace with the orcs of the Hold if they can convince them that they have the interests of both nations at heart.
HALFLINGS – Few if any Halflings exist in Lastwall. Those that do exist are often mistaken for human children, and are initially denied entry into the army until they “grow up”. Like gnomes, halflings will have to work and fight hard to earn a place in the Lastwall forces, but those that prove themselves can easily overcome any bias against their small stature.
HUMANS – Most all the Last Wall army is made up of humans from all over Goloran. They are the most versatile and serve in all capacities in the army. The officer corps is almost entirely human. This may be a result of the percentage of humans in the army rather than any bias toward the race in general.
PC’s wanting to play some other races will need DM’s approval. Let me know what race you want prior to you making your backgrounds. There may be some information that your particular race would know.
Classes:
Remember, this is the army. You are part of a fighting unit. Your choice of class may determine which section of the army you’re in, and your leadership advancement. Due to characters being in the army, they may not be chaotic or evil.
ALCHEMIST – As long as there is someone to block the hordes from reaching the bomb lobbing alchemist, he should do well against massed attacks. Builds that favor Jekyl & Hyde transformations, could be useful as well. Seeing a weakling turn into a hulking beast might be enough to route an already demoralized force, but a destructive, human mortar cannon may be seen as a threat that needs to be dealt with early.
BARD – Armies have always had drummer boys and bands to inspire the troops and maintain order. A bard’s talents will be appreciated. Minstrils tend to go unnoticed by opposing forces, unless it is determined that their abilities are granting a significant advantage to their own soldiers. Armies that contain a bard get morale bonuses.
BARBARIAN – due to the strict nature of the army, this class will not be allowed.
CAVILER/SAMURAI – Open fields, raids, patrols make mounted combat a plus here. Lastwall’s cavalry is legendary for riding down scads of orcs. Also, the ability to lead and inspire troops is always a plus in the army. I’m sure these guys give their army some kind of bonus. Commanders, especially those who lead from the front, make prime targets for enemies who want to demoralize an army or create chaos by killing those making the decisions or rallying the soldiers.
CLERIC/ORACLE – All armies need medics. A be it a squad, platoon, company, or division, people are going to get hurt, and will need medical attention. There are also usually undead things lurking around most adventures. Armies with magic healers, get a bonus to recovering hit points. Note, that these soldiers tend to draw more attention to themselves from smarter enemy commanders.
DRUID – The mystical druid is a class could come in handy in the bush either using nature spells/skills, or animal transformations. The druid's animal companion could even wind up as a unit’s mascot if it proves to be hardy in battle.
FIGHTER – Warriors are the backbone of any army. While not necessarily the most successful strategic or tactical commanders, the ability to kill your enemies before they kill you is the essence of war craft, and one that all fighters excel in. Most of the time fighters will blend in with other troops, but army champions may be sought out by opposing champions for some specific battlefield challenges.
GUNSLINGER – Armies and guns go together like peanut butter and jelly. Historically the side with more and better guns tends to win the conflict. That said, experimenting with the cannon skills may be effective for massed assaults. Gunslingers may grant a ranged and/or sniper attack to an army.
INQUISITOR – The inquisitor's teamwork feats could prove beneficial in an army with similar abilities. His judgement ability allows him to also target enemy commanders and destroy them early thus demoralizing the enemy unit or plunging it into chaos.
MAGUS - With the ability to cast and deliver melee attacks, the magus is equally at home on the front lines dealing damage or in the rear in more of a support role.
MONK – Though monks’ fighting style and dress don’t usually fit with regulars in most armies, their strict discipline and stoicism are models for other troops to aspire to. However, without a strong personality, monks tend to elicit some strange looks until they have proven themselves in combat.
PALADIN – Again, armies need heavy hitters and those who can take heavy hits themselves. Also, paladins’ charisma make them good leaders. This may result in morale and/or tactical bonuses to armies. Again, expect a lot of enemy attention given to paladin commanders who are very visible and vocal on the battlefield.
RANGER – A ranger’s nature skills could come in handy during patrols, and his favored enemy/terrain features will be beneficial in this adventure. Again, having a animal companion could be a moral boost to a unit who adopts him as their own. Knowing the land is also useful for a fighting force to secure an early advantage.
ROGUE/NINJA – there should be plenty of opportunities for sneak attacking, and who knows, there may be some treasures to unlock as well. Lots of flanking opportunities exist while hundreds of people are fighting at once. Those skilled in sneak attacking may gain the notice of the enemy, but the abilities that serve to draw attention to themselves, also serve to avoid being hit.
SUMMONER – Having a big animal to get in the way of beasts attacking you is good. The potential for soldiers to rally around such a beast goes beyond a familiar or companion as an edilon grows in power. Unusual and/or magical beasts can serve to demoralize massed foes by their very presence, or unite the enemy in the desire for the beast’s head.
WIZARD/WITCH/SORCERER – Magic support is always good for the troops, but these classes are not necessarily made for the front lines. Magic is extremely useful at killing and controlling battlefields, however the threat of a magic user’s spells may be equally as effective. The threat of a cloud kill spell or fireball probably does more to hurt an opposing army’s moral than actual damage to the army as a whole. As a result, these characters tend to draw a lot of attention from opposing forces who would sacrifice much to see them neutralized as soon as possible.
Lastwall Traits
(You must select one. You may select additional one(s) at GM discretion.)
Draftee – Though mostly an all volunteer army, you somehow have been forced into service. This does not necessarily mean that you serve against your will, though you did not rush to join up. You could have been made to join rather than facing a prison sentence, or born in the country of Lastwall or the surrounding countries and been pressured to join by a Lord or parents. As a result, you get a +5 trait bonus to will saves to resist direct orders.
Military Family – Your Lord Father was/is a Colonel in the Last Wall army, and it was certainly expected that you join when you came of age. Your family name is proud, and great things are expected of you. As a result, once/day you can drop your father’s name in a conversation to gain a +5 famous bonus to intimidate or diplomacy checks to anyone in the Last Wall army below the rank of Colonel.
Old Soldier – You are no green recruit. You have been in the army for enough years to know that army life is mostly boredom with the occasional conflict. As a result of your experience, you may choose one of the following bonuses: (+2 lifer bonus to your Profession Soldier Mod), or (+3 SSDD bonus to all diplomacy checks to any non officer {Master Sergeant and below})
Volunteer – At some point in your life, you heard the call to defend the world against the savage orc hoard or perhaps you wanted the discipline and stability that military life offered. Whatever the reason, you wanted to join and are committed to the cause. As a result, you have an additional -3 trait bonus to will saves to resist orders, but a +3 trait bonus to will saves vs fear effects
Heirloom Weapon/Shield – Through the years, your family has passed down a special weapon or shield from generation to generation. Either through inheritance, or as a parting gift, you have been given this special weapon or shield (not both) which is masterwork and made of a metal of your choice.
Orc Hater – You have a deep abiding hatred for all orcs and their kin due to some tragedy they visited on you and/or your loved ones in the past. As a result, you gain a +1 hate bonus to damage all orcs. (This might be an interesting trait for a half orc)
Gung-Ho – You love PT. Whenever you are told to do pushups, you do more than required. During runs, and obstacle courses, you are always first across the line. As a result, your body is in better shape than most, and you gain a +1 PT bonus to your Fortitude Save.
Army Life
All PC’s profession is soldier. They automatically start off with one skill rank in soldier as part of their basic training in the Lastwall Army. They are also given army ranks according to their soldier modifier. See following chart:
Modifier....Rank.................Rank Bonus......Pay Per Week
1)...........Private..................1...............1g
2-3).........Corporal.................2...............2g
3-4).........Sergeant.................3...............4g
5-8).........Master Sergeant..........4...............8g
9-11)........2nd Lieutenant...........5...............15g
12-15).......1st Lieutenant...........6...............30g
16-19).......Captain..................7...............50g
20-24).......Major....................8...............100g
25-30).......Colonel..................9...............200g
31-36).......General..................10..............500g
37+).........May be invited to be a member of Precentors Martial and elected Lord Protector of Last Wall
Battlefield promotions are also given for demonstrations of leadership and/or heroism. However if a character is promoted above his current modifier, that rank will be considered a ‘brevet’ rank. Further, regular promotions will not occur until the soldier’s modifier is high enough, however a soldier may earn additional brevets for additional heroic acts.
Orders:
Last Wall soldiers are trained to follow orders of their superior officers for the protection of Last Wall, the eradication of the Orc menace, and the containment of the Whispering Tyrant. Any PC who does not want to follow a direct order from a commanding officer must make a DC 20 will save or be compelled to follow the order to the best of his ability. The will save increases +5 for every rank higher the officer is than the PC. Further, the PC also adds their Rank Bonus to the DC will save to resist following the order. If a PC does not follow a direct order, and is caught, then he risks charges for insubordination, treason, and/or desertion, which could make him expelled from the army or find himself the latest enemy of Lastwall.
However, the rank bonus is also added to all saves against any fear effect.
When facing orcs, all Lastwall soldiers also add +1 to a number of damage dice equal to or less than their rank bonus per attack. (Example: A sergeant who casts a spell with a damage of 3d6 can add +1 to each die rolled for a total of +3. However if the damage roll is 4d6, he can still only add a total of +3. If the damage is 2d6 then he can only add +2, and the additional damage bonus is lost.)
All PC’s start off with general weapons and supplies of soldiers, any melee and ranged weapon up to martial level, armor up to medium level, and a shield if they want it. Arcane magic users in addition get two scrolls of any spell that they are able to cast.
While in the army, all PC’s will be required to wear gear with the sigil of the Lastwall army (either the official banner or the individual “Crusader’s Shield” emblem). Emblems of rank are also proudly displayed on the sleeves, shoulders, and/or collars of Lastwall soldiers. Lastwall regulations take into account the fact that useful armor and shields are often found on the bodies of slain enemies, and though there are standard uniforms for Lastwall soldiers, the most heroic troops are adorned with all manner of orcish, barbarian, and other armor styles taken from powerful enemies.
No, I called the circle area the arena. There is nothing lised there at all. I had to use my imagination to invision it as more than just a flat round spot...
I was watching the origional 'Dune' last night and I was wondering what class and level the 'old school' Feyd would be. I'm not talking about Matt Keeslar Sci Fi Channel Feyd. I'm talking about '1984 Sting' Feyd.
Here is something else that came up the other day. In the temple district, the party alchemist became paranoid when he failed his will save from one of the ghosts. That is bad enough, but the party doesn't have a cleric, or any kind of divine spell caster.
I have been letting them use Jask when they go back to camp. I bumped him up to level 6, but I told them that's as far as the old man is going to go. He's ready to go home anyway.
So there is no way for the insanity to be cured or reduced, except through 17 weeks of successful will saves (not likely).
What I did was adopt the Pathfinder Society rules for buying services from the faction either with gold or prestige points as follows:
Atonement 500gp 2pp
Break Enchantment 450gp 2pp
Dispel Magic 150gp 1pp
Greater Dispel Magic 660gp 2pp
Greater Restoration 5,910gp 16pp
Lesser Restoration 60gp 1pp
Make Whole 60gp 1pp
Neutralize Poison 280gp 2pp
Raise Dead 5,450gp 16pp
Regenerate 910gp 3pp
Remove Blind/Deaf 150gp 1pp
Remove Curse 150gp 1pp
Remove Disease 150gp 1pp
Remove Paralysis 50gp 1pp
Restoration 380gp 2pp
Resroration dispel negative lvl 1,380gp 4pp
Resurrection 10,910gp 32pp
True Resurrection 26,530gp 77pp
Have Your Body Recovered by a rescue team 5pp only
We haven't tried it out yet, but it does give the PC's some options instead of repeatedly punishing them for not having a cleric or giving them a free pass with a high level NPC cleric. This way there is at least a way (though pricey) for them to stay normal.
"Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way."
I read the rules and I am a little fuzzy on that too. What is the appropriate attack bonus to use if any? I would think it would be ranged, which only makes the most sense, but still doesn't feel right. What ever attack bonus is used, who's bonus is used? Again, what would make the most sense would be to use the gun commander's bonus, but ranged attack would hardly seem appropriate.
I didn't read in either book, where it made that clear.
My guys nearly got dropped by the spider in the courtyard in the fungus section.
When they got there, the alchemist decided he would wiggle a web to make the spider come out. It did, along with the wisdom damage. The barbarian and fighter ran forward taking some more wisdom damage, then wound up being paralyzed for hours after failing their fort saves.
Then the alchemist decided to burn away the web with a burning hand causing more wisdom damage to everyone. Finally the rogue acrobaticly pulled the paralyzed guys out.
By that time nobody thought to go in the spider hole and look for anything. They were afraid to stay with their two heavy hitters down and wanted to get back to camp.
So, long story short, they compeltely missed the rest rod as they never searched the area.
The witch chick captured Gelick and subjected him to all manner of vegetable torture(not just carrot & cucumber, but squash & egg plant)before the PC's found him.
As for the additional headache, I was worried about that, so I made a sword and board fighter, and just gave him feats to buff his stats and that's all, no power attack or anything like that. I got board with him quickly and when he got to the appropriate levels, I started swapping is feats out for more interesting ones. It wasn't hard for me to keep up with him. Now a wizard or cleric or some new class that I am not familiar with, might be different.
This might be too complex for new guys, but it will give them twice the experience playing different guys, especially when they get a few sessions under them.
I guess our role playing has fallen off, but part of that comes with having two players versus five. The players don't talk to themselves, and when they interact with NPC's they usually put their best guy forward, which is usually what happened anyway.
If you don't let them have 2 characters, you could let them be one level higher, or give them stat bonuses or skills as Doomed Hero noted above, or you could nerf the encounters.
I was wondering if any of you GM's have run a cannon battery or something similar against your players. At some point in their exploration, my players are going to have to come through a bottle neck and I thought I'd stick a cannon there for them to have to charge.
If any of you have run such an encounter or gone up against one, I'd love some advice about how it went and what you wish you would have done differenetly.
In a similar situation, I let the two players each have two characters and I played one myself. It worked out well. The combat went very fast and players got confused about their guys a little, but they enjoyed running two PC's.
The only hang up I had was finding a balence between over and under playing my character. I didn't want him to be the standout because he knew all that I knew, nor did I want him to not act when someone in his position would. I did use him to provide some direction and guidance with his suggestions, and believe it or not, his(my) suggestions were not always followed.
For example, the party was almost taken out (but killed the moster) and scrambled out to get back to camp before anything else hit them. In their haste, they forgot to search the beast's lair losing out on a $62,000 item. My guy suggested that they go back and look, but they wanted to go on with the adventure. It was hard not to do more than that, since I had a stake in some of that money.
But like I said, other than situations like that, our group of 3 has fun runing 5 characters.
Thanks. I just now getting into the swing of how role playing games work now. Before running this campaign, the last one I did must have been 20 years ago, and I was using stuff from the mid 80's then.
I thought about doing something with the alignemnt so that the rogue could use it, but I didn't know if it was so powerful that it would overshadow the negative level he would get.
Like I said, Chivane has the blade now and the PC's are going to have to take it out of her warm, dead hands. I would think after that, the Mantises would only want to deal in blood and revenge. I had thought about them taking the theft personally and never giving up until the PC's are dead and they have the blade back or the PC's figure out some kind of deal.
There are 5 party members, and I know there is going to be talk of wanting to sell this item especially since the rod of well deserved rest was worth over 60,000gp. No doubt they'll assume the value of this to be in the 6 figures.
Do you know anything table that exists that gives an aproximate value to artifacts?
Can any of you give me any pointers on what to do with the Mantis Blade?
It matches Chivane so well, that I have already bent the flow of events so that she finds it and will use it against the PC's, but what happens when they find it?
There is no price on it, and I cannnot find any reference to the value of artifacts.
It is also LE, so none of the players can weild it without taking a negative level.
So I've got a situation where multiple factions control spears and know how to activate them.
Is there a cool down or something on those bad boys? Otherwise, I'm looking at some sort of spear activation grudge match. Maybe the book mentions a cooldown, but I don't have it with me right now.
My game is the same. I had various factions go to different parts of the city and depending on how many discovery points they had, they learned how to activate the spear in their area. I also made the spears to where they affected the whole city.
This means that some spears are more well liked than others, namely the temple and military spear, with military being the favorite. When multiple factions took over spears it started out like some kind of game, but I went ahead and wrote up motivations for each faction with regard to the spears. For example, if the Red Mantis learns how to turn on their spear (Temple) they will turn it back on in any other spear comes on except the Military spear.
I thought about having the spear activation fall into a rhythm since they effect the whole city, with the Pathfinders activating the Residential (Rest) spear at night, then allowing whoever wants, to activate their spear in the morning after everyone has rested, but I ultimately didn't go with that.
Also, another thing that my group seemed to like. Jask was captured by the monkey guys and was taken to the arena with some other soldiers to fight two allosauruses. Of course the PC's arrived just in time to watch as one of the dino's dropped Jask.
They immediately jumped down the 20 wall into the fighting pit and engaged the dinos. I also put 50 monkey men in the stands and gave the PC's 1 turn to act before the monkeys noticed them. When they did they all started throwing rocks and debris into the arena. To simulate that, at the end of each turn I rolled 10 d20's 5 times and kept note of how many natural 20's I rolled. For each 20 rolled, I rolled a d8 to see who was hit based on their initiave order number, then rolled a d4 for damage. It really amounted to nothing more than a nusance, but added some flavor to the show especially when I said that most of the rocks were covered in monkey excrement.
When the PC's killed the allosauruses the monkey men all ran away in terror.
Since I have played this out a little with my group, I have modified the timeline somewhat. I made the other factions start exploring the different sections of the city. I also used someone's idea of having a set number of research points from each city district, but changed the discovery DC to 25 in general, 30 if the section is hostile, and 20 if it has been tamed. Furthermore, I tied how much a faction (including PC's) knows about a section to to how many points they have. If they have all the points from a district (roughly 20) then they know all there is to know including how to activate that particular spear.
The other factions pretty much follow this rule as well, however there is some fudging of their stats if they fall to far behind with the research or if it looks like they are going to be destroyed too early.
Doing things this way changes the timetable somewhat, due to how many discovery points a group has and/or which way the PC's go.
This also allows for the exploration to be done away from the table, saving our meeting time for fighting and such. Sometimes our group will go two weeks without playing and they are able to tell me their parameters for exploration, either to keep rolling up days until they have explored their conquered section, or roll out a certain number of days till the convoy gets back, or until something major happends like accumulating 15 destruction points.
Since this group is allied with the pirates, one of the ways they can gain status is to donate 10,000g to the free captains. When I told my group that, and they saw what they would get in return, they were not impressed. However it gave me an idea. The way I initially thought the camp store would run was that the players could buy or sell anything under a certain price (2,000g) and every other purchase would have to be sent for. I decided to extend the pirate donation rule to say that for every gold they donated to the pirates, the store's trade capacity would increase by that much. Currently they have donated an additional 2,000g. I am also adding additional trade capacity (200-500g) when the PC's stabilize the reagion either by defeating or allying with other factions or city zones.
1. What is your favorite number?
2. What is your favorite color?
3. What is your favorite food?
4. What is your favorite book?
5. What is your favorite movie?
6. Who is your favorite celebrity and why?
7. What do you wish that someone would hurry up and invent?
8. What is your favorite animal?
9. Who is your favorite Pathfinder NPC, and why?
10. What PC did you have the most fun playing?
Thanks. I did think about some of the groups getting there erlier or later than the PC's, due to the reason you named. My guys got to the outpost 3rd because they let their supplies burn up. They didn't think it was their responsibility to take care of ther fire.
However, I think I am on the same wavelength you are with regard to the start day. Even if camp is established, who can tell how long things will take to get a party ready to send out into the city. (Also, the PC's have no idea (nor do they really seem to care about the time lines of the other groups).
I toyed with the idea of one or the other groups being destroyed. I have been playing up the rivalry between the PC's and the Red Mantis, and have built in a showdown in the temple district, so they will probably end up being wiped out by the PC's. The hot elf leader woman might make it out with the evil sword. Based on the way the Aspis Consortium is in this adventure, they will likely bite the dust due to the position I put them in. If they take control of the Market district, then the PC's won't have the pleasure of doing it. Short of that, I can see them being soul food for the magical beasts.
My main concern was how a senario like this will play into the rest of the adventure. There is a chance for the PC's to reunite with all the NPC's from the first book, but the posibility of some of the other factions being ruined is a definate possibility. I just don't want to be painted into a corner by not having key parts of this game in tact.
I read all the posts here and I must say that you guys sound like you've been doing this for a while. When I read the 7 spears book through, I was a little lost. I really wasn't thinking about what the other factions would be doing since it wasn't noted in the book.
I like the idea of the spears affecting the whole city. This could be interesting if certain factions control different spears and turn theirs back on when it turns off. Also, the PC's, who are allied with the pirates, ventured into the military district and fought Olujimi, however he escaped. While they were gone, their camp got hit for 10 destruction points so they are most likely going to hang around for a couple of days to make sure it isn't wiped away. That will allow for some of what I have planned to take place.
Thinking more linearly I came up with a timeline of events. Of course this will be affected by what the PC's eventually do.
Day 1 -all groups set up camps as described in book.
Day 2 -Sargarvian Government leads an attack on military district.
-Aspis Consortium infiltrates the mercantile district. They remain in the district and can help or hinder PC’s.
Day 3 -The Red Mantis infiltrate the Temple district.
Day 4 -Sargavian attack is finally repulsed by Olujimi. 50 Charau-ka killed. Jask and 5 other fighters are captured and sent to the arena to fight a dinosaur or two.
-Pathfinders attack the residential district.
Day 5 -Aspis Consortium Attacks area E2
-The Red Mantis forge an alliance with Lessikal.
Day 6 -Sargarvians regroup and attack again defeating Olujimi.
-Red Mantis move their camp to peninsula between L1 & L2
Day 7 -Grugonoth is awakened and routes the Sargarvians. They return only if he is dead. When they return, they set up permanent camp in area D1. Twenty days after they return, they accidently figure out how to activate the spear and do so if it is not already on. If it is turned off, they do not know how to turn it back on.
Day 8 -Sargaravian Government will attempt to recruit the help of the PC’s if they have not already secured the sector.
-Aspis Consortium retreats out of area E2, and moves camp to peninsula just south of E5.
-Pathfinders kill 118 vegepigmies and are allowed to look around the area. They set up camp in the long tan building just southwest of G1.
Day 10 -Aspis Consortium explores E3 and is driven off by the chimeras. Ishirou is captured and they "play" with him. AP remain in their camp until Chimeras are defeated by PC's. Once cleared, the Consortium figures out how to turn on the spear in 10 days by the jewels. If changed, they do not want pay to turn it back on.
Day 15 -Gelick is captured by Egzimora.
Day 16 -Red Mantis activate Temple spear. They keep reactivating it unless the military spear is active.
Day21 -If the Aspis Consortium is established in the mercantile district and the Sargavan Government in the military district, they will join to clear what remains of the government district (F). This will happen 5 days after both are established in their districts.
Day 22 -Pathfinders activate the residential spear. Unless hindered, they will do this each night. This does not work as Red Mantis activates there spear as soon as this one is activated. By the next day they allow the residential spear to stay on all night, turning on theirs in the morning.
Day 25 - If not allied with AP, the Sargaravian Government regroups (assuming they have been in camp for 15 days) and attacks the nearest, weakest sector.
Day 30 -Red Mantis find the Mantis Blade and it is given to Chivane. Chivane assumes control of the temple district. (Red Mantis must be driven off in addition to other conquered conditions having to be met.)
Day 31 -Ishirou is finally killed by the goat head of the main chimera as it played too rough.
Day 35 -Red Mantis launch an attack on boggards in Farming district, in an attempt to get ‘key’ to Savath’s Crypt.
Day 40 -If the Pathfinders are still in the residential district, and Egzimora is still alive, they fall under her charm and fight for her, until she is defeated.
Day 45 -Gelick succumbs to the torture and becomes a vegetable man.
Day 60 -Red Mantis is finally repulsed by the Green God. (may or may not have found the key). Sasha is separated from the group makes her way to the PC’s camp (maybe).
Day 100- If the Pathfinders are still in the residential district, and Egzimora is still alive, they have irrevocably started turning into vegetable people and cannot be redeemed.
Day 120- If the Pathfinders are still in the residential district, and Egzimora is still alive, they are all advanced vegetable people.
This is all very flexible, depending on how fast or slow the group pushes through the sectors. However, this does give me a sequence of events.
I have not looked at the next book yet, and I was wondering how these events will work into the next adventure.
For example, in the treasure pit, I had the wights waiting under water. I figured that with all the dirt dropped from the digging that it would have muddied things up. The party let the rogue go down a rope first, and when he got half way in the water I gave the wights a surprise round to attack him. (they nearly killed him). So the party pulled him up, healed him, then roped their way down.
Not having done a water fight, I said that the alchemist's fire bombs would not spread fire if they were thrown on the surface of the water. I also made the magus get shocked from his own shocking grasp. Neither of them were very happy about that, but I did warn them of the effects since they were not spelled out in the rules per se. They also had questions about cover and reductions to attacks due to being in the water. I did not allow for cover, and ignored attack penalties.
Fast forward to the kelpie fight. The party sent the alchemist down to hunt for pearls alone while two of them waited in the boat. (The nonswimming cleric in medium armor, waited on shore). The kelpie lured the alchemist who failed his save, and would have killed him, however I allowed the others in the boat to "have a bad feeling" and start swimming to his rescue.
I did say that bombs cannot be thrown under water and fire spells will not work. Also, electricity will have residual damage to the caster. I don't know about acid or cold, but following along those lines I guess they could behave differently as well. Now that I think of it arrows will not work as well either.
I guess I'd like to know how anyone else plays out water fights, becore they get to the lake with Amoak's cub. Am I making things too difficult? Do the rest of you just run it like a normal fight, but allow creatures to get above and below each other? Or are there simple changes that I could use that would make it different but not overly complex.
The Serpent's Skull PA is the first one that I've run in a while (20 years) and it is definately more complex than those from the late 80's/early 90's.
Can anyone give me any advice on the water battles? The treasure pit from Smuggler's Shiv was a disaster, and we have already had another one with the pearl diving. It went better, but still there was a lot of arguing. When my group gets to the Loch Ness Monster, I want to be able to say "this is the way it is."
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind telling them the deal, but I want it to be right and fun. Can anyone tell me how you resolve 3-D water battles?
