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My players have reached the Sargasso. They spent a few hours trying to figure out what was going on. The Druid in the group took a flight form and flew around to get a better idea of the Landscape. The other players tried a few different things to get the boat free. They explored the Rage, found the journal and ran as fast as they could from the 3 Assassin vines inside the boat.

Eventually they all came together, and shared what they had discovered and tried to come up with a plan. Their plan? get to the heart of blackness as quickly as possible. They set out. It started to get dark. I prepared to run the Vine Horror encounters - and then the wizard cast Rope Trick.

With a single spell, they slept safely avoiding the encounters. Yes, he had to cast it a second time (and he had a second one prepared). I used the down time before he recast it to attack them with one wave of Vine Horrors but that was it.

So now what? What would you DM's do? I am going to have the Sea Wyvern attacked - and some passengers will go missing. But what can I do about my players? I don't want to force encounters on them, but at the same time they've just avoided quite a bit of experience.

What if instead of DR 5/magic, I removed that and gave them Fast Healing 3. Is that equal? In my game I wanted to give each character a Legendary Weapon (instead of the 1000 gold that each character is rewarded at the end of the first adventure)This means that my characters would have +1 magic weapons. They would easily bypass the DR of the savage creatures, making them less of a threat. What do you think of the substitute? Too strong? Too weak? Just right?

I have some observations and comments. Please correct me if I did this wrong...

My players (5 of them) made it to area P3. They decided to wade out into the tunnels trying to find a way out. I had them roll balance or strength checks to keep from falling in. The Knight failed his roll, and failed his Reflex save and landed squarely on the urchins. However he did make his Fortitude saves. The players decided they were going to walk real slow and carefully. So I decided if they only moved 10 feet a round they didn't need to make checks. (Should they have?) Then they got to the deep pool near area P4. Three characters failed their swim checks and for three rounds could not get their heads above water.

I won't bore anyone with the details, but after many many many swim checks the characters made it to area P4. The players looked a bit annoyed. Once in area P4, I noticed their is a secret door to area P5 - however there is no Search DC for that door printed in the magazine. I checked three times. So I allowed them to find the secret room.

After they gathered the treasure (they left the copper and silver behind because it would weight too much) they started to look for a way out. The Swashbuckler took a rope tied it to the door, took his sunrod and dove into the pool - it didn't take him long to find a tunnel. He explored the tunnel to make sure it led out and then came back to the characters to explain what they needed to do. More Swim Checks. I cringed inside - as I awaited their swim checks. It took about 6 swim checks for each character - to make it to the top. (Should I have done less or more?) I forgot to mention - their is a druid in the party, she had an Orangutan for an animal companion. I had her roll a single Handle Animal check to get it to follow her (I wondered though would an animal follow a character under water?) It failed quite a few swim checks and panicked. However - in order to keep the game moving forward I allowed it to eventually get out and reach the open waters to the harbor above.

They rested for a day, then decided to check out the Taxidermist . Here is how that went down - the Wizard found a place to sit in the courtyard and pretended to read a book, the Druid paced back and forth in front of the Taxidermist and kept talking about how she'd like to burn the place down (under her breath), the Hexblade went behind the taxidermist and walked around until she found a back door, the Knight and Swashbuckler went inside and looked around the first room and then started to explore the hallway when they were discovered and forced back into the lobby. Eventually things got ugly. Nemien went invisible, then made it seem as if the creatures were coming to life (the players fell for that and actually started to attack them). When they realized the animals weren't alive, Nemien made it seem as if he was escaping out the front door. They fell for that, and the druid and Swashbuckler ran out the door but couldn't find him. The Swashbuckler ran down an alley hoping to find him but what he found was two Lotus Dragon Thieves climbing up the walls. One on each side. (I allowed him to catch them in preparation for the ambush) A third thief confronted him demanding to know what he was doing, but he ran away from the thief.

In short - their information gathering suddenly was getting out of control. The thieves began to open fire (in broad daylight - perhaps they wouldn't have done this). They of course were missing. After a few tense moments one thief was hit squarely in the head with a stone (from a sling) and fell off the roof. The second thief on the roof ran off, the third ran and jumped into the well.

My players being smart - thought that the well was a trap and instead of chasing him, left and went to hide out at a tavern to discuss things. After several hours go by they decide to talk to Lady Vanderboren. She isn't able to provide much info about the Lotus Dragons, but she is concerned that her brother may be working with them. She ask that they bring him back (alive if they can, but if not, to be merciful when killing him). So they set off that evening... and head back to the Sunrise district. They are convinced that the well is a way out and a way in to the thieves guild. They set up post all around and wait. No one ever leaves the well, and no one ever enters it. However by luck (I was feeling nice) I allowed a thief to leave one of the abandoned buildings near the well. They captured him, interrogated him, and then let him go. (Such nice people - always letting the bad guys get away - they will learn).

With the new found knowledge of one of the secret entrances they all headed down into the depths of the guildhall. Since they waited for so many hours to infiltrate it, I assumed that the guild had relaxed its guard (not to much) but enough that it wasn't on high alert... (perhaps a medium alert) :)

Would the guild be on alert still (roughly 8 hours later) after the encounter with the characters earlier that morning?

Last week I starting DMing There is No Honor. I have four characters down in the smugglers tunnels of Parrot Island. Next week I'll pick up where we left off, but this time a 5th character (Wizard) is joining.

My first thought was to have the players find him in one of the Prison Cells in the Lotus Dragon Guildhall... but that would mean he'd have to sit there for an hour or two doing nothing. My second thought was to have them find him hiding in the smugglers tunnels but I can't seem to find a reason why he'd be down there alone.

Now when I started this game I made it clear that Kora was expecting 5 PC's to show up. However only 4 showed up (the 5th player couldn't make it)... and after awhile the dinner began without the 5th PC. So... how do I add this 5th PC? What is the most fun way to do it?

I am going to be running this for my group this weekend. Right now we have 4 players, 3 of them are fighter types (swashbuckler, etc) and one is a cleric.

I imagine Gather Information checks will probably be missed quite often, and it's going to suck if there are traps to overcome later on... (and forget about using Open Lock) :P

Anyone else have a group with no rogues or arcane casters? What has your experience been?

I have a group of players that are interesting in playing in a world where the Age of Worms actually happens. Obviously this means that some heroes failed and that certain individuals (Kyuss among them) are still alive, and some pretty terrifying events unfold.

Let's assume that Dragotha was never killed... and a few other important NPCs. What type of events would characters expect to see? What should the world be like? More importantly how can the Age of Worms be stopped from continuing?

How would you do it if you were setting up this campaign? Assume the characters will be low level (5 or lower).

In my mind, I imagine their would be roaming armies of undead, led by powerful cleric's of Kyuss. We know that the sky rains worms in certain parts of the world (most likely over populated area's). Would Dragotha return to his role as a general on the battlefield? I plan to use the various "Kyuss" undead that Dungeon supplied us. I don't have much experience with epic play - obviously this would turn epic near the end.

Some other questions that need answered, what nameless power helped Kyuss grow in strength, and how can "it" be stopped?
What are the other deities doing? What other catostrophic events take place? In a nutshell what would this nightmare of a world be like?

My players made it to Bozal, and in the process of fighting him, managed to blind him for a round. He was down to 9 hit points (I had given him max hit points) so he lost his nerve and released the Ulgurstasta early.

My players currently cannot enter room 28 because Bozal has an anti-life shell on. What should Bozal do? He still has Darkness avialable to him. He still has several spells up, he could cure himself.

Then there is the other problem, the Ulgurstasta. Clearly it doesn't see anything to attack. So it should start attacking the ceiling.

I am not quite sure how I should handle this. Would Bozal do his best to attack the players? Would he sacrifice himself and allow himself to be eaten by the Ulgurstasta? Would he cast darkness and flee into the secret passages beyond?

The Ulgurstasta is pretty straight forward. It will attack the players if it sees them, if not it will do its best to burst out of its room into the Arena above. If that happens I imagine the games may very well be over. What would Raknian do if that happened?

Evening had come on the second day of the champions games. After talking to their Manager (and hearing his sad tale about his missing sister) the players decided to explore a bit. So, the five of them waited until the Coenoby was quiet, and then decided to sneak up to the service level of the Arena Understructure. Well needless to say they were discovered by two guards that were patrolling. They failed horribly at their bluff checks, and ultimately left and went back to their rooms.

Half an hour later...

They again sneack back up, this time, no guards. Good. The players quietly walk the halls exploring this room or that room. Eventually they end up in the Workshop (area 2). The wizard decides to cast invisibility on the Rogue and have her explore the rest of the area's, and then report back to them. The rest of them were going to wait in area 2.

Well the invisible rogue, explores every single room (except the rooms where the guards are). She even explored the wine cellar, and did not find the hidden door. While she was in the wine cellar she decided to pick up two bottles of wine.

As she was leaving she noticed a couple of prison cells. She walks over and decides to take a look. She notices that there is a prisoner laying in the corner of his cell in the fetal position. She says a few things to him. However, he does not respond. He is a deaf mute, and can't even hear her. She is also invisible, so he can't see her. She doesn't know he is deaf however, and continues to talk to him.

She grows frustrated because he seems to be ignoring her. She opens his cell door, which causes him to look her way, but he continues laying there. She keeps talking, and offers to free him. But, again he can't hear a thing she is saying. Frustrated she places a bottle of wine next to him.

His eyes grow big. He figures he is imagining things, but grabs the bottle of wine anyways. She tells him that she is going to leave the door open and he can leave whenever he wishes. She then walks down the hall toward the sleeping animals. In her mind, she believes there is a secret door in the guard room, but she can't get to it because there are guards there.

She decides to wake up all of the animals, and let them out of their cages.

Now imagine you are a guard. There you are with your friends, and suddenly you hear the loud roar of animals. You run to investigate. The lion is fighting the boars, the leopards are fighting each other, and the deaf mute tramp is walking down the hall with a bottle of wine in his hands.

The rogue managed to sneak into the guard barracks but she didn't find any hidden rooms.

However, apparently a certain prisoner was beaten badly because he let himself out of his cell, helped himself to some wine, and then in his drunken state let all of the caged animals out.

I love the Adventure Paths. I've been trying to find everything I can on AP 3. I am curious, when did work first start on AP 3? Has Wizards approved it yet? Will AP 3 begin with Dungeon 136 or will it begin a few issues beyond that?

My group of players removed the 250 pound mirror of True Seeing and teleported with it to Eligos' Estate, at first to see if he would like to purchase it - however, the party is very suspicious of every single living creature in town... dealing with Dopplgegangers can cause paranoia I suppose. :P

They want Eligos to stand in front of the mirror - to see if he is a doppleganger. Would someone of his stature be offended? Or simply comply? How should he react?

Last night was my game. We play with a few "variant rules".

*Gestalt Characters
*Massive Damage Rules
*Death and Dying (from UA)
*Bosses always have maxed Hit Points

My souped up version of Zyrxog had 192 hit points!

We had been in combat for a few rounds. It was the third round, and the Wizard/Warmage tosses up an Sudden Empowered Orb of Fire. It hits and does 57 points of damage. This exceeds Zyrxog's Massive Damage Threshold of 55 (25 + 2 x 15 HD), so I roll a Fortitude save. My version of Zyrxog has a +10 Fortitude save. I think to myself, I just need a 5 or higher. I roll a 3. So using the Death and Dying rules, instead of Dying when you fail your Massive Damage Threshold Fortitude save, you immediately drop to 0 Hit Points.

This allowed my Cleric/Paladin who had taken the form of a Protector (spell from the Spell Compendium), to finish off the Zyrxog once and for all.

Here is where I screwed up. Zyrxog should have had Fire Resistance 20. The black pillar of his provides him with energy resistance fire 20. This means Zyrxog would have only taken 37 points of damage and would NOT have had to make a Fortitude save.

The battle was over in 4 rounds. I thought that it went a bit to easy... and after re-reading about Area M13 I see why.

Live and Learn I guess...anyone else forget about his Fire Resistance 20?

In 3FoE it says that the Ebon Aspect takes 10 minutes to gather its strength, and during that time, it destroys the elevator.

What happens if the characters decide to leave within seconds of killing the Faceless One. What if they rush out to the Dark Cathedral before the Ebon Aspect has even risen from the pool, or what if they catch him destroying the elevator? Is he weaker if the players fight him during the first 10 minutes?

Should it stay in the pool for 10 minutes gathering strength and then emerge? Should I just ignore the 10 minute rule and just assume that each time one of the cultist dies he slowly awakens a bit more and is gathering his strength with each dead cult leader?

What did you guys do?

My group just finished up WC on Saturday, so I've started to read through 3FoE. In 3FoE, it says that Allustan suggest the players talk to Balabar Smenk as a possible gateway into the Dourstone mines. It then says that if the players don't contact Balarbar that he contacts them.

I have a problem. My group hates Balabar Smenk. One of the characters a female rogue used to work in the Emporium as a dancer. Lets just say Balabar disgusted her. From her time there she learned a bit about Balabar and his hired henchmen. This of course was shared with the group when it was necessary.
The group followed the clues found at the Land Farmstead and went into town. They went to the Feral Dog and found out when Kullen and his gang stop in at the tavern and then decided to try and bribe him with drinks. Well things didn't go so well and the Rogue (who knew Kullen) failed a few diplomacy checks and eventually words were exchanged and a fight broke out. After a tough battle Kullen and the 2 other melee types (don't have the magazine with me at work) were dead. They dragged the mage to the lake and forced information out of him.

They went and visited Filge, found the letter that linked Filge to Smenk, and eventually they killed Filge.

The bottom line is, they don't trust Smenk, and if Allustan suggested they talk to Smenk they may start to question if Allustan isn't in Leauge with Smenk as well.

So, is it really necessary to have the group talk to Smenk? What benefits are there? Did your group talk to him? How did they go about getting entrance into the Dourstone mines? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My group of 4 was standing at area 19 just at the waters edge. It was dark, and it was water, anything could be inside of it. They litterally stood there discussing whether they should go inside or not. The Rogue (my wife) sticks a boot into the water - within seconds the water elemental attacks them. A few rounds later its dead. Once again they start discussing if they should enter. Well long story short, the Rogue (apparently the only brave one) decides to head in first. She is followed by the Half-Orc Barbarian, then the Paladin, then the Mage (who really didn't want to get in the water).

They explore a bit, and find a small room. Here is how I described it... "as you swim into the room you see a few benches and some storage compartments. A dead man floats near the back his head bent over slightly. " I tilted my head down with my eyes closed (taking on the role of the ghoul) and then looked up and said " Suddenly his eyes open, revealing black coal like eyes, his mouth opens revealing several sharp teeth. He quickly moves to attack you"

The Mage player wasn't even the room but the description freaked him out a bit (he tends to visualize things) My wife says "the water just got a bit warmer around the rogue" Needless to say everyone tried to flee except the paladin and the barbarian. In the end the Paladin was victorious over it and the Barbarian was paralyzed.

Something about dark underwater dungeons just seems so much scarier then a normal dark dungeon.

Just wondering if anyone has created any maps for AoW that they would be willing to share (granted if it's ok with the publishers)? I've been thinking about making them myself but if someone has already done the work that would save me a bit of time.

I haven't started running the adventure yet so I'd need pretty much all of the maps starting with the first adventure.