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I ran CotCT for my group several years ago - it was the first campaign for many of them. I'm thinking of running Shadows for them, but was a little disappointed there aren't more NPC tie-ins from CotCT. The main one is obviously Cressida, followed by Thousand Bones. Blackjack does little more than leave a clue for them.

Any ideas for working more of the old NPCs into the actual plot? Given the intrigue, Glorio Arkona/Bahor would have been great, or even Boule. I can work in a little fan-service and maybe have Vencarlo come to their aid (in his Old Man Batman role), or a run with Grau Soldado, but I was hoping for something a little more meaningful.

Brand new to PF2e, and I'm a little puzzled by the escape action. It takes one action, and does not seem to have a limitation on multiple uses per round. The text reads:

Critical Success You get free and remove the grabbed, immobilized, and restrained conditions imposed by your chosen target. You can then Stride up to 5 feet.

Success You get free and remove the grabbed, immobilized, and restrained conditions imposed by your chosen target.

Critical Failure You don’t get free, and you can’t attempt to Escape again until your next turn.

This seems to imply that if you "normal" fail on your first escape action, you can try again with your subsequent actions? That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me - doesn't it make grappling an almost impossible strategy?

So I'm looking for a good one-shot to introduce myself and my group of 6 to PF2e. I'm an old grognard and introduced my (now adult) son and his friends to PF1 with a CotCT campaign that lasted several years. One of the group took over DMing and they switched to 5e, basically just to try something new.

I'd like to run a PF2e one-shot to get them to look at the "new" system but have no idea which is best for a larger group. It can be Paizo or third-party.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I know this must seem pretty basic, but the attacks for the Axial Monitor completely confuse me. Here's what's listed:

Melee +1 merciful greatclub +26/+21/+16/+11 (2d8+10), tentacle +20 (1d6+3 plus grab), slam +20 (2d6+3 plus energized maul) or +1 axiomatic glaive +26 (2d8+10/×3), +1 merciful greatclub +26 (2d8+10), tentacle +25 (1d6+3 plus grab), slam +25 (2d6+3 plus energized maul)

Tripartite Assault (Ex)
When it makes a full attack, an Axial monitor can choose to make a full attack with one weapon and secondary attacks with its tentacle and slam, or it can choose to make a single attack with each weapon it wields, including its tentacle and slam attacks, with no penalties to its attack rolls for fighting with multiple weapons.

How does this translate to a single attack action and full attack actions? Thanks!

So the 15th level sorcerer in my group obtained a wish prior to the finale of CotCT, and is thinking of using it to polymorph himself into a gold dragon. What would happen to his sorcerer levels? And how many HD would he have?

My initial thought is that if he actually becomes a gold dragon, he gains all of the abilities of a gold dragon, including spells, but loses his sorcerer levels. He's a dragon now - his sorcerous ability was tied to his old body and is now replaced by his draconic abilities. He would obviously like to be a 15th level sorcerer in a dragon's body!

And how many HD would he have? If handled like the Polymorph spell, he would have the same HD as levels, so 15? Or can he become an adult gold dragon (18 HD)?

Any ideas on how to handle this? Not sure if this is strictly a polymorph or something else.

So I have a player who is using an Abyssal Bloodrager Primalist. They're 15th level and reaching the end of the campaign, and I'm looking to design a fight against an NPC that can actually challenge her. Between rage, Demonic Bulk, Long Arm, and Come and Get Me she pretty much pulverizes anything that attacks her.

Are there any melee builds that might stand up to her? Come and Get Me is just a killer.

So bear with me.

My group is starting Chapter 6 of CotCT and I'm completely underwhelmed by the Sunken Queen. I was looking forward to a mystical location, the source of Runelord Sorshen's power, with traps, puzzles, and challenges for the Party before they finally reach the final battle. And what will they find, boggards? And the final battle is in a featureless box? Ugh!

So, I'm looking for some sort of small, high level dungeon, with mystical traps and guardians, to replace the Sunken Queen. Something that's going to feel like the final challenges before they face down Ileosa! Anything out there like this?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Okay, I'm sure this is answered somewhere but I haven't been able to find it (or maybe I just don't understand it?)

I have a hostile NPC assassin with Greater Invisibility about to attack the Party.

The Stealth rules read, "If you are invisible, you gain a +40 bonus on Stealth checks if you are immobile, or a +20 bonus on Stealth checks if you’re moving."

That seems pretty straight forward.

But then the chart under Invisibility for the Perception roll DC specifies:

In combat or speaking –20
Moving at half speed –5
Moving at full speed –10
Running or charging –20
Not moving +20
Using Stealth Stealth check +20
Some distance away +1 per 10 feet
Behind an obstacle (door) +5
Behind an obstacle (stone wall) +15

So the NPC rolls their Stealth check +20 if moving and adds it to the base DC of 20, which the defender has to beat with Perception to get a hunch there's something there, and to pinpoint there would be another +20 to the DC? The modifiers for in combat, moving at half speed, etc, only apply if not using stealth? It would make no sense to penalize them twice for moving, since the Stealth check has already gone from +40 to +20.

And for sneak attack, does sneak attack damage only apply to the first strike, since the defender can pinpoint the square from which the attack came?

Thanks. I have to say I probably hate these rules more than any other in PF.

Has anyone used or can anyone recommend a larger/more interesting battle map for the final battle against Ileosa? Even at 60'x60', and with a portion of that taken up by the pool, it seems awfully cramped and a little plain. I have 6 (sometimes 7 PCs) as well a large animal companion, so once you include Ileosa, the tanniver, the false Ileosas, and any leftover monsters, the battle is just going to be a big blob.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

So, we've all seen and read the scenarios in which a hero or team infiltrate an enemy base and stealthily pick off guards as they work they way through. My Party is about to infiltrate an evil temple to rescue some prisoners and, unless I make the guards extremely low level so they can be one-shotted, running a stealth mission scenario is difficult.

They're fairly high level so they can use Invisibility easily, but even if the slayer sneaks up behind a lone guard he'll get one shot with sneak attack damage (unless he takes the risk of "pausing" for a new round so he can start the combat with a full-attack). The guard isn't helpless, so coup de grace really wouldn't apply.

The monk has a stealth of 13 so she has a decent chance of sneaking, but the rest all have stealth in the single digits. The druid could wildshape into something sneaky but, again, how much damage is a wolf going to do on a guard unless it's extremely low level?

Any suggestions on how to run this so stealth is a viable option if they choose to do so?

Vision of Hell reads:

"You overlay a realistic illusion of a terrifying hellscape upon an area. Structures, equipment, and creatures within the area are not hidden, though environmental features take on an infernal appearance. While you are prepared for these images and are not affected by them, any other creature within the area must make a Will save or become shaken and also take a –2 penalty on saves versus fear effects; the fear and penalty persists as long as the creature remains in the area. Devils and any lawful evil creatures suffer no negative effects from this spell."

While it's clear that creatures who fail their save are affected by the penalty and fear as long as they remain in the area, what about creatures who make their save? Do they need to save every round or are they immune once they make the initial save?

I'm guessing it's the latter, since most illusion effects end after a successful save, but I'd like to make sure.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

So, after a long path culminating with her betrayal and death at the hands of Sial, followed by her resurrection by the Party, Laori in my campaign has renounced Zon Kuthon, and may end up as a follower of Desna, the deity of the Party's cleric.

So how do I handle her? RAW says, "A cleric who grossly violates the code of conduct required by her god loses all spells and class features, except for armor and shield proficiencies and proficiency with simple weapons."

I understand taking away her spells and abilities but what about her base stats (e.g., HP, BAB, saves, etc.)? What if I make her a 1st level cleric or fighter? It's not like she can suddenly take less damage or forgets how to use weapons. She has attached herself to the Party's cleric and will likely accompany them back to Korvosa for Chapter Six. Not sure if she'll stay in Korvosa or travel with the Party to the Sunken Queen.

I have to admit I rarely use surprise as it seems a pain to adjudicate, but I'm facing the upcoming scenario in my campaign.

The PCs will be fleeing a collapsing fortress along a long causeway, where a group of cultists is waiting to ambush them. The cultists are hidden behind various battlements and buildings of a ruined gatehouse, and have cast a glyph of warding at the end of the causeway.

The PCs have no reason to suspect the ambush and will presumably be focused on fleeing until they trigger the glyph of warding. The glyph is the signal for the cultists to rise up and engage the PCs.

My thinking is to not give the PCs any sort of perception check until the glyph is triggered, which initiates combat. Those that roll high enough notice the cultists as they spring the ambush and get an action in the surprise round, while those that fail the perception check do not.

Do I have this right or is there a better way to resolve this?

Is there any sort of communication spell or magic item that allows you to send what you see to the recipient? Spells like Sending and Telepathy only seem to include words/thoughts, not sight.

So, after 3+ years of intermittent play, my group is finally starting Chapter 6 of Crimson Throne, and I'm starting to think of what comes next.

We could start another AP, but they're a huge commitment since we only play once a month or so. Is there something in between a stand-alone module and the APs? A trilogy of beefy modules, perhaps, like mini-APs that let you use the same characters in an ongoing story but not quite as extensive? I haven't found any easy way to search for connected modules so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

Can Wall of Thorns be shaped, or is it limited to a straight line? For example, could a 9th level caster, using 9 10'x10' cubes:

- create a double-thickness wall 20' thick and 40' long (with 1 cube left over)?
- create a solid 30' square consisting of 9 cubes?
- create a triple-height wall 30' high, 10' thick, and 30' long?
- create a 90' wall in a zig zag, semicircle, or some other shape?

Thanks in advance!

First time adjudicating this spell, so I want to get it right. The spell reads:

"An invisible, mobile field surrounds you and prevents creatures from approaching you. You decide how big the field is at the time of casting (to the limit your level allows). Any creature within or entering the field must attempt a save. If it fails, it becomes unable to move toward you for the duration of the spell. Repelled creatures’ actions are not otherwise restricted. They can fight other creatures and can cast spells and attack you with ranged weapons. If you move closer to an affected creature, nothing happens. The creature is not forced back. The creature is free to make melee attacks against you if you come within reach. If a repelled creature moves away from you and then tries to turn back toward you, it cannot move any closer if it is still within the spell’s area."

So, what constitutes "move toward you"? Can an opponent who fails the save move towards an ally of the spellcaster standing next to the spellcaster, or who is standing 30' away from the spellcaster but still within the field of the spell? Or is the opponent obliged to stay outside the field of the spell (unless the spellcaster moves closer)?

I'm guessing the easiest way to adjudicate it is to say the opponent has to stay at least as far away from the spellcaster as when they failed the save. In other words, if the opponent was 30' away when they failed the save, they can't move to any square that brings them closer than 30' away. This way they could run around the spellcaster but not actually move towards them.

As I mentioned in my other post, I'd like to use some scenarios to scratch my group's gaming itch while two of the players are overseas for 4 months. I have zero familiarity with the scenarios, but would like some linked scenarios (for that mini-campaign vibe), somewhere around 8 to 12th level. Preferably a good mix of roleplaying, combat, and puzzles.

So far, I'm looking at running one or two of the following "series", as we only game once or twice a month:

All for Immortality (7-20, 7-26, and 7-29)
The Lissala scenarios (4-08, 4-10, 4-12, 4-20, and 4-26)
Eyes of the Ten (PFS 46, 54, and 2-05)

I know there are lists suggesting how to create a whole campaign out of the scenarios - that's not what I need. Just some good scenarios that make sense together so they can use the same character for a few sessions.

Thanks in advance for thoughts on any of the above or other scenarios that work well together.

Really basic question here, how many players are the scenarios designed for? I seem to recall reading somewhere that the first few seasons were designed for 4 players but at some point they switched over to 6 players?

My group is taking a break from CotCT while two of the players go to Korea for 4 months, and I was thinking of running some scenarios for 3 or 4 of the remaining players. If it's a scenario designed for 6 players, can I just compensate by running at a lower tier, e.g., if the APL is 10, run at the 6-7 subtier instead?

Thanks for any tips!

My CotCT group is going on hiatus while 2 of the players go to Korea for 4 months, and I'm looking for an adventure or two to run in the interim, maybe a deluxe adventure or a couple of linked modules. Probably for 3 or 4 players, and anything from 5th level and up would be fine. They like a good mix of RP, combat, and puzzles (e.g., I worked the Ancients' Anguish scenario, which they really enjoyed, into CotCT).

So, with that in mind, what are your all-time favorite adventures and recommendations?

My CotCT group is going on hiatus while 2 of the players go to Korea for 4 months, and I'm looking for an adventure or two to run in the interim. Probably for 3 or 4 players, and it can be either Pathfinder or 3pp. They like a good mix of RP, combat, and puzzles (e.g., I worked the Ancients' Anguish scenario, which they really enjoyed, into CotCT). I know there's been some older threads on best modules, but they seem to focus exclusively on Pathfinder and haven't been updated in a while.

So, with that in mind, what are your all-time favorite adventures and recommendations?

Activity in the CoTCC forum is slow so I'm posting this here. I'm a little unclear on how the havero tentacles in the Acropolis of the Thrallkeepers are supposed to perceive their targets. The stats give them blindsense, which reads:

"Using nonvisual senses, such as acute smell or hearing, a creature with blindsense notices things it cannot see. The creature usually does not need to make Perception checks to pinpoint the location of a creature within range of its blindsense ability, provided that it has line of effect to that creature. Any opponent the creature cannot see still has total concealment against the creature with blindsense, and the creature still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects the movement of a creature with blindsense. A creature with blindsense is still denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see."

So, the havero tentacles don't have to roll to perceive a target, but since they can't see (only the tentacles are in the encounter, not the full creature) the targets get total concealment and the 50% miss chance? Or does the total concealment apply only if the target has invisibility or something similar?

I'm a little unclear on how the havero tentacles in the Acropolis of the Thrallkeepers are supposed to perceive their targets? The stats give them blindsense, which reads:

"Using nonvisual senses, such as acute smell or hearing, a creature with blindsense notices things it cannot see. The creature usually does not need to make Perception checks to pinpoint the location of a creature within range of its blindsense ability, provided that it has line of effect to that creature. Any opponent the creature cannot see still has total concealment against the creature with blindsense, and the creature still has the normal miss chance when attacking foes that have concealment. Visibility still affects the movement of a creature with blindsense. A creature with blindsense is still denied its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against attacks from creatures it cannot see."

So, the havero tentacles don't have to roll to perceive a target, but the target is still considered to have total concealment, providing a 50% miss chance to any attacks? Is this how it works?

I'm looking for a shorter module based in abandoned, magical ruins for a roughly 10th level party. I'm hoping to replace/add to the Acropolis of the Thrall Keepers in the Curse of the Crimson Throne. Unfortunately, other than the initial Havero combat, I find it a little underwhelming, and would prefer something with more puzzles and combats with weird creatures.

Any suggestions will be much appreciated!

If I understand Cornugon Smash and Shattered Defenses correctly, you have to have iterative attacks in order to make the combo work?

Round 1
1st attack: succeed, and make Intimidate check, target fails and becomes shaken
2nd attack: succeed, target becomes flat-footed

Round 2
Target is only shaken until the beginning of the attacker's turn, but flat-footed until the end of the attacker's turn. To extend the effect, you need to hit the target again, have it fail another Intimidate check to become shaken again, and then hit it again to extend the flat-footed effect.

If you don't have iterative attacks, it just doesn't work:

Round 1
Attack succeeds, make Intimidate check, target fails and becomes shaken until beginning of attacker's next turn.

Round 2
Target is no longer shaken at beginning of attacker's turn, so no opportunity to hit it and become flat-footed.

Do I have this right? If so, it really decreases the utility of Shattered Defenses. You not only have to hit it and succeed on the Intimidate check, but you have to hit the target again the same round, which becomes less likely with each additional attack.

Cornugon Smash reads, "When you damage an opponent with a Power Attack, you may make an immediate Intimidate check as a free action to attempt to demoralize your opponent."

So, if I hit an opponent multiple times with full-attack, does Cornugon Smash activate on each hit and I get an immediate Intimidate checks after each hit, or is it only once per round?

Shatter Defenses seems to imply the latter, as it reads, "Any shaken, frightened, or panicked opponent hit by you this round is flat-footed to your attacks until the end of your next turn. This includes any additional attacks you make this round."

You can't use Shatter Defenses on "any additional attacks you make this round" if you're not making an Intimidate check on each hit. This seems like an incredible drag on combat, unless you just starting rolling an extra d20 with each attack in case it's a successful hit.

So, I'm playing a two-hander, melee-oriented, Oath of Vengeance, Tempered Champion Paladin in Wrath of the Righteous. We're nearing the end of Book 1, and the DM has suggested I should make my build a little more tanky as the rest of the Party is not. We have brawler, gunslinger, and arcane trickster PCs, as well as an ecclesitheurge run by the DM. I'm strongly leaning towards Guardian for Mythic, but he will be limiting us to tier 5 to rein us in a little.

I've been looking at the EH Pit-Touched line as it would work in well from an RP perspective, but it's a hefty 4 feats to take full advantage of it:

Skill Focus, Diplomacy (which I can use as I'll be taking Antagonize)
Eldritch Heritage - Corrupting Touch. Can't see myself using it a lot.
Improved Eldritch Heritage - +2 to CON at 9th, 13th, and 17th levels.
Greater Eldritch Heritage - wings!

So I'm basically paying 4 feat for an extra 60 HP by 20th level, and wings for mobility, although they won't come until 17th level.

Any thoughts on whether it's worth it and/or necessary for Wrath of the Righteous? I'm not necessarily looking for an optimal build, but I do want an effective build.

How does Extra Rage ("you can rage for 6 additional rounds per day") affect Raging Blood ("You can enter this lesser bloodrage twice per day, for up to 4 rounds")?

At least in Hero Lab, having Raging Blood opens up Extra Rage as a valid feat, but it doesn't show any adjustment to the bloodrage uses or tracking. Does it become twice per day for up to 10 rounds or twice per day for 7 rounds each? It seems to depend on whether Raging Blood is interpreted as a max of 4 rounds per day with 2 uses per day, or 2 uses per day with 4 rounds per use. Raging Blood tracking in Hero Lab simply shows 2 boxes, which seems to indicate 2 uses at 4 rounds each. Still, I'm confused!

Couldn't find a definitive answer to this. If you succeed at a DC 15 soft fall from a mount, do you avoid being prone in addition to not taking any damage?

RAW is "Soft Fall: You negate damage when you fall off a mount. If you fail the Ride check, you take 1d6 points of damage and are prone. This usage does not take an action."

The wording seems to imply that you're only prone if you fail. To me, however, it seems logical that if you soft fall you do one of those rolling falls like you see in the movies when folks jump out of a moving car and are (miraculously!) uninjured. Thus, you're prone but undamaged. Also, if you don't end up prone, soft fall seems to overlap a lot with a quick dismount, which is a DC 20. If you need to quickly get off your mount, why not try a soft fall and if you make it you land on your feet and haven't used an action? The DC is easier than if you try a quick dismount.

So I'm having a little difficulty with the Sredna rules. I don't see any incentive to tugging instead of digging in. If both sides dig in, you have no chance to win a strength check but also no chance of losing. If both sides tug, you might win but you might also lose. If only one side digs in, you also might win or lose that round but have a distinct advantage the next round. And if your opponent digs in, why would you try to tug the next round when you know you'll have a distinct disadvantage?

Basically, it always seems optimal to dig in and wait out your opponent, which seems a very un-Shoanti strategy. There should be some risk or disadvantage to digging in repeatedly, perhaps even automatically forfeiting if you do it too often. Or am I misunderstanding the rules?

So I'm getting ready to start A History of Ashes next week and I'm a little underwhelmed at the Cinderlands. You have this potentially fabulous environment with the first (and really only) opportunity for wilderness exploration and there's no sense of danger. There's no guidance on how to navigate and survive the Cinderlands, other than conveniently being provided with boneslayer guides once they get to the Kallow Mounds. While spells like Create Water make desert travel much less hazardous, there are all sorts of other dangers from both creatures and the environment. For example, things get much more interesting if they're fleeing a sandstorm or get ambushed by monsters and some of the Party's horses get killed. Not mention dealing with heat, battles while crossing ravines, etc.

To try and fill this gap, I've been looking at Frog God Games' "Dunes of Desolation", which is a fabulous guide for desert adventuring. I'm combining it with AngryGM's wilderness travel tips to try and make things more exciting.

Also, some of the options for gaining respect seem just a little ho-hum. Go to what is basically a one-room temple and kill a monster. After dealing with the havero, the rest of the Thrallkeepers' Acropolis seems kind of tedious. Would love to hear any suggestions for making this whole part of the adventure more interesting. (And for the record, I do like the sound of the Cindermaw and the Trial of the Totem encounters).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

I have a decent collection of monster pawns from the first two Bestiary Boxes and the CotCC set, but I always seem to need more of a particular monster so I've started printing my own. I use the guide at DMJason and they come out surprisingly well!

Unfortunately, DMJason only provides instructions and templates for printing small - huge minis. Does anyone have suggestions for how I could create gargantuan minis, as my Party is starting to get to that stage.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Well, the Vivified Labyrinth was absolutely glorious! Difficult as heck to run, but well worth it. The Party completely accepted Vimanda as Vencarlo, and she almost succeeded in turning them against Glorio and getting them to immediately backtrack to the palace and attack him. The only reason they failed is they ended up split up by the teleporters, and some of them found the real Vencarlo. When they reunited and confronted Vimanda, she shapechanged into Meliya and gave them a sob story about being trapped in the labyrinth by Glorio and that she only wanted to use them to get out. They didn't completely buy it and she managed to escape.

But, now they're suspicious of Glorio, and are tempted to head back and confront him, as they're not sure whether to try and ally with him or kill him. I'm going to have him waiting for them in the garden with his marai rakshasa, where he can use the marble elephant and water elemental against them if he can't sway them and it devolves into a battle.

But I digress. Glorio has a lot of attacks - 5 attacks with his kukri, a bite, and 1 claw, assuming he can full attack. What does he get if he uses a move action and attacks - a single kukri attack or just the bite? I'm not sure which one is his primary weapon.

So I'm about 3/4 through the game and I've decided that, although I've enjoyed the game and want it to succeed, for the time being I'm going to quit my play through, wait a couple of months for the bugs to be fixed, and then restart.

The game has a ton of potential, but there are just too many game-breaking and non-game-breaking bugs at this point - broken quests, feats/abilities that don't work, weird difficulty spikes that bear no relation to the core rules. (Overall, I don't mind the difficulty. It's challenging, and that's good, but it feels very "cheaty" when monsters have absurdly inflated stats.)

The kingdom management mechanics need to be majorly tweaked and better documented. Several times I would start a project only to be hit with a debilitating event requiring that particular advisor, and no way to reassign that advisor. You shouldn't have to rely on save scumming to work around bad game design. Once you get the larger, 2-space buildings (e.g., mage tower), you can't rotate them to fit them in the available space on your building grid. Individually, you could probably shrug your shoulders over any of these and move on, but cumulatively they're just a drag on the gaming experience.

Owlcat seems to be committed to fixing things, but it's pretty clear this needed at least a couple more months of testing and fixing. It's disappointing, but hopefully over the Christmas holidays I can start over and play it all the way through.

Yeah, I know, I keep asking questions. Anyway, looking ahead to the Vivified Labyrinth, how did folks handle the maps, given the complexity of the rotating sections?

We do traditional, pen-and-paper sessions, with pictures and maps displayed on a TV via Roll20 as they explore. For combats, I typically print out a large version of the combat map and attach it to poster board. For the Urgathoan Temple, I printed out the entire map and attached it to a large poster board, with each section of the map covered by plain paper. As they advanced through the temple, I would uncover the appropriate section.

For the labyrinth, I see two options. The first is to print out each of the 4 labyrinth configurations, attach them to separate pieces of poster board, and then as they pull a lever move them over to the appropriate map. The second option is to put each labyrinth configuration on Roll20, with fog of war enabled, again switching up the maps as they pull the levers. For the actual combats I would have to draw out or print up maps of the likely combat locations.

How have others handled this? The suggestion in the AP to draw out the map on 1" grid paper but with 4 circular sections cut out that can be superimposed and rotated as necessary seems a bit difficult, but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

Whoo boy, this gets confusing! A couple of questions about Magic Jar and Spirit Jars.

1. Magic Jar reads, "If you are successful, your life force occupies the host body, and the host’s life force is imprisoned in the magic jar. You keep your Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, level, class, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, alignment, and mental abilities."

Does this mean a spellcaster can use their spells while in the host's body?

2. Do Spirit Jars essentially allow a permanent Magic Jar? "Spirit jars are permanently affected by magic jar, and can potentially be kept trapped within forever. A caster can only move his soul between bodies while his casting of magic jar is in effect. If his spell expires while he is within a Spirit jar, his soul and those in the other jars are trapped. "

So if the Magic Jar spell ends while the spellcaster is in the host's body, does the spellcaster's soul return to her own body while the host's soul remains trapped in the Spirit Jar? If I understand it correctly, this would allow the spellcaster to renew the Magic Jar spell on the host's body ad infinitum and essentially use it permanently?

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Does an invisible creature a) moving from a threatened square, or b) casting a spell, provoke an attack of opportunity from an adjacent creature with blindsense?

Thanks in advance!

So, Rolth escaped my PCs at the temple of Urgathoa, and, after breaking out Jolistina from Citadel Volshyenek, where would be a good place for him to retreat and scheme against them?

I thought of having him join the Emperor of Old Korvosa, but that seems a little soon to spring him upon the Party again. We just started Book 3 and they will likely run into the Emperor next session. But, since Books 4 and 5 seem to be almost entirely outside Korvosa, does that prevent him from popping up until Book 6?

Just as importantly, who would Rolth turn to for sanctuary now that his Dead Warrens hideout and laboratory at the temple of Urgathoa have been destroyed? I have mixed feelings about him directly allying with the Queen, although I guess it might be possible. Is the Red Mantis a possibility, and where would they pop up? I'm not terribly familiar with Books 4 - 6 yet, so any advice will be much appreciated.

So what happens to the Sable Company after they are disbanded and Endrin is (as far as his men know) slain by Ileosa? I have a hard time believing that a bunch of highly trained and patriotic Korvosans would simply turn over their hippogriffs to a Queen who originally comes from Cheliax and killed their commander. Or did Ileosa have an "Order 66" ready to go and the Gray Maidens stormed the Great Tower and kill all of them? I'm guessing that would be hard to do!

My group is starting Book 3, and has already mentioned trying to track down the marines as potential allies. Where could the Sable Company take shelter and bide their time, looking for an opportunity strike back at Ileosa? Just trying to stay one step ahead of my players!

My group is transitioning from 7 Days to the Grave to Escape from Old Korvosa, and I was a little disappointed to see some some of the effects of blood veil basically ignored. First, if Old Korvosa has been blockaded by the Queen, then the plague should be running rampant. It was the ward most affected by blood veil in Chapter 2, and if they are cut off from the cure the district should still be heavily infected. To counter this, I'm going to start Chapter 3 by having Cressida send the Party into Old Korvosa with diverted jugs of antidote and instructions to find Vencarlo, who will know best how to arrange for distribution. That will then lead into the rest of the chapter.

Second, in Korvosa overall, it seems unlikely that the use of currency to spread the plague would be kept under wraps. Since the Bank of Abadar doesn't know what coins are infected and how long they remain so, I would think the bank would shut down and possibly warn the population to avoid coins. The impact on commerce within the city would be devastating. While some folks might be able to resort to bartering, your average commoner probably can't do so. The economy would likely collapse, which is part of the brilliance of Rolth's and Andisain's plan. This possibility doesn't seem to be accounted for, or am I overestimating all of this?

I didn't have any luck with this in the Rules forum so I'm trying here.

So, as per RAW, "figments cannot make something seem to be something else". To what extent does this affect a figment's ability to hide or conceal something/someone? I know you can't make a trap door seem like part of the floor, but you could create a rug that covers that part of the floor. And I know you could make an area of trees with a canopy of branches and leaves that conceals a party from say, a dragon flying above.

But, can you create a hollow figment that conceals one or more persons within? Such as, a large boulder, a carriage, the legs of a giant, or a suit of armor? One of my players argues that these examples don't alter the appearance of the PC (or PCs), so they should be allowed. I think the first two examples might be feasible, but the latter two seem to be a bit of a stretch.

Any thoughts to help clarify would be much appreciated!

Another illusion question, on figments in particular. And yes, I've read the Skip Williams articles!

So, as per RAW, "figments cannot make something seem to be something else". To what extent does this affect a figment's ability to hide or conceal something/someone? I know you can't make a trap door seem like part of the floor, but you could create a rug that covers that part of the floor. And I know you could make an area of trees with a canopy of branches and leaves that conceals a party from say, a dragon flying above.

But, can you create a hollow figment that conceals one or more persons within? Such as, a large boulder, a carriage, the legs of a giant, or a suit of armor? One of my players argues that these examples don't alter the appearance of the PC (or PCs), so they should be allowed. I think the first two examples might be feasible, but the latter two seem to be a bit of a stretch.

Any thoughts to help clarify would be much appreciated!

So I haven't had to deal with illusions much in the past, and my group's 8th level sorcerer is planning to take Major Image as his first illusion spell as soon as he levels up next session.

I read the excellent "treatise" on illusions by Skip Williams but I'm still trying to resolve the question of how much an illusion can move.

Major Image reads, in relevant part, "This spell functions like silent image, except that sound, smell, and thermal illusions are included in the spell effect. While concentrating, you can move the image within the range."

But Silent Image specifies, "You can move the image within the limits of the size of the effect."

So at 9th level, my group's sorcerer will be able to cast Major Image with an area of affect up to 130 10' cubes and a range of 760'. If he creates a dragon in the sky, can it only fly around within the area of 130 10' cubes, or anywhere within 760'? I'm assuming the latter, since that's what is specified in the Major Image description, although this seems to conflict with Silent Image, upon which it is based.

Thanks in advance!

So I decided to do a complete reboot of Carowyn Manor to give my 8th level party more of a challenge. I love the danse macabre vibe of the original, but the map is just too darned small for my liking, particularly since I'll be adding more monsters. I've decided to use the excellent High Edgmoor Hall map from Heroic Maps, which, like the original, has lots of passageways and doors for Jolistina to flee down and circle around the Party, but also has more room for monsters to swarm them.

Speaking of which, solitary zombies just aren't going to cut it, and adding tons of individual zombies is just a pain for rolling dice and resolving combat. Unfortunately, the zombie horde is simply way too large to be useful, so I'm supplementing them with several "zombie swarms" (yes, I know swarm is usually reserved for fine, tiny, and diminutive creatures) each comprised of 8 zombies represented by a large pawn. They'll have similar, but substantially nerfed, attacks as the zombie horde. Plus all of the individual zombies have been turned into plague zombies for plot reasons, which is a good segue to my next idea.

The whole Ruan plot seems awfully thin to me. Instead, the very strategic sorcerer in my Party took Scrying as his 4th level spell in order to collect info on the NPCs they've been meeting. He's requested a sketch of Rolth from Vencarlo, who is hunting it down for him. (He has a very bad headache from the one time he tried to scry the Queen - he won't be trying that again!) Once he has it (probably from the Guard's investigation file on the Key Lock Killer), he will scry Rolth as he meets with Jolistina outside Carowyn Manor.

Rolth is using the manor as a test group for a new strain of the plague that has some success turning the deceased into plague zombies. Jolistina barred and terrorized the guests in the manor and infected some of them with the new strain of blood veil, then sat back and watched and made sure none of the guests escaped. Via the scrying, they will hear her reporting to Rolth on the spread and deadliness of the strain, and those guests that prove to be immune will eventually be taken to the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden for further study. If the Party acts quickly, they can save the remaining guests and perhaps encounter Rolth, although I want him to survive for the chapter finale at the Hospice. The encounter with Jolistina should play out much as anticipated in the module, although I've given her some additional sorcerer levels and spells, such as Create Pit and Web, to provide more of a challenge.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Really excited to see hows this all turns out!

So my group is about to go up against some vampire spawn, and I'm relishing the shock on their faces when I use Dominate Person against them. (They have big egos and need to be cut down to size occasionally - I don't actually want them dead!)

I've read other Dominate Person threads but I'm unclear on a couple of things. So the barbarian fails his save. I'm assuming the vampire spawn can immediately give a command (as a swift action?) for the barbarian to attack his allies, instead of waiting to the next round?

Since I would judge this against the barbarian's nature, does that immediately give him a second roll to save, or is the initial command considered part of the first save? Would he get a roll each round?

How well does he have to fight - would he have to use full attack, if possible, or would a single attack suffice? Just trying to judge the level of "resistance" he can put up or does he have to fulfill the command to the best of his ability?

Thanks in advance!

So, how do I keep my party from running amok in 7 Days to the Grave without being too heavy handed? They're very aggressive, and already tried to attack the Queen as she fled from the botched execution of Trinia. I can easily see them distrusting Davaulus and the Queen's Physicians on sight and deciding to track/monitor their comings and goings.

I like the overall plot, but I'm a little disappointed with most of the "middle missions" as they don't directly contribute to the story. I was hoping there would be more of an investigation, but only the Direption and Carowyn Manor missions seem to bear directly on the plot. The other three are basically filler missions for XP. My party is already at level 8 (they started "late" after already going through some other adventures) so it's not a big deal if they miss the unnecessary missions, but I also don't want them shortcircuiting the entire chapter and jumping straight to Hospice of the Blessed Maiden.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Just wanted to confirm that Scorching Ray only affects 1 target per ray? One of my players believes it can affect multiple targets per ray if you can line them up in a row. Based on my reading of the spell, that's not the case:

"You blast your enemies with a searing beam of fire. You may fire one ray, plus one additional ray for every four levels beyond 3rd (to a maximum of three rays at 11th level). Each ray requires a ranged touch attack to hit and deals 4d6 points of fire damage. The rays may be fired at the same or different targets, but all rays must be aimed at targets within 30 feet of each other and fired simultaneously."

Am I missing anything here? Thanks!!

So, my Party is eagerly looking forward in knivesies in CotCT, in which the opponents have to fight on a table with one hand tied behind their backs. While one combatant will likely get the dagger placed between them, are there any suggestions for running one-armed combat maneuvers by the unarmed combatant? For example, if they try to grapple in order to move their opponent off the table, what's a reasonable penalty to the CMB, -2, -4, or is it possible at all? Are there maneuvers that would be unaffected, perhaps bull rush?

Just looking for ways to run this and make it exciting. Haven't run a lot of unarmed combat. Thanks in advance!