|
Sekket's page
16 posts. No reviews. No lists. No wishlists.
|
1 person marked this as a favorite.
|
Abadar would be a nice fit, especially in #3 (the Jackal's price, which takes place in the city of Katapesh, where trade is everything and the church of Abadar plays a significant role) and #5 (the Impossible eye, where you literally start in a treasure vault).
Irori is not particularly relevant to this AP, but worshippers of Irori make perfect sense as PCs in this part of Golarion.
Also check the free LoF Player's Guide for information about religions in the AP.
My players are about to reach the top of Bayt al-Bazan, and I face the same problem.
- Why would the PCs free Ezer, instead of simply handing over the Impossible Eye to the Vizier?
- If they free him, why would Ezer attack them, knowing that he would still be stuck in the palace? He would have a much better chance of escaping, for example, by cutting a deal with them, having them returning the Eye and lifting the curse for everyone.
I found a solution to the second problem : Ezer has a plan to escape even if the PCs don't want to ally with him. He plans to kill them and become a lich, using the Eye as a phylactery. This would grant him control over the artifact, allowing him to lift the curse.
Still, I very much fear that smart PCs would never let Ezer out at all. They simply have no incentive to do so.
The adventure begins with the party setting off for Katapesh city from Kelmarane.
During the first adventure, Howl of the Carrion King, my players showed a lot of interest in Haleen's past. She had stayed with the party as backup during the whole battle market part. They wanted to know more about her mysterious debt that led her to fight as a gladiator in the battle market, and they wanted to help her solve her problems. Therefore I inserted a sidequest at the beginning of the Jackal's Price. Haleen's home village was not too far off the way to Katapesh, and the short quest served as a link to introduce the set piece "Hell of Eternal Thirst". This one gave them a lot of trouble, and they still remember it to this day (they are in the middle of the 5th adventure, the Impossible Eye).
I added the encounter with Pazhvann on the way to Katapesh, as designed by the author of the conversion thread :
https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2kwu3&page=2?My-Legacy-of-Fire-Conversions #59
I think this was really useful, and even necessary. They really needed to be filled in about Nefeshti, the Templars, etc. The clues at the monastery were sparse, and they had forgotten all about them during the long exploration of the House of the Beast.
As suggested in another thread, I did away almost entirely with Father Jackal and his dungeon. I kept the adventure pretty much as it was until the part where Rayhan is abducted. The Pactmasters made their ultimatum, but also confiscated the scroll for safekeeping in their secret vault until the sale is complete. Rescuing Rayhan at the warehouse was their only contact with the One Source : after that, I did all I could to steer them away from Father Jacakal, making him a mere pawn of the captain of the Sunset Ship and insisting (through Rayhan) on the fact that the captain only kidnapped Rayhan to goad the Pactmasters into confiscating the scroll.
PLOT TWIST : the Captain, instead of a denizen of Leng, is actually a , like the Pactmasters, and turns out to be the sixth of them, who broke away from them to trade across the planes on his magical ship. He knows the way to the vault, so the confiscation makes it easy for him to steal it.
Then it became a heist mission to get to the vault before the captain of the Sunset Ship. I based the rest on the adventure on a module called "the Pact Stone Pyramid". I located it under the Red Pyramid of Katapesh, and made it the secret vault of the Pactmasters. It ended with a Mexican standoff between Davashuum, Pazhvann (temporarily allied with the PCs), and the sixth Pactmaster. During the battle, Davashuum opens the scroll, triggering the next adventure. Jhavhul grabs Davashuum on his way out of Kakishon, preventing him to be sucked in.
The "Mission:impossible"-like heist quest was a lot easier to keep on tracks than the original adventure, which needs painful railroading.
EDIT : The standoff was a perfect opportunity to have Davashuum and Pazhvann talk about their differences, allowing me to make the campaign plot a tad clearer to the PCs, and making Davashuum a longer-running villain. I also had him kill Pazhvann during the ensuing battle. That way, when the PCs meet him again in the final adventure, he will be a meaningful enemy!
Artifacts are one of the few things in Pathfinder that explicitly tell GMs to use and abuse arbitrary fiats.
In my opinion, the reading would not give any information about the activation method, but it would make the occultist aware that the Scroll is an ancient and powerful artifact.
If you feel that this would not be rewarding enough for the player, you can give him a few extra bits of info that wouldn't derail the plot, such as :
- this artifact was made by one of the greatest wizards ever (you can name Nex straight away or lock the name behind an easy knowledge check)
- this artifact has been damaged and might respond in unpredictable ways if activated
- this artifact has had many owners (you give the player information about the gnoll priestess Shirak, Andrathi or any previous owner(s) through the ages)
Despite your best efforts, know that the Jackal's Price is extremely hard to keep "on the rails" as a GM, since it makes many wild assumptions about the PC's decisions.
Several users have posted fixes and solutions on these boards. I can share mine if you are interested.
Please keep us updated ! I'm sure it will be a great source of inspiration for me, since I'm just a book behind your group ! :)
Thanks a lot for sharing, Akumamajin !
My own players are still making their way through Bayt al-Bazan.
I am preparing for the final chapter and have already rebuilt lackluster enemies from scratch :
- Narrgok, the gnoll cleric, is now a 13th-level inquisitor with the "monster tactician" archetype, which means he has a nasty Horned demon pet who can Haste the bad guys. I made Narrgok a specialist of the "dirty trick" maneuver, just for laughs.
[edit : I might throw in a few pugwampis alongside Narrgok, to trigger their PTSD]
- The janni archers in B14 are replaced with 2 corrupted Garudas, each with 5 class levels and its own deadly build, and they share a Battlemind Link thanks to a wish. They can snipe the PCs pretty much anywhere in Kelmarane, forcing them to move carefully and making the village feel like a true war zone.
- Davashuum is an unchained, 13th-level monk with a solid build and the "ki blocker" ki power, allowing him to ruin the day for the PCs (they have a monk, a magus and a swashbuckler !)
- Rajali is an initiate of the sevenfold veil, the PrC from 3.5 that I always wanted to play. I like her story and I don't think the AP does her justice, so I increased her role in the campaign (she is actually the PC swashbuckler's mother). If the PCs can reach out to her cold heart, they might get her to help them against Jhavhul - her powerful defensive abilities could prove invaluable.
- Jhavhul is heavily reworked as a 9th-level kensai (just like Ajumamajin's Davashuum!), with insane (though CR-legal) stats, and the defensive prowess of a true juggernaut (over 350 hp, 48 AC, parry and riposte + smash from the air...).
I will DEFINITELY steal your idea to streamline the liberation of Kelmarane with the mass combat rules! Your idea to represent wish magic with mythic ranks is also very tempting, but I would have to learn the mythic rules, which I do not know. If I have the time, I will steal that idea too!
Ezra Cain wrote: Ok, I don't math well, so the riddle about how to find the correct sequence of fire curtains to go through is boggling my mind. I have no idea how to explain or GM how characters are supposed to figure out the 4, 2, 1 sequence. Yes, I get half and three times, etc. but no idea how it works. Anyone simplify this? Feel free to post a link to a thread if this has already been covered. Thanks. Hi there,
I'm DMing this adventure and I decided to replace the 4-2-1 thing entirely. I replaced it with a puzzle of my own. My players played through it last week and they really enjoyed it!
In my version, the animal carvings on the ceiling and the ability to teleport between rooms is removed. If a player uses Dimension Door or otherwise enters one of the rooms in the Hazneh in another way than through the walls of fire, the Brass Men spawn as normal.
The walls of fire are colored, and each of them is a separate layer of a Prismatic Wall. The PCs need to go through them in order, from red to violet. If one enters a colored wall that follows the one he previously went through in sequence, he goes through unharmed (you may start over from violet to red). Otherwise, it suffers the effect of the layer, as per the spell. I devised the colors so that even if one screws up and goes through the wrong wall, there is always a "valid" exit to the room. The violet layer, instead of Plane Shifting the victim, sends it to a random room determined by a D6. From 1-5, it sends the PC to one of the five rooms with no red exit (which means they are forced to go through a dangerous wall). On a 6, it teleports the victim into the magma vortex, as described in the adventure for going through a number 3 door.
Final note : if you go through a "dead end", it loops back to the opposite side. For example, going through the cyan wall in A1f makes you exit through the orange wall in A1g. Going through the indigo wall in A1h makes you exit through the violet wall in the same room. Going through the red wall in A1d makes you exit through the orange wall in the same room.
I designed the layout so that there is a valid path from A2 to A5, and another valid path back. Going through the right sequence both ways allows you to visit every room.
Here's a picture of my map :
https://imgur.com/a/FD1wyS2
Awesome! Thank you very much!
Does anyone still have the files?
Skyler Brungardt isn't replying to my e-mail (which isn't suprising, since 6 years have passed).
@the David : ideally a Ranger, but it doesn't really matter because it's only for an NPC.
Thanks for your answers! I suppose the rope dragon will just be the NPC's friend and ally. Its CR won't be included in the NPC's, but it doesn't make much of a difference. Besides, I can only hope that the players won't murder him for no reason!
Hi everyone,
Does anyone know how a character can get a pet/familiar/animal companion/special mount/whatever dragon? The one I have in mind is a CR 5, Small-sized creature (rope dragon).
I'm sure there's an archetype or feat or PrC out there that would let me do that, but I can't seem to find it.
Bonus points if I can get the dragon as early as possible.
Alternatively, what about magical beasts as companions? Familiars don't count, I'm talking about actual magical beasts from the monster manuals.
I know, but I also need swift/immediate actions to use swashbuckler deeds, to cast some spells, as well as to use some magic items (e.g. amulet of tears).
Hi everyone,
I'm currently playing a Aasimar Swashbuckler 1 (inspired blade) / Bard 7 (archaeologist). I'm really good with a rapier and I can cast bard spells. I'm using fate's favored and the (grand-) master performer feats to boost the Luck bonus. My only real headache is swift action economy.
I'm strongly considering pursuing the Bard class until class level 12, so I can get an advanced rogue talent and increase my luck bonus at level 11 (regular progression) and 12 (aasimar FCB). However, I don't see much of a reason to stay after this point. Staying until level 13 would get me 5th-level spells, but I could grab that through a spellcasting PrC.
Should I get 4 more levels of Swashbuckler? Swashbuckler 5 is really tasty, but levels 2 to 4 are really underwhelming.
What other options should I consider?
PS : I know paladin 2 is great for a bard, but it doesn't fit my character for mechanical (swift action economy) and roleplay (strongly CG, azata-blooded) reasons.
I made half the plague doctors regular, bomb-lobbing alchemists, and the other half vivisectionists. Here are the stat blocks I used (includes feats, buffs, etc) :
Vivisectionist
HP 23, init +10
AC 20 (+4 dex, +2 natural, +4 armor)
Fort 4, Ref 7, Will 2
Melee +7 or +5/+5 : 1d4+2/1d4+1 (sneak 2d6, +2 bleed)
Before combat : mutagen, mage armor
During combat : (mutagen,) (true strike maybe,) melee (flank), flees under 7 HP
Leather armor, 2 mwk daggers, wasp venom x2 (DC 18, 6 rounds, 1d2 Dex), Formulae book (300 gp), plague-bringer’s mask, surgeon’s tools, healer’s kit
Alchemist
HP 23, init +10
AC 20 (+4 dex, +2 natural, +4 armor)
Fort 4, Ref 7, Will 2
Ranged touch +7 : 2d6+3 (splash 5) (precision : can spare 2 tiles). 5/day
Melee +5 : 1d6+2
Before combat : mutagen, mage armor
During combat : (mutagen,) throws bombs, flees under 7 HP
Leather armor, mwk club, wasp venom x2 (DC 18, 6 rounds, 1d2 Dex), Formulae book (300 gp), plague-bringer’s mask, surgeon’s tools, healer’s kit
Under the likely assumption that the temple is under alert when the PCs enter it, there are 10 cultists defending the daemon's room... There's no way they can take them all out in one round. I agree with you that the daemon should be a fearsome opponent, and a battle the PCs should try to avoid. Therefore I'll give them a better chance to keep it contained. Let's say that the cultists only try to free the daemon when they're down to 3 defenders, and that it takes a full-round action instead of a standard one.
My players are about to reach the Hospice and the Temple of Urgathoa. I updated every NPC to fit the Pathfinder rules (which means that CR 2 mooks - doctors, maidens and priests - now have 3 class levels), substantially raising the difficulty level.
However I couldn't bring myself to update the Leukodaemon to its Bestiary 2 stat block. It would just be too damn powerful : it gets a hefty damage boost, its breath of flies gets even nastier, and it gets powerful spell-likes (dispel magic at will, 1/day harm - a.k.a insta-kill on a 7th level PC).
What is your opinion ? I was thinking about making it harder for the cultists to free it (giving the party a chance to keep it contained), and/or making it kill the cultists first to punish them for capturing it.
I also noticed that the daemon doesn't seem to have a bow at hand. Maybe it could steal one the PCs would have looted from the Grey Maidens (assuming the PC would carry a longbow on their back) ? How would this translate in terms of combat rules ? [Edit : found about the Steal combat maneuver]
Thanks for the advice !
|