I was getting ready to run this set piece as a side quest for my group as a way to cope with one of my players not being able to be at the game. Now it looks like I will have all of my player, and a few have leveled. I'm looking for a couple of suggestions or ideas how to scale this adventure. The party consists of:
Increasing the number of cultists would be the easiest, except that the cramped quarters of the living quarters would work against the cultists. I thought about changing the cultists from warriors to fighters to give them some extra power, and have Vodzur summon the dretches before the party shows up.
Gark the Goblin wrote:
I'm not saying that she is unknowingly causing problems. I just don't think she works well as a party NPC, which is presented as the ideal situation. If I was to use her in a game, I would have her find out where the party is going next, beat the party to their next town, and start setting up the next situation that would further the party's fame. Sure, she might travel with the party once in a while, but she is going to require the time away from the party to set up all the wars and duping all those dragons. ;) As a party member, she's a liability, and the group that I run for would drop her off at the closest village.
I just don't understand this character. I like the concept, and think she would work out great as that reoccurring npc that is unknowingly causing problems. I don't think she works as a part of the party, and the tactics section seals it for me. She's a character that will leave the party if she gets too hurt and a liability in combat who relies on the party to protect her. The first time she runs from combat and a party member dies, she will probably be ousted from the party, and that limits her direct interaction.
Thanks Sean. I'm just glad the judges are willing to spend the time to share their critiques. Iron Requiem
Description
The flute can be used to make a sunder attempt as a ranged touch attack against a metal target. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the attack is successful, the item takes 5d6 damage. If the damage is more than the hardness of the item, the object is considered broken. If the damage exceeds the hardness and hit points of the item, the item is destroyed. If used against creatures made of metal, the creature takes 3d6 damage on a successful ranged touch attack. Range of the effect is 30 feet. The flute can be used 3 times per day. Construction
The Wandering Bard wrote:
First thing I thought when I saw the name was "which one allows me understand all spoken languages?" Then I saw the weight of 2 lbs, and thought of some huge, metal fish sticking out of my ear. ;) You might have been better off working with only one of the minnows, defining the description a little better (is it a clockwork fish, with the internal gears sealed to keep out water, or a solid metal fish that changes to a real fish when activated). Maybe have the item grant a swim rate. Just my thoughts.
Keith Duperreault wrote:
Ok. I can see the reasoning. But at the same time, you have limited the number of people that can go through the portal at a time to 1 when you could get up to 4 people in a teleportation circle per round (5' radius) and created a limitation in that both entry and exit have to be drawn. Just my thoughts. It would be an item I would use in the game I'm running if I did not remove teleportation spells from my game (which does make it difficult for the bad guys to get away). ;)
Lucas Jung wrote:
Ok, strange place to end a quote, but ok. I like the idea for the Amulet of discord as well, basically giving the wearer an aura ability. I'm not sure that turning into a 'per attack' roll helps though, as this could slow down a combat to a crawl. A possible fix is to move from the focused mindset to attack the nearest person and turn it into a paranoiad 'everyone is an enemy' approach. Let the players determine what their actions will be, who their threats are, and how to deal with them. And like an aura, if the person succeeds at the save, he cannot be affected for another 24 hours.
Keith Duperreault wrote:
What about just using Tele (wait, spells aren't capitalized ;) ) teleportation as the base spell, or even requiring dimension door and the enlarge spell feat? Then you are just looking at a 4 or 5th level spell, which would drastically cut down on the cost.
Freehold DM wrote:
I have a feeling yours was rejected because of the assumption that the critical hit/critical fumble decks are being used.
Requesting my punishment....now. ;) Iron Requiem
Description
The flute can be used to make a sunder attempt as a ranged touch attack against a metal target. This does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If the attack is successful, the item takes 5d6 damage. If the damage is more than the hardness of the item, the object is considered broken. If the damage exceeds the hardness and hit points of the item, the item is destroyed. If used against creatures made of metal, the creature takes 3d6 damage on a successful ranged touch attack. Range of the effect is 30 feet. The flute can be used 3 times per day. Construction
Ragwaine wrote:
I'm picturing it like a "Wall of Door" spell. ;) Or something similar to how web works. Actually, I really like this one. I'm thinking about giving a villain in my game a bunch of one-shot items like this to work as a means to escape the party.
taig wrote: May the best sentient being win! There might be a self-aware computer out there that has entered the contest. If it's Skynet, I'd rather have it working on RPG Superstar entries than creating a race of cyborgs to kill us all. If I have a new player at my table asking me what character Sarah Conner is playing, I am blaming you. ;)
cappadocius wrote:
Actually, this is what I'm looking for the most: the threads of people posting their very good, good, and not so good items for discussion (and the occasional 'expert' critique). :) Good luck everyone.
Andreas Skye wrote:
I'm not sure how much +1 hp is going to help separate the "odd" from the "norm". As for the cultural background of the pc races, look at the elf. This is just using current 3.5. Favored class is wizard. But they are trained in warfare. So, they could be a fighter. They are naturally graceful, so they could favor rogues. They typically live in the forest, so they could favor ranger or druids. They create works of poetry/music/art/etc, so they could be bards. None of these classes become the odd class choice. All of them could be favored classes. And all of this can change if the dm has a different cultural style for elves. A game I played in had two different cultures for elves. One was a standard elf with wizard as the favored, while the other was a nomadic desert culture that didn't have wizards. Bards were the favored class. 4e even has them leaning towards cleric. In my opinion, the "odd character" is going to stand out by how the player plays the character against the cultural norm, and that's not really covered by what the favored class rule cover. This rule just removed a penalty if a certain condition was met in 3e. I'm not sure why we need to turn it into a bonus. I would think that if you wanted a player to take a favored class, then create a racial level substitution that gets the player to want to invest levels in that class, and that should be in line with how the dm chooses to portray the race.
DracoDruid wrote:
I thought about making it a full-round action, but I thought that it makes sneak attack not viable as an attack option. The rogue has to run up his target, possibly make one attack, and then opens himself up to whatever he just hit to get a damage boost next round. I like the idea of a rogue spotting his chance, running up to the target, and making the one precise strike. A lot of time the rogue is going to take a full round just moving to position early in the fight anyway.
roguerouge wrote:
The party is 10th-11th right now. I have a tendancy of throwing a lot of lower level creatures that lead up to a boss, so 35 points of damage per round usually will drop an opponent. That is about the amount of damage the other characters are putting out (two paladins and a soul bow, along with a cleric with searing light and a love for spike stone, and a wizard). Now, if this starts to fall apart at higher levels, then I might have to rethink it. ;)
Since the whole point of a favored class was to give a class where levels did not matter for multiclassing penalties, and the multiclassing penalties are gone, then there really doesn't need to be a favored class anymore. If you want to have races take particular classes, then racial substitutions would probably fill that role better. And as long as the substitution levels weren't mandatory, then backward compatibility isn't broken.
roguerouge wrote:
I'm currently running a game where I changed sneak attack into a standard action, and it has worked out fine. The rogue does become a different animal with this change. As a player, I loved having the invisible, walking fireball on my side, but I still thought it was far removed from the 1e/2e roots. The rogue would just wade into battle, destroying anything in her path. In the game I'm running, she is more opportunistic and mobile, looking for the next flanking opprotunity. What it just comes down to is how each of us see to role of the rogue. I'm not looking for grim and gritty. I don't like the idea of slow advancement, as it can just make a level drag on. I like my rogue to be the mobile opprotunist. Skaven13
WelbyBumpus wrote:
Not really. If that was the case, then everyone has a similary ability as long as they put points into the skill. As it stands, this would be something similar to a Skill Focus feat. Maybe something like what Spycraft does with their origin descriptions (+2 to knowledge skills, and it increases by 1 for every 4 levels). That would allow one of the core abilities of the bard to scale with as the bard increased in level. Or if that seems to be too much, since it applies to all knowledge skills, maybe start with the bonus to one skill, and increase the number of skills as the bard goes up in level. Skaven13
I don't see the skill points in 3.x as a lot of record keeping. Our group played Champions, and then Powers and Perils (you leveled up skills and spells with separate xp for each skill and spell...excel was my friend for that game) before hitting 3rd edition. I do think that the classes need more skill points per level (2 + int is terrible), and there should be an easy way for DM's to create quick NPC's with a skill template. I like the idea of gaining extra class skills, either at creation or at certain levels in game. So my vote is for skill points.
Erik Mona wrote: If you don't give it some kind of name, even if it's something descriptive or a nickname the locals use, your players are going to come up with a name that will piss you off like Harvey... Thanks Erik. Now I have to create a "Harvey of the Severed Head" to torment my players with. He could be a mastermind behind an insidious plot to steal everyone's boots and mittens... :p
Clouds Without Water wrote:
Maybe a telepathic message: "You got scroll" ;)
Patrick Walsh wrote:
The intention is one scroll per case, although if there were more than one scroll, there is only one recall of a spell of a particular level per day. I will need to make sure my players never see that loophole. ;) Although I do like the idea of a limited number of scrolls that can be cast from the case and dropping the re-use power. Maybe as a different item.
The Benevolent DM wrote:
I like this one. I could see it in a light hearted campaign, or just one of those evenings where the party is taking the night off from gloomy adventures. Great for stopping those pesky owlbears. Although I don't think immobility is the best way to implement this. Maybe lose the bite attack until the chewy is destroyed, or becomes distracted easily, so it becomes flat footed (cause it's filled with peanut butter...) ;)
Forged Goo wrote:
So, do the disks create a wagon around the item? Or do they lift the item off the ground? What's the weight limit, or is it just the drag capacity/speed of two heavy horses? Not sure where the mending comes into play. Maybe using tenser's floating disk as a pre-req instead. Could make for a good utility device.
OgeXam wrote:
The line about the myths seems out of place. If this is supposed to be an item to enhance nature summoning, then the undead/planar description just doesn't seem to fit. Also, I don't think you really need the lesser/normal/greater split. The enhancement is similar to the corpsecrafter feat from libre mortis (+4 str, +2hp/hd), so you have a minor affect (talk to the ally you summon) and a pseudo-replication of a feat. Maybe include animal types from summon monster spells. Otherwise, it looks pretty good.
Dungeon Grrrl wrote:
My players are the same way, especially since I put in a system to gain/teach skills, so they would take the time out to find a master blacksmith to teach them the trade. Usually, though, if they find magical items that they know the party won't use, they use their guild to find if another adventuring party might have something for trade. It works out since I still have some control over what is currently available. I think the reason I would change it to a magical location is simply because this feels like the character redesign rules from the phb2 (or is that the dmg2...always get those confused), just applied to magic items. To me, that shouldn't be something simple to do.
Andrew Turner wrote:
A lot of us aren't professional writers either, so don't worry about it. ;) When I first started reading this, I thought about the pathfinder series, the tie to the seven deadly sins, and keeping track of the characters' sins for a later story. I liked this concept and was a little excited. When I got the part about charging the crystals and gaining xp...well, that ended it for me. This feels like the whole "making xp into a resource" idea, even if it is giving xp back, and could become subject to abuse. Maybe instead of the xp bonus, give powers based on the particular sin. I could see this become the center of a retrieval adventure (return each crystal from a group that taken them and using them for ill). So it has potential.
Cybren wrote:
The first paragraph starts out fine, but seems to break down when you start talking about what clothing you can change into. I would probably have limited it to a suit of armor and up to 4 items (magical or mundane). Otherwise, I could see some of my players wanting to use something like this, for the social aspect. I could see making a situational +2 to charisma checks instead of the +4 to disguise since you could tailor your outfit to your needs.
Well, after I just poked fun at the arquebus of pillows, figure I should put mine up here. Scroll case of Armaxis Named for the wizard who created them, these scroll cases were used to outfit mages of the Southern Leagues during the war to combat the rune sorcerers of the north. After the war, they became an item that a master would give to a favored student at the end of his apprenticeship. (I actually left this fluff text out, and changed the name to scroll case of recall) These scroll cases are covered with arcane runes and adorned with various charms or decoration. It is connected on one end by a cord or chain, which is usually attached to a belt. By itself, the scroll case does not have any power, but whenever a scroll is placed in the case for at least 24 hours, the case grants two powers. First, any of the deciphered spells on the scroll are able to be cast as if the scroll was activated normally without removing the scroll from the case. This ability counts as casting the spell from the scroll, and all rules for activating a spell from a scroll apply. Second, the case can recall a spell of a given level once per day. Only those spells that appeared on the scroll when it was placed into the case can be recalled with this ability. If the scroll is removed from the case, the case loses these properties until a scroll is placed in the case for another 24 hours. Most scroll cases of Armaxis can recall spells from levels 1, 2, or 3. Scroll cases that can recall higher level spells are rumored to exist. Strong transmutation; CL 17th; Craft Wondrous Item, creator must be able to cast spells of the spell level to be recalled; Price 1,000 gp (1st), 4,000 gp (2nd), 9,000 gp (3rd). The caster level might be a little high, but I was looking at the pearl of power (I think) that does a similar affect.
die_kluge wrote:
So...if I use energy substitution, can I get t-shirts instead of pillows? Or hot dogs? ;)
Fatespinner wrote:
Kinda like American Idol, but everyone is Simon. ;)
A full round action to fold an origami dragon??? Please tell me that the paper is assisting in creating the folds, or there is some haste affect going on around the hands. I just got images of being in a fight, trying to fold paper. Wait. Don't swing. Can't get this...mountain fold...squash this side....hey paladin, let me use your back real quick to get this crease....got it!
CastleMike wrote: Most DMs won't have a problem with PCs building themselves Grand Castles during down time or improving their lands and property as long as they don't abuse the mechanics and become the Merchant Prince Team Construction in game. I was in a game where we talked about doing just that. We were going to call ourselves "Two Elves and a Dwarf Construction". My bard would create the structures, the other elf would handle the business end, and the dwarf would create the furniture or iron-wrought materials. Our DM constantly rolled his eyes at us. ;)
jraynack wrote:
cause nothin says lovin like elves from the oven. :p Sorry...couldn't resist.
Eric Carltock wrote:
Wait a minute....who is the .07 of a person that submitted an item? Or who is going to claim to be another .07 of a person? Submit your entry in this new-NEW contest... ;P Skaven13
hopeless wrote:
Well, looking into the unhallow spell, it does give the standard undead a little bit more staying power, and a bane effect against the pc's would help against the haunts, or an aid affect for the undead would make them a little tougher. I'll tie the unhallow in with the temple underneath. (maybe I could scatter pieces of the broken phylactery around the house, and if brought to the temple underneath, blessed, and destroyed...) The problem is that I've taught my players to be cautious (though, not necessarily a bad thing) ;). I think the environment will be enough to be scary, but, ghouls tend to be a cakewalk, and while a lot of the haunts could bring down some of their power, I can see the party start to turtle around the paladin for the bonus to fear saves. And the group does pretty well on their will saves. I'll have attic whisperers drawn to the pc with the obsessed haunt, since I believe that is the one with the haunt where the child is watching the parents try to kill each other. Aldern will need a few more levels. I could increase the number of ghouls, or convert the ghouls to ghasts.... If anyone else has some ideas, here's the party makeup: Paladin, Rogue/Sorcerer, wizard/scout/loremaster, cleric (spontaneous caster rules , so like a sorcerer), and a soulknife/soulbow. They are a 9th/10th level party.
I was thinking the same, and the timing would have worked out wonderfully, but somebody decided to get married and have a reception on the gaming night. You would think that since the groom is in the group, he could have planned that better. ;) But, as I'm looking at the house, I need to scale it up for the party (I have 9th and 10th level pc's, including a paladin). I'm thinking about bringing in a group of attic whisperers from burnt offerings, but looking for other ideas about how to scale this adventure (increase will saves, extra creatures, etc)
Unfortunately, this sounds like a module on a monthly basis. I liked having the choice in dungeon for small side quests or ideas for my campaign, but I usually pass on the modules because 1) they don't fit my game world and 2) the price makes it counter-productive for just gathering ideas. I'll reserve my final judgement for after I see the first couple of issues. Course, that doesn't mean WOTC is saved my ranting. ;) Skaven13
How have things changed so much for the worse in just the past year? I thought it was bad that I was constantly waiting to recieve my dragon up to 2 weeks after the same issue had arrived in stores, but you definitely have me beat. When my subscription was about to expire 2 years ago, I must have recieved 2 notices 1-2 months before my last issue, and a notice included with my last issue. This time, I get a letter saying that i recieved my last issue 2 weeks ago, and oh, you might want to subscribe again. How is it that Paizo can get this magazine to the stores on time, but cannot seem to manage getting 12-24 prepaid issues delivered in a timely manner? |