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inside a Bag of Holding....
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you could use the Creature Mob template
"Top Men...."
the DMG2 from 3.5 had a Mob Template that was pretty good at situations like this http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/community-creations/satinder-hawkes-s-lab/ho use-rules-bestiary/creature-mob-template
My group is playing Rappan Athuk and they are level 11. So far there have been 40 fatalities and 3 TPKs.... Alas, poor Jolan! RA is a "Listerine" style dungeon - kills millions on contact! Enjoy it as such, embrace each death, and know that in the end good will triumph over evil (even if the PC's never get to see it happen). This is a good dungeon to get your players used to having characters die. It is not a good dungeon for a serious on-going campaign (at least not without serious re-writing). My favorite TPK was against the Wraith where half the party dies fighting it (including the Cleric), the other half tried to run away but the Wraith chased them down and finished them. IIRC, we never did go back and deal with that foul denizen....(assuming that any knowledge of it's existence got to the surface)
maybe this is why a certain someone went looking for valuable items...
"Scout" archtype, using ""Scout's Charge" and "Skirmisher" to get sneak attacks (no flank needed)....add the teamwork feat "Gang Up" and you should be covered for sneak attacks in most situations
....any way to get this Centaur Graveyard without downloading all the toolbars and crap that goes with it? I would like to look at it, but not worth the time to clean up my PC after from all the crap these sites push on you....
Scout archtype and Gang Up.....skip 2 wpn fighting (IMO - I wasted feats on it but rarely used it...was nice when I could w/ Haste though!) I was regularly the 2nd dmg dealer (Cleric, Paladin, Wizard, and me the Scout)...and in some battles I out-classed the Paladin! While I could not "hold the line" for more than 1 or 2 rnds, unless I went Full Defense, but more than once I "saved" the Paladin when she went down, standing over her until the Cleric could heal. And, I was the only one with a decent (actually obscene) Perception, and did ALL the scouting, was the Knowledge monkey, and did most of the item/NPC recovery... Rogues are tricky to play, but I find them very rewarding. Unless high DPS is the only thing that turns you on....
OK, my PC's are about to do "V"....having just finished exploring all their hexes, with a flourishing Kingdom, and a fore-knowledge of an upcoming "purge" (every few months, our group hires "2nd stringers" that are 3 levels below, to "clean-up" what the main PC's missed...these guys ran into a Sphinx, who answered 3 questions after they answered 3 riddles). plot spoiler: The "purge" is "V" (who awakened a few months back) demanding that Erastil uphold the bargain, causing the beasts to rise-up and eliminate all squaters (this is what eliminated the Taldorian explorers 600 y.o. and the previous Brevoy explorers 60 y.o. Erastil had been hoping to avoid it this time, but....) So the PC's know it is coming "around the next equinox" (everything seems to happen then, they hate it!). So they are looking for any signs of a "purging".
They cleared a complex south of the trolls (unique to my campaign) that was used by the Cyclops as a forge and armory...and discovered a shaft with an illusion to make it look like a well, that concealed a chamber that held an Iron Golem, that was holding a permanently invisible and non-detectable "Briar" (I am dropping book 5, so Briar has not yet been found in my campaign, despite the efforts of several agents the PC's have run into). They do not know what it is yet, but know it is likely "the special sword" everyone is looking for.... During the last winter (during which they managed to "cure" the Old Beldame of her insanity, and stop the possession using PFE, then convinced her to move to the PC's capitol into a specially prepared chamber with PFE,etc) they encountered some "barbarians" in the woods just outside their kingdom, and questioned a survivor to discover that Armag "the twice born" plans to attack the trade route, blocking it...so for the last few months they have been diplomatically gathering armies and resources to field armies (since they are still only 20 hexes or so). They were planning a recon to find out what this is all about, when they received word that Varnhold was empty (they visited last year and got a good "bonding" with some of the locals). So "N" is down to just a few bestial "vessels" she can possess during the solstices....I should mention that during the previous solstice, the Sorceror cast "unnatural lust" on the Old Beldame (who was possessed by "N" at the time), and she rolled a "1" to save! The "target" the Sorceror chose was none other than the Baron PC, so now "N" is in love with the PC Baron! They rushed over to Varnhold (one PC is a Druid who can change into a Roc and carry everyone using a special harness they carry inside a bag of holding) in time before the last of the farm animals died from starvation, so the Druid got to question them. The crows attacked, and the druid questioned one of the scattered after it was over, and found out about "H". They got to where the tracks ended on the hill, then cast "commune with nature" (finding only the spriggin camp), followed by a clever use of "commune" to pin down the location of the Villagers to one of 3 hexes, and less than 900' underground. They spotted "H" at distance spying on them, captured him and began to question him getting only "my master will punish you for this!" Then "BOOM" feathers everywhere.... Tomorrow they plan to fly over those hexes, repeating the spells again. I expect they will rather quickly find the complex (and fight the wyverns pack)...and ultimately slay "V". That is when ownership of the Stolen Lands reverts to the Count for the first time, but since he is "missing" it reverts to his "wife", N. Who (in the role as Shadow Fey Queen, ignorant of the goals of "N" in between the solstices) she sends her Emissary (the hidden ambassador) and petitions Erastil to stop the purge, and change the sky to pink as a sign of the new "enlightened rule" of the Fey. Since "V" was the last of the Cyclops, the Fey will control these lands until time ends.....unless the PC's travel to the Court of the Shadow Queen and makes a petition....which will result in ~100 years passing "Rip Van Wrinkle" style, during which time Brevoy will ultimately capture Restov ...and Numeria will put down Pitax. My PC's found 5 silver dragon eggs, and reared them (offspring of the slain silver dragon). They are secretly keeping them in a hidden cavern protected by the Mik-Mak and the Kobolds they befriended in book one....so upon their return, the dragons will be 100 y.o. and grown-up, and the Kingdom of greater Brevoy will be a hot-bed of despair and waiting for a spark. Mivon is still simmering (the PC's forged some strong bonds there) and even elements in Restov will remember the PC's....plus they should have the favor of the Shadow Queen who will grant her new "lover" a Fey army or two....the Battle for Brevoy will begin (5 silver dragon riders vs. 2 older red dragons, Fey armies, Allies, etc).
buy the AP pdf's, then drop them into this; http://roll20.net/
do they all have dark vision or low light vision? if not, perhaps already using them, but the Darkness rules on pg 442 of the CRB should help spice things up a bit....at least when the moon is new (25% of the month) -max half speed unless dc 10 acrobatics check made (fail = fall prone)
against foes that can see combat should be nasty (especially those that can see and use ranged weapons or deal precision damage) and maybe say Rocs hunt only at night...on moonless nights
bards, travelling traders, pilgrims, prospectors, gypsies (in my Kingmaker, the traders especially tend to act as spies for one faction or another)
I would not allow an auto-draw, unless the disarming occured 10 or more feet from the original target of the charge (say by an AoO)....from the original post, it sounds like all the movement was done before the disarm occurred - therefore unless they stated they were drawing a 2nd weapon BEFORE the interrupt, once they arrive (and are disarmed) they would have to move an ADDITIONAL 10 or more feet to allow a free draw....the Fast Draw feat of course would be allowed. But, any other available attack legal during a charge I would allow...such as an unarmed attack
in the real world, when fighting someone (my experience is TKD and fencing) you tend to figure out pretty quick if you are overmatched (or overmatch) your opponent, unless they actively try to fool you (which IMO would require a bluff check vs. weapon skill and maybe a minus to your attack). Within 2-3 rounds max you know if you are in trouble or not and adjust your tactics...like all-out-defense Same with damage - again unless they try to fool you. One senses the slowing down, the limited movements, the hard breathing...and goes for the kill (or rests if you have another tough match coming up and you are assured of winning, and do not need the extra points)...but a skilled opponent can also trick you and suck you in for the kill. So I let the players use their knowledge of the to-hit dice rolls, and although I do not advertise remaining hit points, I do tell them "your foes is below half" or "your foe is nearing zero". If they miss due to a high deflection bonus, I usually let them know that normally they would have hit this target....and if it is a dodge bonus I describe how the foe "dodged away from your blow that normally would have hit"...if they are all-out-defending I describe how they avoided attacking to bolster their defense...etc (so the players generally know if an opponent is doing something extra) In my experience, 90% of the time the players still miss metagaming opportunities even when I do this (splitting blows between 2 weak opponents, etc) so I do not think it gives them an unfair advantage, but instead adds color and makes the battles more memorable.
great ideas! this is the pivotal event that starts the PC's losing their sponsorship (already pretty much required per the AP) - depending how they handle the situation will determine the cost of the "break" with Restov. spoiler: oh yeah - I am replacing most of module 4 with Courts of the Shadow Queen...N has an agent looking for the sword as well as any "adventuring parties" looking for swords (a "tall pale elf with pale blue eyes, dressed in bizarre but fine clothing, not from any known lands around here"). This "elf" assaulted the Lord Commander of the City watch with spells whilst he slept, interrogating him about any "adventurer's looking for swords" and also about the PC's - he told this "elf" (under a spell he had to tell the truth) that the PC's were working for the Crown, and had a charter to settle, not adventure...and that they had settled (the "truth"). Turns out this Lord Commander used to be the drinking buddy of one of the PC's (back story) so he confided in him. This "elf" ends up being the Hidden Ambassador from the Shadow Court...having failed to make progress on the sword or the adventurer's (IMKM, N and the Summer Queen are the same, but out of phase - when the Winter King rules, N can operate...when the Summer Queen rules, the Count can operate (on the shadow plane). N has lost much of her powers, so is "flighty" and forgetful now (if the PC's kill all of the repositories of these powers, she will be much more powerful when they meet her). All of this will be kicked off after AP3... Almost had a TPK tonight - Dancing Lady enters and starts her dance (they had just burned the swarms and were dealing with the Quickling). I explained it that anyone attracted to women was at a -2 to save (the PC's are all male characters, although 3 are played by women) - two immediately declared themselves to be gay (elf druid and aasimar cleric), which could have repercussions in the shadow court... luckily one PC used a hero point before, and 3 PC's used them after (otherwise all would have failed instead of just 1) Love it when the hero points get spent (and they all just got them from leveling...heh heh heh)
Travelling domain for clerics... Travel Domain Granted Powers: You are an explorer and find enlightenment in the simple joy of travel, be it by foot or conveyance or magic. Increase your base speed by 10 feet. Agile Feet (Su): As a free action, you can gain increased mobility for 1 round. For the next round, you ignore all difficult terrain and do not take any penalties for moving through it. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier. Dimensional Hop (Sp): At 8th level, you can teleport up to 10 feet per cleric level per day as a move action. This teleportation must be used in 5-foot increments and such movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You must have line of sight to your destination to use this ability. You can bring other willing creatures with you, but you must expend an equal amount of distance for each creature brought.
spoiler: when my PC's discarded the Stag Lord's ring for sale (N's hair turned into metal), it ended up in the markets of Restov for sale, and ended up on the hand of a minor (but "up-and-coming") Councilman of Restov. He has now been snared by N after taking a fancy to the ring and buying it, then having dreams. He has a sudden appreciation for Fey (the Gnomes of Restov like that) and a keen interest in keeping the Stolen lands wild and supressing any "adventuring parties". Soon, the Mayor will lose a vote of no confidence (over funding the charter groups instead of more troops) and new rules put into effect "banning adventuring" - the biggest effect of this will be no more selling of loot at Restov (there will be a 90% tax applied). The PC's have been invited to the Grand Ball of Restov in a few months (along with the other Charter Groups). Here they will meet this councilman, and possibly (hopefully) spot the ring on his finger (or perhaps on a chain around his neck). Some playful but serious banter about the charter groups draining the treasury when troops are needed will occur, etc. I fully expect if (when) the PC's spot the ring, they will follow/study this councilman.... What would a newly snared Councilman of Restov do to prepare for such encounters? The Party level will be 6 by then...possibly 7. I made him a Aristocrat8 (my Lord Mayor is lvl 10). He has Leadership, and I gave him a lvl6 Wizard (advisor) and a bunch of Fighter followers (bodyguards). I assume he is fairly wealthy. He certainly is aware of the PC's (they are a Ranger(guide), Fighter, Cleric, Druid) and is privy to the reports they send each month plus has met them personally twice now (with all the other council members). From him, N knows the PC's are not "adventurer's, but settlers from Restov...so he just hates them because N wants the stolen lands kept unsettled...he does not suspect them (yet). But, any suggestions for things such a person might do to prepare for the "foreshadowed" adventurer's?
When my PC's killed the Stag Lord they found his ring (from N) and ignored it (just a non-magic silver ring? sell it!) Now they are looking at the end of book 2, and have a nice little kingdom started. And the "Baron" is looking for a Bard Cohort (for when he takes Leadership). To "sing his praises". In my Kingmaker, trouble is now starting with the Lord Mayor (the party just learned he passed a vote of no confidence regarding his sponsorship of the 4x charters, instead of spending that money to hire and equip more mercenary troops). Turns out that when the PC's sold that "petty silver ring", it ended up in the jewelery markets of Restov, and a certain under council member picked it up....and now wears it to every council meeting. N now has a direct link to the leadership of Restov, and is using it to corrupt and weaken the only kingdom currently in a position to harm her (and the most likely source of the foretold "adventuring party" - new rules will be imposed outlawing "adventuring" as it "stirs up elder evils") The PC's just got invited to a Grand Ball in Restov, at which they will unknowingly be introduced to the council member with the ring (an underling no more....) and have an opportunity to recognize the ring they sold....
Without a spellcaster, going rogue might not be the best choice, unless your DM is able to compensate for this (I love Rogues, but....) Consider a Rogue (Scout) with proper feats and talents and items it is possible to get sneak attacks without flank and sort of tank for a round or two (scout's charge, skirmisher, gang-up, offense defense, etc). But expect to die a lot if the BBEG crits... cannot remember the progression, and make no claims about optimization, but here was my character at level 7 (the only sheet I can quickly find) Human Rogue(scout) 7 (played in Council of Thieves AP) Str 12
HP: 55
Fort +4
CMB +6
Skills (partial list)
+1 mithril daggers (+14) 1d4+3
sneak attack 4d6 feats and traits
I also spent most of the fighting with "reduce person" up, and eventually got it cast on my PC permanently....which was nice most of the time. Overall I was disappointed with how often I successfully used Acrobatics (would probably not spend so much on that if I did it over) - I got stopped quite a bit, so stopped trying. I went negative quite a bit, until I started hanging back more. My weaknesses were Will saves (Charm Person...grrrr) and low HP (I often "died" when I was ~75% HP and got one-shotted) but I spent most of the time out front and routinely spent 1-2 rounds toe-to-toe with baddies before the Tank (a Paladin) could engage....other players were a Cleric and a Wizard. I enjoyed this Character quite a bit, although could easily have enjoyed other classes equally (if not more). I often did about as much damage as the Paladin (unless we were fighting evil) in our encounters... But, without the Cleric and Wizard buffing, healing, etc. I would have died a LOT more.....
by eliminating the "take 10" and "take 20" rules, your DM is eliminating stuff that streamlines the game and adds fun for everyone. So demonstrate the alternative. Spend an hour or two carefully explaining your actions, making a die-roll for each. Then, despite the die-roll, repeat it. "I stand 50 feet away"
Be sure to add some "flavor", so each one of those statements takes a minute or so.... If he complains, simply state that his house rule leaves you no option, since he obviously wants you to roleplay "how" you take 10, or take 20
Thanks Rickmeister, that is high praise! there are of course many rough spots and holes, and most of this is a compilation of what others have already posted, so I cannot take credit for it. spoiler: I plan on running Narissa in the shadow court kind of like the queen of hearts in alice in wonderland - flighty and not really connected, but in charge and with powerful agents at her beck and call(and a whole host of fawning sycophants giving suggestions she follows because she lacks will). She will not appear to be that big of a menance, her court will be the real challenge...and a contest will likely result between the party's male elf druid and male sylph king to become the new consort of the shadow queen (the rest of the party being half-orc and assimar). The mad hermit (Bokken's lost brother) was part of the last attempt at colonization 60 years ago, and "went native" when it failed. Curious over the years why the old beldame did not appear to age, he began to covertly study her. One mid-summer's day while the old beldame was "channeling" Narissa, the (not yet mad) hermit had the misfortune to get caught. Narissa blasted his mind, driving him insane. He now fears even the mention of the green lady, the old beldame, or any fey (or the first world even). Any hint of conversation along these lines will drive him into a frenzy, causing a surprise attack. This was decades ago, and he no longer can even contemplate returning to civilization...and will fight to the death to prevent it. If defeated, the PC's will recover his notebooks from 60 years of exploring ruins and digging up pot shards...they will provide much of the story of the war between the cyclops and the fey, and the start of the stolen lands, as well as much concerning the old beldame (but nothing about narissa). All of the local creatures fear the old beldame (and her scarecrow), even the trolls keep their distance from her (encouraged by narissa). They are focused on building their own kingdom and shaking down travellers on the renewed taldorian trade route (the PC's have already heard rumors of the troll raids on caravans). The Elves of Mivon have a tenative truce with the trolls, and are trying their best not to get involved in a war (preferring instead to meditate in their tree houses). If the PC's succeed in the shadow courts, the prestige will carry over to the elves of mivon (and they will likely ally with the PC's kingdom over mivon). by the end of module 3, the relationship with Restov will be on the rocks (the lord mayor having lost his position in a vote-of-no-confidence brought on by failures at the Brevoy court and the expenditures to the party's kingdom). War with northern brevoy will be imminent. I am pretty much eliminating module 4 (keeping the parts I like), replacing it with the Shadow Courts module....when the PC's return, they will find they have a new prestige with most folk (including brevoy and restov, who will seek a treaty while they face off), and pitax will appear no more fawning than all the rest - when they invite the pc's to a friendly tourny...and the pc's fresh from a court experience, fighting duels for prestige, etc. are very likely to fall for it! When they find briar, and realize it is an artifact they are certain to research the story (if they have not already). The war to the north, allies to the south, the east already won, the kingdom will head west... By this point it is my hope they have everything pretty much figured out (at least smart enough to not sell briar - they are selling the +2 fey bane bastard-like relic from the wight lair without even a research roll...despite me having the party npc sage checking stuff out the next morning and declaring the ruins to be "possibly before earthfall"). I am trying to figure out some advantage the consort of narissa will have during the final show-down....a free "taunt" power, making narissa focus on the consort for that turn? an extra hero point that can only be used in relation to narissa? one free "spell cancel" (simulating a well timed jibe or taunt)? assuming narissa is defeated, the gods will deem the contract fulfilled, and the linkage between the worlds will be removed. The stolen lands will be stolen no more, belonging to the humans who now live their (the PC's kingdom).
Years ago in another game system (% based), we used a "focus of perception" mechanism....the player would define what their perception was focused on (ie; the pile of rags). They got a plus for that, and a minus for everything else. The degree of focus mattered; focusing on "the room" got a minus (too vague) - the "standard" was a man sized object...smaller got better bonuses, so "focusing on the lock" got a larger bonus than "focusing on the door". Further, one could decide if they were REALLY focusing (double bonus and minus) or just SORT OF FOCUSING....each attempt took something like 1 minute. When time was short, we would "search the room" (at a minus), or if time was really short we would "look for 1 turn" (at a huge minus) Made for some interesting combats as the party focused on the wrong stuff...
here is my draft plot (advice for improvements welcome);
spoiler: Before Age of Legends, due to some obscure Cosmic Imbalances, this portion of the Material Plane was ceded to the Fey, and a similar portion of the First World was ceded to the Material Plane (a sort of "Ying-Yang" arrangement). The Gods were behind this, and it resolved some indiscretion of theirs (which they do not wish to become known). "Ownership" of these Regions was not defined at time of the swap, this resulted in eons of warfare (both from locals attempting to possess and destroy the regions). On the Material Plane, this manifested itself mainly as war between the Cyclops and the Fey. Ultimately, Vordekai led the Cyclops, and Count Ranalc led the Fey. During what was shaping up to be a world-altering clash, the Gods again intervened (Erastil, Ragadahn, Yhidothrus, and Corchanus) to broker the "3 generations" agreement - the Vordekain Cyclops would rule for 3 generations, then the Ranalcian Fey would rule for 3 generations, and so forth (enforced by a divine forbidding)...peace was at hand! except the 3rd generation of Vordekain became a Litch (through an alternate process not involving "death" per-se), thus preventing the change of ownership. Count Ranalc was furious, and declared these lands to be "Stolen", but soon found other distractions (Narissa). Then Earthfall occured, and Vordekai-Litch was almost destroyed, but managed to survive (albeit in a lesser-form and in slumber). All that has survived of this to common knowledge is the title, "Stolen lands". Narissa does her thing, is punished by having her spirit broken; Briar is given her ambition, the Unicorn is given her hope, the beldame is given her endurance (explaining why she is so long lived), the hodag is given her courage - her cunning goes some where as well (just realized). Narissa is held in the First World, in the material zone (to further punish and limit her); however on the midsummer's day and midwinter's day, the two material worlds are "in-phase" and she is able to use her (limited) powers to influence things. She inhabits a "shadow court", designed to hold and amuse her. Count Ranalc is also there - they swap leadership (he rules the winter, she rules the summer). The Count is largely insane from his years in exile. For thousands of years, lacking hope/ambition/endurance/courage/cunning she flounders, only slowly learning things. Recently she has re-discovered the Stolen Lands, and begun to "possess" through dreams confederates (The Stag Lord, Troll, King of Pitax, etc). The Stag Lord killed the Unicorn (at her command), and she regained her hope. As the PC's find (and likely slay) the beldame and the hodag, she will gain more (endurance and courage). At this point she lacks only ambition and cunning. Then Varnhold will happen, Vordekai will awake, etc. Lacking his full power, Vordekai will be loath to risk himself by leaving his secret lair. Instead he works remotely as best he can, through confederates, spies, and dupes. Eventually the Party stumbles on him, likely defeating him. This will end the divine ban, and revert title to the Fey for 3 generations. It is very unlikely they will suffer a Litch to exist, and if they do it will gain much of it's previous powers back (gain levels) and destroy the PC's and their fledging kingdom(and probably Brevoy as well). The Count is the new owner, and then his son and grandson shall rule (which might be a very, very long time). However, the Count is locked up in the dungeon of the shadow court, unable to take posession. The Cyclops (long extinct) are barred from entering, but humans (and other races) are fine, having been considered "animals" back then. No one seems to have seen fit to "update" the terms (or even remembered much about this, 3 of the Gods having died and Erastil quite content to let this region "rot" for his animals benefit). When humans entered (600 years ago) Aroden sent priests to ensure the treaty was not violated...in the more recent incursions 60 years ago Aroden was dead, and Iomedae was still assuming the divine mantle so did not have time for this matter. The Gods (with Iomadae as their representative) does not want the Fey to rule this region until the end of time, so seeks to "negotiate" a new treaty with the Fey. In my world, Iomadae is behind this new effort (having put dreams in the Lord Mayor of Restov to select the PC's in the first place, after a "street riot" took the lives of the previous group, who where mostly fey). The party has a cleric of Iomadae. The temple was converted to a temple of Aroden (instead of Erastil) - it is now being converted to Iomadae...(on "Inheritor Day" no less). So the Count will petition the Queen (Narissa) to take possession for him. Ironically this is exactly what she wants but cannot initiate (lacking ambition herself). So she will send the Hidden Ambassador, etc. And the Shadow Courts module will kick-in (with adjustments). The PC's will travel to the Shadow Courts, and eventually become the consort of the queen (Narissa!), and convince her (if they are smart) to give them oversite of the stolen lands (which she will do, lacking her cunning and ambition and having lost interest in the Count for now). The PC's will then travel home, content that they have dealt with that threat. Then they will do the Pitax stuff, and find Briar. Depending how they handle that, when they ultimately face her one of them will have slept with her (making her defeat that much sweeter)
spoiler: the party explored the lonely barrow last night...I made the final creature a Koloran Cyclops Barbarian wight. This was a King of one of the tribes that fought Vordakai ~10,000 years ago. Emphasized how the skeletons were weaponless and had no clothing, with a few badly corroded lumps here and there that may have been weapons at one time. Only the +2 Fey Bane Bastard Sword (which I said was a non-human weapon equivalent to a bastard sword) survived, as well as a jade necklace strung on a gold chain....(they will have to take the sword back to Restov to sell, and have been developing contacts with the Seers and the Wizards, ultimately to build their own Library to fund their research, so they will get some pre-earthfall history - "only a few scraps of the ancient texts survive")
in my campaign I rolled a wandering monster at this stage, and it came up Will-o-wisp !!! I ignored that, and instead made it a pair of bandits fleeing an ambush by House Surtovia troops (out of their duchy and trespassing in Rostland). This ambush wiped out one of the Stag Lord's bandit bands (the northern highway band)...leaving Kressle's and a plain's band (which ended up getting pulled back to defend the Stag Lord when he got wind of the PC's, in between drunken bouts). The party could not track fast enough in the dark to keep up (the bandits spotted the PC's and left the road), but did figure out it was a horse heavily loaded and dripping blood (one of the bandits was injured). This ultimately lead the PC's to alerting the Mayor of Restov to the incursion, who is protesting in the Brevoy Council currently (this will, however, lead to a power play that he loses, leading to his ouster politically via vote-of-no-confidence at home, which explains why Restov abandons the PC's kingdom). but I like the Kobald attack idea with the foreshadowing (wish I had thought of that!)
nice little module, and I think I will also fit this in...those complex skill checks are interesting. In my Kingmaker, I am playing up the leakage from the First World into this plane ("Fey Storms", "Fey Quakes", lots of Fey wandering encounters that "are not from around here"). I have been looking for a "hook" to pivot the campaign around, and I think this will do nicely (thanks!) spoiler: Where does Narissa fit in, why doesn't she travel to the Courts and free (or at least visit) her lover? Perhaps she was banished to the swamp as a Hag, as another suggested (only regaining her memories on the solstices, when travel on the shadow road is blocked). Until she regains Briar, she is limited, etc. also, if they deal with the first world threat entirely through this "module", how does the war with Pitax fit in? Did Briar (shadow narissa) somehow travel from the shadow plane (where the count was) to the stolen lands at the same time the count became the winter king? And who is the queen, and other than agreeing (maybe) to cancelling the claim, how does she fit in? I think she should know all about narissa, probably briar as well (so if the party befriends her, they will learn the entire story)
A twist - after a few sessions like those listed above, I had a Boss Wizard who made himself to look like the prisoner the party was supposed to rescue (daughter of a noble) and another illusion to make the prisoner (In chains) look like himself. The PC's, upon seeing the "boss", unleashed. The look on their faces when they realized what they had done....priceless. However, it did put a crimp in the plot (I had thought they would wound her before realizing what was going on, not realizing how much hurt they could deal in one round). Ultimately they brought her back ($$$) but they were never sure about the BBEG after that....
..and no habitants have "scent".....unless that door is effectively sealed (ie-stuff the cracks with bandages, cloaks, etc)
a particularly evil combination might be a will-o-wisp who happens to be nearby when a shambling mound stumbles upon the party...
...have shallows defined in the river (deep enough for the boat to row, but too shallow for the drake to swim)...perhaps requiring a perception check to see (unless the character goes in the water, then they automatically realize they can "stand up from prone"). With deeper "channels" that the drake to remain in, I think the battel would be more fun even if the boat flounders (at least the armored PC's could "walk" back to shore). I would set it up that there was only one deep channel (maybe 10 feet wide) blocking the PC's path across the river, once they figure that out everyone can "walk" across except for 1 or 2 swim checks (and boards/debris from the boat maybe adding a +2 to the swim check if they are used). If the "channels" are carefully selected, a combination of rowing, bailing, and drifting could provide the tactical decisions (with the drake taking the "long way around" to avoid the shallow water).
I often will have the BBEG "fail their moral check" at times like this, and take non-combat actions (heal potion, retreat, etc)...which then puts the decision on the PC - pursue (and risk missing) or disengage (and live to fight another day). If they decide to pursue, with a few HP, and miss their shot (say rolling a "1"), then they decided and the next turn the BBEG attacks....
get a "hourglass" that is appx. 1 minute - each PC has 1 minute to state their action. When the time runs out, they "delay" and go to the next initiative. If you get to the end of the initiative, and they take more than 1 minute, they loose their turn... Too many players want to do only the best thing...and will deliberate for hours if you let them, because they cannot bear the thought that their actions are not perfect (these same folks tend to be the min/maxers and rules lawyers). Create the feeling instead that a less-than-perfect action NOW is better than NO ACTION AT ALL! Also, do not go back and redo things (If I had known I could have done that, or that there was something better I could have done, I would have done that! whine, whine,whine). Let them whine for one minute (as the sand disappears), then they "delay", and go on to the next player. Anyone that asks for a "ruling" and the clock stops until the GM gives it...but do not start the minute over...(thus rewarding stupid questions)
I think an "Environment" Card Deck would be a good seller, with each card detailing the mods and effects for each environment (ie- "Dense Undergrowth"; 4x move cost, difficult terrain, encounter range 2xd10 x 10 feet, with a drawing of the terrain for visualization)
stop by your local neighborhood karate tournement sometime, and watch the white-belts fight......minutes can go by between blows being landed...
I am hoping Tartuk gets away to mess with the PC's another day...he certainly would be aware of the Bandits, possibly the Boggards - he could go either way - or he might strike out on his own biding his time until the moment is right...
No PC deaths in the 1st session (although the leader caught an arrow for 8pts that dropped him to 2hp, with 3 archers shooting at him each turn!) PC's spent a few days in Restov researching the stolen lands (Lord Mayor allowed access to the City Archives), then headed out travelling with a Merchant who knew where Olegs was. Last night (while camping along the highway) I roll a wandering monster during the 2nd watch - Bandits. I did not want to run 2 Bandit battles in one night, and really wanted to finish the Oleg Bandit encounter, so I brought in another plot element early - Mercenaries from House Surtovia setting an ambush on the highway for the bandits (disguised as merchants, sort of a "Q-ship"). A lone horse, carrying 2 bandits attempting to flee the Mercenaries. The bandits spotted the party (even though they had no fire), so started stealthing around the camp. Despite a brief chase, the bandits got away. The PC's just know a heavily ladened horse road by. The day after the attack on Olegs, this Troupe will come by, harassing everyone as "possible bandits". Oleg shows his charter from Restov, the PC's will probably do the same. This will prompt the Merc Leader to say "So, Restov is expanding into the Stolen Lands...very interesting." (The Lord Mayor, in my campaign, got broad authority from the King to build up the southern defenses, but not specific permission to expand the realm of Rostlandia. Likewise, House Surtovia is not supposed to be conducting armed excursions into Rostlandia without asking Restov first - if Restov hears of this it will create friction politically) The PC's arrived at Olegs, everything ran pretty much per the book (I added 2 teenage sons and 2 dogs). Kressle was established as an unpleasant person, stealer of wedding rings and kicker of dogs, etc. The PC's put Oleg and Svetlana in the root cellar, and used the boys as lookouts hiding in the battlements (with hay piles to jump into for quick escapes down once battle started). I should note, I am using flipmat of the "Country Inn" for Olegs. The PC's arrayed themselves about the gatehouse (Cleric and Fighter down below, everyone else up on top hiding prone out-of-sight). Up comes the bandits, Happs shouts for Oleg to "Open up or I'll burn you out - remember our agreement!"...no response from the PC's (other than preparing to fight) as the bandits array for battle (they have a wagon, driven by a hafling, that carried the 3 archers and a half-orc warrior, and Happs plus 2 hafling rogues on a horse and 2 ponies - only Happs has ride skill, so the rogues dismount and try to go for the sides of the fort). The battle starts with the Ranger-Archer shooting one rogue, who then gets finished by the Witch. The Druid casts "Entangle" on the wagon and everyone but 2 of the bandit archers - many fail their save (including the half-orc who besides Happs was the only real threat). Happs (who stayed on his horse) frees his horse, rides over and throws alchemical fire onto the roof (which the Druid puts out), shouting "You've had it now - men, attack! and take no prisoners!". Several rounds of battle later, Happs and the Half-orc are dead, the Cleric has taken a horse and is riding after 2 archers and a rogue who are fleeing down the road, and the rest of the party chasing after (except for the fighter who grabbed the horses of the wagon). Two surrender, one foolishly fights and dies. Except for the looting (and a nat 20 knowledge local check for the silver medallion, after religion and appraise checks showed it was not a symbol of a god or jewelry) that ended the session. A brief sleet storm will hit in a few hours, followed by 2 days of rain. Unless the PC's get on the trail quickly, it will be lost (but doubtless the prisoners will tell them the location of the Thorn River camp). Kressle does not know what happened, and expects Happs and crew back by the next day...so before nightfall she sends out a scout who (after failing to find any tracks the party left defeating the bandits due to the rain will stop by Olegs as a travelling merchant getting his lunch and a beer before heading on to Restov). The PC's may defeat his bluff with a good roll (dc 18), otherwise he slips out and informs Kressle the next day. As soon as Kressle knows, she send word to the Stag Lord...and when HE knows about the PC's, he informs HER during the next dream session...then things start getting interesting)
25 point build? be warned unless you buff encounters the party will breeze through the adventures which are designed for 4 person, 15pt builds. Yep - numbers increased, and buffed. Oh - I forgot to mention, of the 5 Gamers, 4 are Women!
starting a new Kingmaker campaign...leveraging much of Dudemeister's material (as well as smatterings of other GM's that have posted here - much thanks to the giants before me!) PC's are; Human Witch
25 pt build with 2 traits, plus hero points (previous campaigns were 15pt with 1 trait...I want this to be epic, since the party will become rulers of this land) I plan to start with the PC's in a hostel (being foreigners and all, with the regular Inns full-up with festival goers, it being a festival week in Restov, and wanna-be mercenaries hoping for employment in the Lord Mayor's forces in the rumored upcoming civil war). The Lord Mayor is in a pickle, as the 4rth group of agents he recently hired to explore the stolen lands managed to get themselves killed in a steet brawl with Crown Loyalists. He sends his "Hand" to locate a group of strange foreigners newly arrived in the city (all mounted on Elks in a dream)...and since the Elk is the official "city mascot", the Lord Mayor took that as a sign from the gods (plus he is a bit hungover from all the festivizing). The PC's will be advised to follow along the road to Oleg's escorting a merchant who is taking a load of goods there (merchant goes once each month or two delivering orders for Oleg and a few other farmhouses in the region). No aid or horses are available, as the Restov military is rapidly expanding. The PC's will also be advised that the normal patrols are being stopped (since the fort is being closed) and that they will "be on their own for some time". No mention is made of Oleg's request for troops. They should arrive around noon on the 3rd day of travel...after they arrive, the Bandits will show up (on horses that the PC's will hopefully liberate). That night, a late spring snowstorm hits lasting till dawn (and making tracking difficult). The next day the weather warms, and turns to a light rain. After that it improves for a few weeks (I have pre-rolled the weather for 3 months), then settles into summer. The following winter, however..... from here, it is up to the PC's to decide!
I would run (not walk) away from any pathfinder GM that tried to play without minis (or at least markers of some kind)...those of you who do so are fooling yourselves that you are playing the same game as those that use minis. It may be a fun game, but it is not Pathfinder...
I ran under a DM that had a nifty chart - 2 sets of numbers from 1-20 on opposite order (1st list started at 1 and went to 20, 2nd list started at 20 and went to 1). Rolls were in the open (mostly) - but he would roll a d6 in secret that would say what list to use - so a 20 could be really good or really bad (and you never knew which until it was too late). Never have I wished for 9's, 10's and 11's more!
..consider buying the PDF of adventure path #35 for the Mass Combat rules pgs 54 to 59
...be careful you do not make them real criminals by accident (ie- the party kills one of the guards during the arrest). You should make it obvious that holding/stunning/non-lethal means only are being used, and that it is "lawful" arrest happening...and strongly hint that any resistance is a crime of itself. Any items taken should be put into a special bag and "sealed" (with the guard muttering "Don't worry, you'll be getting these back later...if there is a later") and such, so they know the plot right away (show trial followed by release or whatever). I have had situations like this go very, very bad (an Inn burning down due to a fireball) Enjoy - I think the "party arrest" is a classic story element (usually following the "bar fight", but I digress)
step one: the party starts hearing rumors about their evil acts. maybe the local magistrate calls them in for a chat (they will deny everything most likely) Step two: Add a negative diplomacy mod to all financial transactions (locals do not like them). Make sure it is just the monk at first, but then the whole party if they keep hanging around this guy...once they have to start paying more for everything (and getting less for sales) they might tire of his antics... Step 3: A bounty on the monk (high enough to tempt the other PC's) from the families of the victims, and the local churches (who are having to tend to the maimed victims) Step 4: if the PC's keep associating with the monk, the bounty extends to them too. Step 5: a 15th-20th level Paladin (or whatever is 5-10 levels above the Monk)comes looking to collect the bounty....or the local thieves guild is sick of getting blamed for this nut jobs actions, and sends a hit squad... make sure the monk (and party too if needed) knows from the beginning that this cannot end well if the behavior does not change....and make it clear that you are merely reacting to his stimulus, he decides when this all ends.... If the laws of the land make this illegal, then the monk changes alignment away from lawful (make this a slow progress - you can graph the alignments and show his slide to chaos....then his temple-mates (monks all) might come looking for him (for making THEM look bad)
...give him choices - he can blast the BBEG, -or- the bunch of minions charging forward to take out the rest of the party(conveniently out of AoE of the BBEG). ...big rooms with lots of space and cover/blockages. ...use an illusion of a BBEG (so he learns not to instantly blast what appears to be the BBEG) ...flammable terrain (so if the fire blast is used it causes other issues, like burning away the vegetation that separates the minions from the PC's ...if this is his one big spell....Foes will learn to counterspell (or other protections)
....I have been captured as a PC several times...typically it is a pain, but the DM falls all over themselves to make it clear your PC isn't really in danger (ie-presents the next plot element; the prison break) Once a DM made it personal - and very memorable (this was in the 80's in college) Horror campaign with us as ourselves in modern day college at that time, with what we had. We tangle with a local medical clinic next door (crazy thing is there really was one next door we never had noticed, not open to the general public). We end up breaking in (seemed like a good idea at the time) and get in a struggle, only to be anesthetized (oops - hadn't thought of that). Wake up all strapped to gurneys, in our skivvies. Paralyzed due to some drug, but we can hear and see (there is a mirror above us on the ceiling allowing us to see everything clearly). The "Doctor" takes fluid and tissue samples (the descriptions starting out bland, getting more personal as they go on). Then injects some strange glowing fluid into our genitals (and we pass out in extreme pain). We wake up as zombies, basically (no will, must follow orders). Eventually we are rescued and given treatment, but the combination of utter helplessness as we are forced to do things we normally would not do combined with the very clinical descriptions of routine medical procedures (right up until the last) was an ordeal I still vividly remember to this day. After our first failed rolls vs. the anethestic gas, we got no rolls and no choices - the narrative lasted maybe 5 minutes followed by a half hour or so with us as zombies (basically establishing plot elements; ie- we were now wanted by the police) Our characters eventually caught up with and got even with the "good" Doctor, but he still got off too easy in my opinion....and we are still on the run (as far as I know), never having the chance to clear our names (many innocents died, but we saved the world) not specifically torture, but....
Hello! I am playing a Rogue now - I went the TWF Scout build. If I had to do it again, not sure I would have gone TWF. It is rare that I get a full action, especially since I need to charge or flank to get max damage via sneak attack (I use two daggers, and even with +1 str and "river rat" the base damage is tiny). But I love the Scout option in the APG. I am now level 8 and just got "Skirmisher" which means as long as I move 10 feet, I get sneak attack (with a few exceptions). Even at low levels, however, I was dealing large blows (not huge, but substantial) every fight. The other PC's in our group are a Cleric, Wizard, and Paladin... Scout does require you to give up Uncanny Dodge (which I recently had reason to regret, being surrounded by 4 rogues...) however overall it has been very enjoyable. I also maxed out Acrobatics, to help get me around while avoiding AoO. This build does require you to use the combat and movement rules to their fullest...
I did an invasion once... Goblinoid army attacked...PC's were 1st level. Initially their mission was to avoid the army and survive long enough to get back and report the invasion (border guards overrun). Climax was a fight vs. a few goblin scouts. Next the party was sent "away" from invasion to carry a message to a nearby town...and runs afoul of a spy network of half-orcs. When they returned, the goblinoids had defeated the kingdom forces, everyone was forced to retreat from that border towards the capital. PC's helped their Wizard patron move his tower via wagon, while fighting off goblin wolf riders and flyers. About this time they came across a fleeing human soldier, dying of wounds, who carried an important message. They then had to carry the message across hostile territory, evading what they could and killing the rest. This continued for some time, as the PC's gained levels they fought more and more...by the end they were fighting with the 2nd human army, flying in to attack the goblin leaders (killing them, and routing the goblin army).Until the end, they never actually fought the main goblin army, but it was a constant boogie man they greatly feared. Ultimately, they became knights and the campaign ended... |