I'm going the route of slow-worm-infected lizardfolk prisoner as well.
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I know a drummer in Seattle, a good one at that. He's very versatile but the question will be-How many gigs, how often and how much?
They have low resolution maps from the City of Splendors book and detailed information about the city watch. There are also several "news" articles and the whole undermountain revisited thing. You should do a search of the Wizards site, it turns up a lot of information. I believe Eric is refering to the long awaited, and still absent, web enhancement that details the area surrounding Waterdeep.
I've never been a fan of the favored enemy ability. I can see the bonuses applying to a narrow field such as a specific humanoid type but it seems unlikely that the same bonus that applies to a beholder also applies to a rust monster. It just doesn't make any sense. Stretching that rule to cover persons, creatures and undead within an organization goes way too far. Just look at 3FoE, you've got multiple humanoid types, animals, undead and magical beasts. I can see maybe a sense motive working better against an organization, perhaps bluff but anything else is ridiculous.
After they take a few beatings or a TPK someone in the group may see the logic in "taking one for the team" and playing a cleric. With five players I would not consider adding an NPC but I would make healing magic more available for those with the gold to spend. In this case healing should become a money pit sucking the PC's resources like a leach. Make them see the error of their ways.
Sounds like you hit the perfect balance to create a very memorable encounter.
I used Dromdal Manor from "Shut In" Dungeon 128 when my players visited Balabar's domicile. It fits well with the brief description given in the Diamond Lake backdrop article and is fully described. Just drop some trained apes in and it's ready to go.
Being that mummy rot is a curse clasified as a supernatural disease it has a very specific method to recover. I would suggest that the amputation is an assisted Heal check in place of the farmer's Fort save to keep him from suffering Con and Cha damage for the day. However, you should make it clear to the players that the disease is still present and deadly. The cranberry farmer survived the attack so the players might realize how powerful a foe they will have to deal with (how about Knowledge-religion). I included it for metagaming purposes. As for the likelyhood of the farmer surviving the attack, it was feasible that a commoner that engaged in one round of combat with a 3.0 mummy then fled (and was not pursued) could survive. However, with a 3.5 mummy striking for a minimum of eleven points of damage farmer Burnean should have several levels of the commoner NPC class to see him alive through the slam attack. Speaking of Sethelen's 3.5 power increase, be aware that even if your players manage to lure the mummy through the weakened floor and ignite him with the oil Sethelen will survive and be more than they can hope to handle. The mummy's slam will almost certainly hit and kill anyone he attacks. Run the encounter with caution be sure to allow Knowledge (religion) checks to identify Sethelen as a mummy, perhaps have the mummy waste a round or two smashing parts of the library in his rage while potentially paralyzed PCs witness the powerful display. I'm glad to see the adventure still gets use after the drastic mummy changes. Enjoy.
I played Smenk as a charming gentleman with an "old boy" feel offering brandy and cigars to the group as his apes breathed heavily nearby. It was a great chat and Smenk came off as trustworthy and an overall decent fellow, I think most of the players trust him more than Delfen "Yellowknife" (that's Allustan to most of you).
One question I don't see answered here...If Manzorian is Tenser why did you make him Manzorian and not Tenser in the AoW?
I suggest you let them do it. Retool the campaign to one of managing a hotel in a remote location where the main attraction is a walk through the nearby mines. Have them clean it up and recraft the elemental showers then start booking some guests and maybe even some events, perhaps a gaming convention. Really push the minutea of running the place. Challenge them to market the hotel and provide superb service to ensure repeat business, maybe they can even expand into a chain of fantasy hotels. Okay, hopefully they get bored of running a hotel instead of adventuring but if sim-hotel is what rolls your dice go for it.
If it was anyone other than the cleric of Wee Jas I would complain about the cover of #131, but as is I just can't. Dragon #339 on the other hand...that is not the Lady of Pain, clevage or no clevage that's just not the Lady. Overall I like to see clothing appropriate for the person, creature or deity wearing it.
Is there a specific address you would like art sent to? Do you prefer a link to a gallery or attachments? The more information the merrier.
I've never seen guidelines for art submissions, does Paizo accept unsolicited submissions of art? What address do I send a gallery link to? Can someone point me to the hidden art submission guidelines. Please and thank you.
.. Merovinn dies, but not before leaving the monk PC drained of most of his strength ( two hits from the ray of enfeeblement wand).. A touch off topic but when a character is hit with a ray of enfeeblement spell multiple times you apply the highest penalty, they do not stack. Page 172 PHB.
I have submitted some new watercolor pieces that should be available soon: a free standing aboveground temple of Bane (hextor) for those looking to break up the dungeon crawl in 3FoE. Kullen, the albino half orc's +1 greataxe-and it looks like my players are going to take him and his crew on as well as Smenk. The last two items in this update are some sandals and a hajj belt to go along with Zosiel's diadem. The sandals grant +10 to movement and the belt functions as a handy haversack. They will both be restored to full functionality in A Gathering of Winds.
28th and that is about two weeks ahead of the norm.
Organize another session and throw out a whispering cairn hook. If they don't take it just close your books, fold up your DM screen, carefully pack up your miniatures and dice then sit back in the chair, cross your arms and ask "so, what do you guys want to do now?" Seriously, players should be given great freedom to develope characters that they will enjoy but it should be done with the understanding that there is a set plotline that, while somewhat flexible, should be followed. I love player input when it comes to a campaign and I go to great lengths to weave their back stories into the game but I also expect them go along with the story/world I have labored to bring to the table. It sounds like you may want to have a talk with your players about the concept of this trade off.
I too am moving in a Banite stronghold similar to the one found in Lords of Darkness (I will hopefully have the map posted on RPGenius soon). That will help break up the monotonous dungeon crawl. Theldrick sees himself as the manipulator of the other factions of the triad adding their dead-god-worshipping glory to Bane's power. The grimlocks are a truly prophetic group, having been cleansed in the tainted waters beneath the Boarskyr (sp?) bridge. The cult of Myrkul is a sham group organized by a githyanki warlock who is the real manipulator behind the ebon triad. A rogue githyanki sect are syphoning the faith of the triad to fuel the rise of Gith (kyuss) to godhood. It should be noted that I am incorporating the githyanki incursion campaign into AoW.
I don't have Dungeon #124. What are the items offered by Tidwoad?? The Roque PC has been trying to get in good w/ him and it'd be useful to know what Tidwoad has to offer "under the table". Sorry for not getting back to you fury but the answer to your query was already answered in one of the above posts. I did not reference the magazine and the items I was referring to were at the Captain's Blade not Tidwoad's.
I've got a few more illustrations posted for those awaiting magic items. My apologies to anyone awaiting the wand of shatter or the goggles of minute seeing but in my campaign those two did not survive the trap and have been replaced by other items that I've included in Zosiel's tomb. Thanks for the praise I hope they add a new dimension to magic item identification in your game.
I dont want to seem like I am putting my players up against the same type of beasties from old games. I feel your pain R-type. My last campaign was all about lizardfolk, black dragons, doppelgangers, mindflayers and even a froghemoth. If kyuss turns out to be a symbiotic human wizard/legendary half-black dragon hydra I'm gonna lose it! I'm running FR AoW also and throwing in a lot of githyanki since Kyuss is the one and only Gith in my campaign. I'm mixing in the Incursion campaign from a few years ago so I'm planning on a lot of dragons.
I forget where I saw it but I remember reading that the horns were once attached to a demon whos name eludes me at the moment(begins with a "K" I think) but it was not Miska. I could be mistaken though.
Alastor is a 2 HD undead with turn resistance +4 so he turns as a 6 HD undead. That's easy enough for 3rd level with improved turning but you need to turn as a 12th-level cleric to destroy Alastor unless you know something I don't. Oops!? If it's not too late I would alter the behind the scenes action making Alastor go ethereal when he was turned and have him trail the party in ethereal state (allow him to move where his body goes)and attempt to take revenge on the cleric. Not killing him or anything so harsh but a horrific appearance followed by malevolence might be in order. From there the other party members can roleplay to discover that Alastor was not destroyed but merely hiding. Otherwise I would make them find an alternate method for entering the true tomb, selling off magic items for a scroll of ethereal jaunt or a potion of gaseaos form if you're nice.
It does look a bit frontloaded on the ability bonuses. I would drop the initial +2 strength bonus making it more of a racial level incentive. That should provide enough balance with the other pros and cons although the +2 natural armor and ability bonus might be a touch strong for the racial advanceent. The flavor and background are great! If only I were allowed a monstrous class in a game...
I would have the ring work irregularly on the way down as its over weight. Sort of jerking. With the rogue smacking his head on the floor several times before the rest of the party lands on him. Humiliation in place of damage seems applicable here.
an orphan left on the steps of a monastery makes for an excellent half breed character storyline. I prefer the "I've seen the light" style conversion myself. NPC barkeep: "Is..is that an ogre you've got there?"
I like it as it's written. But the end result of failure, though, might not be really clear to the players until near the last minute (even though it's clear to the DM). I don't know what the HD of the aspect is since my issue has yet to arrive but a knowledge religion check on the aspect can reveal it's abilities.
Is there any possibility of getting artwork for the mysterious "Talisman of the Sphere?" I just uploaded it so the talisman should be available as soon as Koramado aproves it.
He has to take the monster levels to maintain balance in the campaign. If he started as a full thri-kreen he would ba a 2HD character with five attacks that is immune to any spell that affects only humanoids has a BAB of +2 a +3 natural armor great ability bonuses with 40 ft. movement and psionics that allow him a magical weapon and miss chance plus the ability to leap with a +30 bonus on jump checks. Oh he also gets to start with a power point allowing him to take psionic feats requiring psionic focus. Put that next to a halfling druid and weigh the balance. The whole point of breaking a monster into levels is to maintain balance, you have a great reason for making him take the monster levels.
Not to ruin anyone's fun but a drow has a +2 level adjustment also. If I were in your DM seat I would hold all level adjusted classes to the same dictum to be fair.
If I were to allow the thri-kreen as a player race it would look something like this (quick conversion without too much metagame thought). Thri-Kreen racial class Medium size
Level HD BAB F R W Skill Special 1 1d8 +1 +0 +2 +2 (2+int)4 natural attack 4claws, 1 bite, naturally psionic 1, psi-like ability chameleon, know direction and location. 2 1d8 +1 +0 +2 +2 - +2 Dex, +2 Wis, +1 natural armor, leap 3 2d8 +2 +0 +3 +3 2+int +1 natural armor,poison 4 2d8 +2 +0 +3 +3 - +2 Str, +2 Dex, +1 natural armor, psi-like ability greater concealing amorpha, metaphsical claw..
I can't believe everyone is so quick to shut down monstrous races. I try to entice my players with playable monsters and I never get any takers beyond the occasional Aasimar. I do break monsters down into levels based on ECL and find that the biggest deterent is the levels that don't get HD, Skills, Feats etc. I am careful to balance the races to avoid frontloading and encourage players to take all or most of the racial levels before they get the "good stuff" a munchkin would be after. As was said earlier, doing this will discourage the munchkin leaving the roleplayers to play the odd races as it should be. The worst part is that when I'm a player I never get to play a monster : (
Sorry for the mix up between illustrations and their location, that's what happens when one refernces from memory. Anyway I've added the wand of unseen servant from the whispering cairn and am moving on to others. Sorry they've been coming so slow but my group rarely gets to play so the sketches only gain priority as game time looms near.
Froghemoth!? I love the froghemoth but like so many elements thusfar in the Aow I just used it in the last campaign I ran. So another substitution it is. At least I'll get to see how my version stacks up to the official version of the froghemoth.
Bear in mind I wrote that one under 3rd edition when the mummy was weaker, Mr. Isendale could handily spank a 1st level party if you're using 3.5 rules (higher HD, big boost in strength). Might I suggest reducing the 3.5 mummy's hit points due to woulds accumulated over the years and perhaps making some items available to aid in combating the mummy. The dead lizardfolk could have some alchemists fire on it or the druid could have a scroll of produce flame. Oh and I wouldn't let the mummy have a chance to surprise the party, that could be TPK easily.
I don't feel an ancient Roman style gladiatorial arena is in flavor with Waterdeep either. I'm planning more of a general tournament with staged battles and merciful weapon melee contests organized by the church of Tempus. I'll have to review the religious holidays but I'm sure I can tie one into the tournament to create a grand celebration.
T-Bone, place a (url="yourlinkhere") in front of the link and a (/url) after the link, but replace the parenthesis with square brackets. Like this? Thanks K, it's almost working.
How do you paste a working link on these boards?
Get your worms now so they're painted in time for the high level action. http://www.reapermini.com/?nav=Models&sub=Greens
Just curious, what are the items that are listed as being available at Tidwoad's? I thought he was just a snarky jeweler. Oh he's got stuff, if you're a DM consult the backdrop article in Dungeon #124. If you're a player...get out of here, does your DM know what you're doing? What I mean to say is go back to Tidwoad's and flash some platinum around the place to see his special stock.
Any magical trap is overly difficult for a first level rogue to find or disable (DC 25 plus spell level), although, 1st-level spells are rarely lethal on a failed Disable Device check. I usually don't have players roll for strength checks unless they are pressed for time or there is an immediate negative consequence for failure. In the case of the stone block in the lair of the architect I see no reason not to allow them to push it over with a description of how heavy it is and how exeting the effort is. Save the rolls for places where a randomizing element is needed. As for the wolves, one color spray took out two and the other backed into it's den growling fiercly. It was slain later when the party was camped in the false tomb. It tried to ambush the lone PC on watch but failed at it's stealth check receiving a spiked chain critical hit for it's trouble. We ended with the broken elevator collapsing and the classic "we've got company" call as the swarm approaches. What worries me is that the party of six is split with three up in the passage of the face waiting for the sarcophagus spinner to open the door and three PCs on the floor waiting for bugs.
The MM has wood elves at +2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Con, -2 Int with a favored class of ranger. That's a pretty sweet deal where I come from.
Out of curiousity, has anyone contacted Paizo for permission to avoid any IP/copyright issues? After all, even in an OGL product, the maps and such aren't considered open content, and since Dungeon isn't published under the OGL technically none of the content is considered "open". I'll change the title of the first sketch to Zoss-e-els diadem. But, really, for some content that could appear this is a good question. It's not Paizo I would be worried about, it's her mother...but I'm just uploading with no official connection to the website. koramado or Paizo care to comment?
Is the website bias towards one browser type or another? I have yet to get the DOWNLOAD link to work on these "sketches." I checked them out and had no problem with the download. Make sure you've registered and logged in.
In case anyone missed it in an earlier thread, koramado has created a web portal to share AoW material. I've posted some magic item illustrations with more to come. Any material shared is greatly appreciated. The address is pasted below. http://therpgenius.com/Default.aspx?alias=therpgenius.com/ageofworms
Forgotten Realms by player request.
Why not just have one of the faceless one's lackies transcribe the grimlock's stupored spiritual ramblings? Maybe just some freaked-out miner that was threatened with being the grimlock's dinner if he didn't write down every word during the visions. As for the bows, I find them a little far fetched as well. I'm giving them throwing blades much like a sharpened stone discus. It is a clumsy racial weapon that might ricochet off of a wall or two before hitting its' target, the weapon's stats are: exotic ranged weapon; cost -; Dmg (S) 1d6; Dmg (M)1d8; Crit x3; Range 10 ft.; Weight 5 lbs.; Type Piercing and bludgeoning.
Perhaps the party could perform services for the wizard's magical assistance instead of exchanging gold. This would be a good way to hook the PCs for EaBK. To further prevent portraying Allustan as a shopkeeper have him lecture the PCs on the responsabilities that come with wielding magic and the duty of the powerful to protect the weak. Monologue always comes before the scroll.
What's this Overload thingy everyone's talkin' about?
I have a group preparing to start the Age of Worms adventure path at the end of this month (August) if you're in the area and want in please post a reply.
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