The Black Fox's page

I have no idea if anyone even looks at this portion of the Board anymore, but I am looking for guidance.

After many years of play, my players and I have reached the last chapter, Dawn of a New Age.

However, in the last part, they failed to defeat Dragotha. Mainly because they avoided the encounter with Balakarde, thinking it would be a diversion.

Anyway, they are entering Dawn without defeating Dragotha. So he is still there. Furthermore, there are several bits in Dawn's beginning that providers additional benefits provided Dragotha is defeated (the additional powers of Zosiel's Circlet).

So what to do? Is it still possible to them to go to Balakarde's spirit in Worm Crawl Fissure to get the benefits he could provide against Dragotha? Are there other ways to activate the additional power of Zosiel's Circlet?

I'd hate to set up the PCs to get slaughtered after such a long campaign, but I have difficulty seeing how they can win at this point. They've actually been a very good party, acting very smartly, until they botched it with Dragotha.

So I am looking for guidance. Especially from anyone involved in a campaign where Dragotha was not destroyed in the previous part. How did it turn out?

Depending on how the kyuss worms are encountered, I tell my players they could be Undead (when part of the Spawn of Kyuss), Vermin (when encountered as part of the wormswarms), a Disease, or a Curse. It is such a part of Chaos, that it could be any one of those, or be considered all of them.

When they are part of a Spawn of Kyuss, they are undead, but not separate undead. The nature of the Curse means as long as the Spawn survives, there will be worms. They cannot be attacked individually or separately. Once a worm has left the Spawn and is inside a new host, it is effectively both a Curse and a Disease.

The worms cannot usually survive on their own. However, in places effectively under a Curse, such as the Spire of Long Shadows, there could be wormswarms which would be considered Vermin.

The bizarre nature of the kyuss worms makes it very terrifying to my PCs.

I need some clarification. If I understand correctly, you can cast Misdirection as yourself or another person as the subject.

So a caster can choose to his friend as the subject and something else as the object whose auras he will assume. Correct?

Also, can the "object" of Misdirection be a person as opposed to a thing? Can the caster assume the aura of someone else whether that person is a non-magic user, arcane or divine spellcaster? Or that someone else (the subject) appears like the caster (the object)?

Lastly, Arcane Sight is all based around auras. Not only does it allow some to know location and power of all magical auras, it allows the person to even determine whether a creature has any spellcasting or spell-like abilities, whether these are arcane or divine, and the strength of the most powerful spell or spell-like ability the creature currently has available for use.

So is it possible to fool the person with arcane sight that someone else (say a non-spellcaster) shows the same aura as the caster of Misdirection?

I'm glad you found the suggestions useful. I am DMing my own group in part of the Champion's Belt as well right now. So it is good to hear how others are doing.

I am not running the Age of Worms in its entirety, but about half the AP is present with other modules or dungeons of my own design being the other half. I eliminated the PCs in the tourney because that is not an idea I liked, but I have other games going on and have kept the arena dungeon more or less intact.

No. It is a spell (abjuration).

OK. That makes sense. But someone outside the sphere looking into with those Detect spells wouldn't detect anything, correct?

Globes of invulnerability excludes spell effects of a certain level or lower.

First, for the purposes of a faintly shimmering sphere, I believe that it is something easily seen. As long as there is no concealment, anyone can see it - no reason to ask for Spot checks or whatever regardless of visibility. Of course, if it is in darkness and people normally can't see in darkness, they see nothing. Shimmering does not mean illumination.

Next, while it exclude spell effects, it does not block them. A person can shoot a Lightning Bolt right through a globe. Nothing happens inside the globe, but the bolt will still "leave" the globe and affect anyone behind it normally.

Let's say someone has cast Greater Invisibility (4th level spell) and then cast Lesser Globe (which blocks 3rd level or lower). If someone casts Detect Magic (1st), See Invisibility (2nd) or Arcane Sight (3rd), can they determine what is inside the globe? It sounds like you can't - the divination magic is excluded inside the sphere. Is that correct?

Spell description says that the globe can be brought down by a targeted dispel magic spell, but not by an area dispel magic. Now Dispel Magic is a 3rd level spell, so it has no effect inside the globe. Therefore, I take it that you can't target a dispel magic on any person inside the globe. Instead, the globe is considered an "object" that you can target the dispel magic on.

Is the globe to be considered an object then in terms of spell effects?

Can I cast a Heightened Invisibility (as 4th level) on the globe so that it is not visible?

If so, does the aforementioned Detect Magic/See Invisible/Arcane Sight detect something (the presence of the invisible globe)?

I'll probably need to adjudicate this in game, so I wanted to ask opinions now. Thanks.

You have several options. As written, completing the ritual (which happens when the Ulgurstasta eats a warrior) means there is severe damage to the Free City and it will no longer exist in its present form. The event is not meant as an added challenge to the PCs, but evidence that they screwed up big time. At that point, the GM really needs to wing it in terms of what the next PC moves will be, as well as deciding what NPCs will be doing. As a GM, I had to ask myself if that was something I was ready to deal with. I decided it was, and am ready to move on with the consequences if the PCs fail to eliminate the threat. This is basically a sub-campaign though - not a single encounter - as players work with NPCs in the city to recover from the disaster.

If you simply want the Ulgurstasta to be released to have a spectacle for your players, but don't want to deal with the mini-armageddon, then use alternate rules on when the ritual takes effect. Maybe it is 10 rounds after he eats the champion, or after he spends several full round actions speaking to Kyuss or whatever. In which case, there is no healing and there are no wights erupting in the arena at that time. Or full heal the Ulgurstasta, but don't do the wights until later. In any case, as long as the PCs are distracting the Ulgurstasta by fighting it, the disaster can't happen - but they know if they fail, it will have huge consequences.

Going back to Practus' original question, this is how I would handle it if I was the GM.

1) In the games I run, I don't have divine interventions. God Avatars don't show up simply because something bad is happening. If Helm did visit the Prime Material Plane, what is to stop some other god from doing the same for something else, or even stopping Helm at this point? Most settings have some sort of built in logic to explain this. How many other terrible events happen in the history of the game world where Avatars never showed up? This is no different.

2)If the issue is that Helm paying attention to the paladin, why would he? D&D gods are not omniscient. They aren't looking over every single cleric, paladin, or lay follower on the entire world (or worlds in the multiverse) to see what they are doing. There is no reason to expect Helm to be "watching" the PC paladin at all. After all, there are probably lots of paladins and clerics of Helm across the world or multiverse engaged in important tasks of their own.

3) I personally would never strip a Paladin of their powers for simply failing at a task. Paladins should only have their powers taken from them by a conscious choice on their part to violate their oath/restrictions that the GM set for them. Failing to achieve a task is not violating their oath. Failure will be bad enough for the PC; don't make it worse by punishing the PC for something you the GM decided couldn't be done anyway!

In fact, you should do the exact opposite - give the PC paladin some omen or sign (like in a dream) that essentially says, "The task set before you was against all odds. Do not despair that it has happened as it was ordained. Your courage and bravery shall be remembered. In the ashes of defeat shall rise the root of victory. Carry out your task and you shall dwell at my right hand in the House of the Triad." And then give him some type of good thing like a free Divine Power use once per game or something once for the campaign he can call upon when trying to make up for the failure."

4) If you have the disaster occur and the wights are in the arena, and the ulgurstasta is present, at that point the Paladin has two options. A) Die futilely that helps no one, but allows him to keep his pride (which is a sin). B) Realize that he cannot help anything by staying in the arena, and that the wise thing to do is escape with the other PCs to rally the city's defense because that will allow the most people to survive. To help the player out, you should probably have some suggestions ready on how the Paladin can start helping people escape their doom. Present this as an option. OK, you can see most people in the arena stands turning into wights. Some have miraculously survived, but look weakened. You know there is a temple of Lathander near the arena. Do you stay and fight? Try to lead some survivors close to you out of the arena to save them? Go to the temple of lathander to spread the word and save the rest of the city before the wight horde rushes out?

Hope this helps.

As stated in another recent post, I am running a modified Age of Worms campaign. I am using an article in Dragon # 343 that describes "vestige worms" which are a flavor text version of potions that give someone either a one use spell, a +10 skill bonus, or a special memory of the past. When the effect gets used, the worm is consumed and no longer exists.

As part of the description, it says anyone who has taken such a worm must make a DC20 Will save, or fall under the worm's mental control and causes the person to "seek out" followers of Kyuss and "follow" their will.

If I read this correctly, if the Worm does take control, it will never allow the person to "use" the power they provide, as it would destroy the worm and thus its control over the person.

My question is how much control does the worm have? The worm does not appear to be intelligent (as vermin, its Int is zero) so it can't do anything. Instead, it merely gives the person the desire to find a Kyuss worshiper so that the intelligent worshiper can instruct the worm-infested person who will obey completely. Does this sound correct?

Furthermore, this kind of mental control is absolute and without time limit as long as the worm remains inside. Although I assume that if such a person has Protection from Evil cast on him, the worm's mental influence is blocked.

If a person was infested with multiple worms and failed each save, then every single worm would need to be destroyed for the mind control to go away.

Is there anyway to forcibly destroy such a worm? Would a Remove Curse or Remove Disease do so - since that cures the regular worm infection that turns people into Spawn of Kyuss? The article doesn't say, but this makes sense. Would the worm get a Save to resist? What if the person who has the worm doesn't want to be without them (because they are a cult member)? Would they get a Save to resist, or it simply not work?

If these sound like a lot of rhetorical questions, that's because they mostly are. I find it useful to work things out like this, but hearing other opinions would be valuable.

I am running a modified Age of Worms campaign. I'm using about half of the AP and mixing in various other adventures (some published, some my own) for the rest. At this point, the threat of the Kyuss Worms have made the PCs paranoid, and they are terrified that Kyuss Worms are being deposited into the granary and water supplies, and they are using Locate Creature to find them.

Now, as part of my description of the Kyuss Worms, I have told the players that they are very strange. They are a mix of Vermin, Curse, Disease, and Undead depending on their specific state at any one time. That really freaked out the players. So the worms can be found as:

1) Spawn of Kyuss where they are considered to be Undead
2) Alone or as Swarms, where they are considered to be Vermin
3) In addition, I am also using Kyuss Worms per the Wormbound Feat
4) And also as Vestige Worms, these last two from Dragon #343

The last two of course, can either be found alone, or infecting a living person.

I am looking for consensus, what should Locate Creature do. Can it detect the Kyuss Worm in all four cases? Only when it is by itself? By itself and as a Spawn? Or when it is ingested by the living? In other words, if the worm changes type (Vermin by itself, to Undead as part of a Spawn) or is inside a person, is it still detectable?

The stats for Loris can be found in The Champion's Belt.

Personally, I would not make Loris the villain in your player's back story, but use his main henchman - Captain Okoral. Making Loris the villain is too much a head's up in my opinion. Switching to his cohort still directs the party in the right direction, but isn't so obvious.

It also gives you more wriggle room in how the Free City handles gladiators, as you could have had Okoral come to the Free City after he left some other area (where the mines were located) in order to set up again. Okoral used his previous experience with gladiator slaves to get hired by Loris. Nothing prevents you from still having the player character's parents in the arena of the Free City. Okoral could have taken them to the Free City for their matches (or even several cities in a traveling gladiatorial exhibition). This incorporates your player's back story, but gives you the option of keeping the Free City as it was presented.

Okoral is less central to the Champion's Belt or the metaplot than Loris, so there are less changes you may need to make if the player kills Okoral's character early on.

What happens if you become bankrupt in Monopoly? That would be too awful, so just start giving people free money so they can continue to play.

If the characters die, then they die. It's part of the game. If you were fair, there is nothing to complain about. If a particular module or campaign is very difficult, the players need to know this before hand - as their playing style will change. But even a TPK is fair. It should never be the intent of the GM to kill characters. But if he adjudicates an encounter of challenge properly, then what happens is what happens.

If the players are still excited about playing the AP, I'd start them as new characters in a new party with a new hook. Players are understanbly loathe to start from level 1 again, but keeping them at their current level or one level less is fair. This approach will take a lot more work for the GM (and players too), but is doable.

And no, I don't expect anyone to follow my advice. ;)

I love to play Paladins, but admit that many people seem to have a hard time with them. Mostly, I think that's because the DM has not given enough thought about their use in the setting, and therefore cannot give the player good direction about what they should expect. In other words, players don't tend to roleplay Paladins. Instead, they try to anticipate how the DM will screw them, and thus play unstable characters.

First, I don't see Paladins as having cool powers, but the flaw of having to adhere to a code. Instead, I see Paladins as being the chivalric hero archetype that many people love to play. Doing what's right is hard and tough, and therefore the Paladin is given extra powers to make it easier for him to do so. If both DMs and players view it this way, I think roleplaying becomes much easier.

I dislike DMs who look for ways to take away a character's powers. It doesn't happen to any other class (not even with Clerics, really), so it should be a rare, rare thing for PC Paladins to fall from grace. I especially don't think Paladins should fall for reasons unknown to the player. Instead, only if the player CHOOSES to do something he knows is wrong because it is expedient should he lose any powers. It should not be because he accidentally violated some obscure subsection in a 500 page celestial guidebook unknown to him.

I don't like Paladins being portrayed simply as "holy warriors" which has become increasingly common. I really think the chivalric mentality is essential. If you are able to ask, "What would Galahad do?" and be able to keep the adventure intact, then there's really no problem with a Paladin being in the game. ONLY if a chivalric hero in your campaign/AP setting is unthinkable should a Paladin pose problems.

In many campaigns, the Paladin can become the "central" hero. He is obviously the charismatic forthright hero that inspires dedication. This is the Paladin as icon. But I think it is possible for a Paladin to be played as a supporting character in a setting like Riddleport. But first, the DM has to accept that being a chivalric hero is not impossible in those settings.

First off, Paladins are there to inspire people and champion chivalric values. He shows the promise of a Lawful Good society. Rather than take the proposition that the Paladin is inappropriate in Riddleport, people should see Riddleport as a place that desperately NEEDS a Paladin.

Second, the Paladin is a champion of the oppressed and wrong. Allow the Paladin to do so. Keep in mind to not do anything stupid. A Paladin choosing to appear in Riddleport needs to be aware of the challenges and dangers he faces. So he needs to use some of that high Wisdom and choose his battles carefully. Don't go after the high crimelords who run the city. Start small. Defy the bully who threatens the weak on that street corner. Tell the drug pusher that he is no longer welcome on that street filled with young children. Start small and build your reputation. Make good use of that charisma. Soon the discontented masses will rally around you. They'll expect you to fold when the bullies come back. Or to betray their hopes by making yourself the next local ganglord. Keep at it anyway and give them hope.

Yes, the bad guys will strike back. But if you choose your initial enemies carefully, you'll gain time. The big bad guys aren't going to waste their time on one small time guy in some small part of town. And precisely because the city is filled with discontented masses, they can't come down too hard on the local hero once they do hear about the stories. There is a scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones is in Cairo and the Nazis pull out their guns. The street children he played with earlier come out to grab "Uncle Indy" and do so under the noses of the Nazis. Because even the Nazis won't gun down small children (ok, they won't do it when they are guests in a seedy intrigue-filled city). Why? Because it'll cause too many problems and interfere with greater concerns. And that's what will initially protect the Paladin. Because if the crimelords kill the local hero, they may just start a riot as that discontented mass rebels. Sure, they'll crush it - but at what expense? How much profit will they lose, and over what? Remember, people are cynical (especially bad guys), and they expect the local hero to fail. No one is untouchable after all, right?

So don't be too hard on the Paladin.

But what about those times when the other PCs need to do something disreputable? I think the key is how you imagine the party. In the Iconic Paladin mode, the party is tightly knit and follow the Paladin on his heroic crusade. In this type of setting, the Paladin is not the center of the party. Instead, he is on the edge of the party. He tolerates "good hearted rogues." Yes, he hopes to inspire them to be better, but their heart IS in the right place. Instead of challenging them when they fail his ideals, he instead backs their play when they do fulfill them. And he makes use of them. He needs to keep his distance. He can't associate with any scandalous conduct. But these ARE the people he's come here to help (help, not lecture). So he knows their actions are expected. That they still perform feats of heroism is something he can WORK with.

The eventual end the Paladin is working towards is to give people hope and to set an example. By doing so, he can build a charismatic mass movement that will eventually overthrow the gangsters and reestablish justice and the rule of law. The Paladin is not a politician, and he knows this. He knows ultimately, he cannot make the kind of compromises necessary for ordinary life. He knows once he's done his job, he'll need to leave the people to govern themselves and leave them a sterling example and legend to succor them in times ahead. It's a lonely path, but in the meantime, he'll take what help and use what allies he has.

I think that is one possible example of how to make a Paladin work in a skullduggery type setting. Rather than be the heroic center, be the fringe guy on the edges (like how evil type characters like Raistlin are in more typical settings) and be willing to not ask too many questions. If your companions hearts are right (and they should be since you don't associate with anyone evil), things will turn out OK. Trust in God. After all, He's looking out for you, and so should the DM.

As for the exact event in question, I unfortunately don't have the issue and can't offer advice. But a reasonable DM should be able to assist things so that the Paladin can continue to adhere to his code even if it may mean the character is gone for a scene or two. If the player gets bored, this is what Henchmen are for.

One thing I can't determine by your posts is whether the disease has spread, or if it has the extent. I'd like to know more about the current context. Thanks.

If a player is interested, it is possible to generate a spell list for use that basically makes a spellcaster a very effective melee fighter. Personally, if I built a character like that, I would want to be a Sorcerer rather than a Wizard. And I'd pick Feats to be more combat oriented.

Such spells would be: Buffs (False Life, Heroism, Bear's Endurance, Cat's Grace), Touch attach spells (elimination of AC makes up for the low BAB), Defensive spells (Mage Armor, Shield, Mirror Image, Protection from Arrows, Stoneskin), and pure attack (Phantasmal Killer, Enervation, Transformation). I would recommend looking through the spell list and deciding the entire build of spells first before picking anything. Know what you'll get at what levels.

Feats would need to be the Save bonuses, the Expertise line, and perhaps even Toughness.

For combat, you might even want a two handed reach weapon. Use that as the main attack, but if someone comes too close, switch to the touch spell attack.

It would be an interesting build, and perhaps not to the liking of someone who really wants to play a spellcaster, but it is magic and would give the group a frontliner. If someone else specializes with Summoning, that person could selectively choose to flank bad guys to get more bonuses and help steadily eliminate specific foes. And of course, he'd help prvent the other guys from getting into melee. They in turn could concentrate their magic on the guys you get near so hopefully they will fall before they can land damage.

The Kuo-Toa may be a good choice. I think they get a short shrift in many people's eyes because many illustrations of them look goofy. Yet look at the stats - these guys are more terrifying than drow: they can see invisible creatures, generate lightning, are impossible to hold, and can make combat super glue. These guys are not pansies. It's important to remember that they are essentially the Deep Ones from the Cthulhu Mythos.

Is it actually important to introduce Ishani Dhatri? I (very) quickly reviewed the adventure, and it seems like his only purpose is that after meeting the PCs due to Soldado, he later invites them to see him and then asks them to introduce him to Cressida Kroft. As they escort him, they overhear Kroft introduce Dr Davalaus. You can easily run a scene to introduce the PCs to Davalus and the Queen's Physicians without Ishani Dhatri. If you absolutely DO need to introduce him, simply have him invite the PCs and tell them that Grau Soldado said they gave him the money to buy the cure disease spell, and he wanted to meet such charitable individuals, and then ...blah, blah, blah... he asks for their help in meeting with Kroft.

As for the second Harrowing - well it seems that Zellara urges the PC with the deck to perform a reading once she is near someone with the plague. I'd simply wait to do the reading until the PC with the deck meets someone who is infected. There will be plenty of candidates soon enough.

For monsters, I personally keep things in the same theme. So I wouldn't have an underwater monster use a fire spell.

For PC's, I'd let them use anything they want unless it's obvious it can't be done (spell description specifically cancels it). Some things can burn underwater (like magnesium) in real life, so there is no reason why fire spells can't work (at least those "instant" fire spells, I don't think I'd allow Wall of Fire to work).

I am not sure how Pathfinder does it, but I have always run the game as being that magic items qualify to bypass DR that can be violated by non-magic items (like silver). So yes, a magic item can bypass DR silver.

To be honest, I don't see the problem. It's part of the game that if PCs directly take on a more powerful foe, they will lose. If they choose to directly assault the hospice/the Doctor's HQ, let the chips fall where they may.

An intelligent party should be doing something to determine the strength of the opposition. Low level divination spells - something simple like Augury - can tell them they are unlikely to succeed. Of course, you don't even need to prod them in this direction. An impromptu Harrow reading should be able to do the same.

I imagine that an initial assault on the hospice could lead them to Dr Davalus, but leave them too weak to continue down to the dungeons with the real goodies. If the PCs proceed further immediately, I'd just let them die. If they go back to recuperate, then you can move the bad guys and incorporate Wesley Schneider's suggestions (Rolth becomes the leader of the cult, he moves the HQ to his hideout, and Jolistina's encounter/info leads to the final encounter with a modified dungeon (in place of the hospice guards and plague doctors, I'd use skeletons and zombies as initial cannon fodder)).

What about the political fallout? Well, things are going crazy, and there really won't be a whole lot other NPCs can do. Most of the guard will just be trying to keep order. And trying to get official help means that the PCs will need to go through the legal process. At that point, the Queen can determine how she wants to prolong this out. She can fake arrest Dr Davaulus and then let him escape, or anything else that is similar. Kroft and the others can't do anything at this point, although such chicanery by the Queen easily leads to the beginning events in Escape from Old Korvosa.

Of course, if that seems to stupid, you could have the NPCs like Kroft engage in an early putsch, but that will fail and the chaotic situation in the city will be even worse. Queen Ileosa can proclaim that treasonous elements of the city attempted to take power during the crisis, but failed. The NPC's who need to be dead, are dead. Those that need to escape for use later on, can be found alive later on.

In this scenario, the Queen pulls guards and such out of Old Korvosa and blows the bridges to "rally" the troops together and secure the palace. At this point, she simply lets the city go to complete anarchy until the plague dies down. During this time, there is literally no order in most of the city, and the PCs can probably go wherever they want. Let them see or hear about the various planned encounters, and let them determine if they want to help the city during the crisis. If so, let them do so and explain how they have improved the situation - so they know they are saving lives by such. They could still be heroes by the end of the adventure.

If they simply decide to blow town until the plague dies off, I'd let them do so too. Use the largest death total possible so the PCs return to a drastically reduced city. At this point, the Queen's loyal forces begin to assert her authority across the city. At this point, I'd try to get the PCs back together with Vencarlo Orsini (if nothing else works, maybe make an announcement that the Queen demands Vencarlo present himself to her - that might motivate the PCs to seek him out). Run an expanded Escape from Old Korvosa with Vencarlo being the leader of the resistance. Come up with your own encounters to keep them occupied and get them levelled up (there is lots to do - as many of the encounters left alone in Seven Days will still be valid - a part of the city taken over by wererats, a growing nest of vampire spawn, Rolth's cult still active - as well as natural stuff like crimelords, bandits, and the Queen's activities) before you actually begin Old Korvosa. Let the PCs know that Vencarlo is looking for the Seneschal. He works on that while he asks the PCs to do the "level up" tasks. Then when they are ready, have Vencarlo disappear and run Escape from Old Korvosa.

The only real work you need to do is figure out a new goal for Rolth and his goons now that the plague has died out. Personally, I'd have him claim a section of town and mass animate undead (there are thousands of corpses after all) to keep nosey adventurers/heroes occupied. He intends to use what he learned in Korvosa to spread to other cities, but he uses Korvosa as a powerbase. He and the Queen have an arrangement - she does nothing to stop him, and in return he leaves her domain alone and strike against other nearby cities who might otherwise take advantage of Korvosa's decline.

You have all the relevant information to run a campaign. Instead of using them as serial encounters, just use them as "campaign points" whenever the PCs would come across them. Feel free to deviate as much as you need. It should still be easy to move from each issue of the AP to the next.

I think you can easily convert the adventure. Part 3 and Part 4 cannot be run as is. You just need another reason why the PCs go to the Boneyard and get attacked.

Part 2 is what needs to be changed. I would not run the events described there as planned, but you can use them as 1) setting material and 2) cannibalize maps and stats to run your own encounters.

The adventure assumes that by the end the PCs uncover the Drow plot. As written, this revelation occurs practically unbidden. They simply find hints after they go after Saul. So instead, during YOUR "Part 2" you need to give the PCs evidence that a) there is drow in the city, b) the drow are in Riddleport for a reason, and c) Saul knows about it.

Although the adventure makes use of only Depora, reading it again, I see that there were additional ones with her, but she simply came back to Riddleport alone. So you have an option of using at least 1 drow that can be seen as a clue to the players.

The main reason for the drow's involvement in the city is to steal local money to finance her base. In this case, what I would do is say that the drow are not solely dependent on Saul. They are doing other things to find easy cash. One of their number has used a very simple Disguise Self spell to appear human. He takes the form of a newfound street gang leader. He arranges to steal from unimportant people who don't owe protection to Clegg Zincher (or perhaps another NPC of your choice). That allows you to run the Foamrunner attack and The Raid (although again using a different target than Saul). In fact, you may want the new target to be new rivals of Saul. If the PCs intervene, they may learn that some of the intended booty was meant to go to Saul which may prompt their interest. As a lead, I would give the PCs the "rumor" that another such attack was going down at a secret deal being made in the Boneyard... I'd then run the Boneyard scene as is except that Kwava tell the PCs that the wererats were sent to kill meddlers by a hidden drow and that he thinks the drow is connected with Saul. You might even want to place your newly invented (disguised self) drow with the wererats as proof of Kwava's claims.

Before the previous paragraph encounters are done, I'd allow the PCs to make their own accomodations in the city. Allow them to explore the setting as much as you'd like and throw in some unconnected minor encounters to acquaint them with the city. Put allow them to hear some rumors that a strange new street gang is out an about making trouble. And later that they don't seem to be bothering Saul. Then use that to lead to the Foamrunner attack.

You may have your own ideas, but this is what I'd do.

I was expecting the Set Piece Adventure to be a separate way for the PC's to achieve the goal of the adventure even if they go off on their own initiative. In other words, while it is separate from the main plot, it is still tied to the end goal.

The purpose of Shadows in the Sky is for the PCs to discover that there is a drow plot. The Set Piece adventure should have involved giving them some sort of clue that there is one going on.

That way, even if they are uninterested in joining Saul Vancaskerkin and what happens in the Gold Goblin, the DM still has a prepared series of encounters to get them on the right path.

So St Caspians is a big failure as Set Piece in my opinion. It is rather uninteresting in it's own right. And it does nothing to further the AP or assist PCs to get back on track. What I would like to see as a Set Piece is a "dungeon" that can be explored and somehow ties into the rest of the AP. It should be an optional encounter a DM can insert if the PCs decide to explore on their own.

Not quite sure if this is a DM talking, or a player, so I'll use the Spoiler hide.

If you want to incorporate favors given to Devargo, I'd do the following:

None of these need be done, but they do help you integrate PCs into helping the action if needed. Use cases like this to make your job easier, not give you more work.

Regardless of the issue whether the power described was properly used, I don’t see why you think this is important. The PCs now know two things:

1) The Queen is using Glibness.
2) The Queen is portraying herself as having the same alignment as her bodyguard using the spell Misdirection.

So what?

All this does is reveal that the Queen may not be entirely trustworthy. That’s not a big secret. Furthermore, the spells are quite innocuous. A politician with a glib tongue? Not exactly scandalous. Neither is using Misdirection.

What happens if the PCs confront her with using spells? Well, one it’s utterly irrelevant – the Queen can’t protect herself by using low level magic?

Two, it’s very stupid to confront the Queen about anything. First, for the affrontery alone, I’d have Sabina Merrin remove them from her presence and take them into custody and interrogated. What other magic have they used on the queen? Is using magic on royalty without her permission a crime? Probably. Given that the PCs were returning something to the Queen, I don’t think they’d be more than a bit roughed up. But they probably broke a lot of etiquette, and would have potentially committed additional crimes against the throne. If they actually accused the Queen of committing any crime, they’d probably be guilty of treason.

So, if I ran the scene, I’d have Sabina Merrin immediately end the interview. Summon the guards. Take them to Kressida Croft and declare they illegally used magic against the Queen, and that they should be interrogated to determine if that is the extent of their crimes. If they were simply stupid, then give them this reward (for returning the jewelry) and see them off. If there is some further criminal activity, take appropriate action. End of story.

At this point, they’d eventually be released, but probably wouldn’t have Kroft as a contact to feed them the further adventures in the book. However, there is still the potential to make a good impression on Vencarlo Orsini, and he could theoretically take Kroft’s place as a party patron and the AP could continue on as planned.

What the PCs learned is so minor and innocuous, there doesn’t need to be further action. However, their names and such are now known to the Queen, and she may be preposed to keep an eye on them. Might be more dangerous for the PCs later on.

But the AP being broken? No.

Solt is standing in the shop to buy the Liniment. While there, he is talking with the other customers and explaining how well the Liniment cured his plague. Other than Solt talking, there is nothing that distinguishes him from the huge line of customers.

However, if the PCs look close enough to make a Spot check, they see that he is not really interested in the cure. In fact, he is not really in line to get the Liniment at all. He is just wandering the shop slowly - talking about the Liniment, but actually browsing the perfumes. He wouldn't be leisurely browsing the perfumes if he really wanted the next batch of Liniment. Instead of browsing the perfumes, he would want to get the Liniment and get back home.

That's the clue to the PCs that maybe he is a plant by the store.

I don't have the guide, but the impression that I get is that such drugs are not illegal. I know there are vice districts, so there could simply be zoning laws that say, "Keep any public use within these districts." But that doesn't say anything about private use.

I'd say that such drugs are completely legal in Korvosa, but public use restricted within certain zones. That means legal merchants, but perhaps ones not considered "proper," can bring them into the city. Organized crime is involved only to protect or monopolize the control points in the vice districts from other thugs.

In an earlier post you stated that the player of Rosedale Arkona had moved away. What is the status of that character? What happened to him? I'm sure you explained his absence somehow.

I'd say offhand their is no game mechanic, but only if the DM wants it to be done. I'd personally never do it for an NPC. Instead, its something metaphysical. And I wouldn't ever have it happen for "routine" evil stuff, but save it for high dramatic occassions - like Lord Soth in Dragonlance becoming a death knight, or some of the more interesting lords of Ravenloft.

I must agree with Mary that players tend to become angry when NPCs betray them. I think players can appreciate a well-timed betrayal that makes sense, but not a situation where trusted NPCs or the "good guys" jerk them around. It is very easy to discourage players this way.

Furthermore, I think the motivation for Saul is very lame. Yeah, in a "I'm a petty evil guy who does evil things" it makes sense. But it's not really necessary.

I think if Mary wants to run this issue at least, it's very easy to change things so that no betrayal occurs.

First, as part of the backstory, Saul wants to rebuild his fortune and does have revenge in mind, but he's not a moustache twirling villain. Or perhaps Saul is even a non-evil guy who is simply down on his luck. Saul meets some guy - an NPC you create - who is an agent of the drow, perhaps even a drow disguised in someway. He becomes Saul's partner and front the money. Saul runs the Gold Goblin, but he needs to payoff his silent partner. Bojask is hired by the partner and actually serves him, not Saul.

Second, the adventure runs as normal.

Third, near the end, it is the partner who determines the PCs need to go. He thinks they are dangerous to the drow's plans as they could help their patsy - Saul - get out of this. He sends Bojask to deal with the wererats, and then meets with the PCs (I'm glad I can finally meet you) and tells them Saul is in danger. Please go here and rescue him.

The adventure then proceeds as normal although they find and/or rescue Saul during the siege of the Gold Goblin. If you want, Saul is alive and grateful to be rescued. Or he could be dead - killed by his partner since he is no longer needed. Instead of fearing betrayal by Saul, the suspense comes from "who is this mystery partner?"

As for the other parts of the AP, I don't know until they come out. However, it's always possible to make the "betrayal" be a result of an infiltrator/disguised spy/whatever set up the PCs instead. Instead of being frustrated and angry with their erstwhile allies, it becomes a matter of foiling the doppleganger/faceless stalker/illusionist who is keeping them away as they try to "expose the traitor."

In one of my campaigns, I actually gave my party a handout from a very important NPC. They used it whenever issues came up. The text was something like this:

The (group of characters) are acting under my personal orders in a matter of utmost importance to the Crimson Throne. All personnel, military and civil without distinction of rank, are to assist them in any way they see fit to demand.

Cressida Kroft
Field Marshal of Korvosa

Given the specifics of my campaign, and the NPCs involved, the PCs were reluctant to use it because they know that namedropping of this type was a huge, huge deal. Not quite the same effect here, but it should still give the PCs some pause and hopefully think "this is cool."

Needless to say, when NPCs were handed this notice, they became cooperative real quick.

Bonus points to the first one to state which movie these words came from. :)

I consider flavor text gifts and "real" treasure to be two entirely different things. If you think the PCs want/expect "real" treasure, then by all means give it to them. But purely based on the description in 7 Days, I'd give them the flavor text stuff. I find that PCs often love that kind of stuff - especially if they like roleplay.

But don't skimp on the "real" treasure if you feel they need it.

If you really want to combine the two, then pick certain magic items and build a history for them. The magic dagger that Blackjack gifted the young couple who hid him from corrupt authorities. The heirloom ring of wizardry from the first graduate of the Acadamae. That kind of thing.

I'd give them flavor text stuff like home cooked meals, a pair of chickens, a newly born foal from a prizewinning horsebreed, the bottle of vintage wine or cognac they've been safekeeping for a while. the locket or other token given to their grandparents by Blackjack as thanks for hiding him for a while, good linen and silverware, the fattest pig they have, a bag of free groceries, brand new pair of shoes the cobbler just made for them, etc.

Citizenship would not be mere habitation in a city. The original inhabitants/founders of Korvosa and their descendants would be citizens. The Shoanti would definitely be not.

What other immigrants would be considered citizens would depend on what you - the DM - decides how Korvosa creates new citizens. There is a procedure in place.

• Is it by decree of the King/Queen?
  
• Is there a set procedure based on various factors that one could apply for Korvosa?

Citizens would have certain rights - maybe a right to appear in court, address the King, or appeal judicial decisions. Non-citizens would be dealt with rather arbitrarily by the Guard.

I would define "person" as anyone of the PHB player character races plus whatever "monster" you want protected. Animals, vermin, and non-intelligent mosters are certainly not a "person." Also, any obviously threatening monster you would never want in your city won't be a person either. In any case, I expect that unless Korvosan law considers something a "person" by default it is not. So Derro are not "persons" and thus not protected by law as a person would be. Whether something like "wererats" are a "persons" by law is something you may need to decide.

Other laws I would use:

• You can't establish a business without permission by the proper guild (and guildmembers don't want competitors). Of course, this is why smuggling exists.
  
• Sumptuary laws exist. Non-aristocrats can't wear certain things that aristocrats can. Likewise royalty can probably wear certain things the aristocrat can't. You don't want people to think someone is noble when they're not. This was very common in a lot of a societies.
  
• Protected species. Even if Pseudodragons aren't considered people, they are probably protected by law given their benevolent nature and keeping the imp population down. It's probably illegal to kill them (perhaps even keep them as pets!). They could even be considered to be "property of the king" like the animals on royal hunting grounds.
  
• Commoners probably cannot use any violence against nobles. Nobles are probably allowed to use non-lethal violence against commoners, and in specific circumstances even lethal violence.
  
• Obstructing those acting under the King's name (like agents of Field Marshal Kroft) is against the law. When the PCs are acting under her orders, they can probably get away with a lot unless they screw someone important who can use political connections to punish them. Likewise, if the PCs act against members of the Guard and such, the book can be thrown at them unless the Guard is prepared for the political consequences because what they are doing is approved by the higher ups.
  Curfews. If you are out past a certain time, you're probably doing something illegal.

There are probably a host of laws concerning magic too. And the major importance of the Cult of Abadar probably means a highly developed property and banking law. I am not sure what kind of laws may be present due to the heritage of Cheliax and the presence of the Cult of Asmodeus.

A criminal gang is appropriate for "heroes of the city" if it's done in terms of Robin Hood or Zorro or pulp heroes. The "outlaw" who is on the wrong side of law only because the government is oppressive. They will still need to hide their identities though - perhaps adopt an alias in certain activities.

My preference is to run the encounter and let the PC decisions stand and not force a fight at that point.

At that point.

If they leave, well now you have 4 free roaming vampires on the loose! That's fun. Have them move from that spot and start up a new feeding grounds amongst the dead elsewhere. After enough delay for Kroft to hear the new information, filter it to the PCs.

Eventually, they'll start to ask WHY these corpse fields keep popping up. If they look for more details, they'll eventually find the vampires even if it's not the first one.

This issue bugs me. Why does this come up so many times? Haven't the players already agreed that they want to play this game? Then they need to make characters and create a common party so their characters actually fulfill their real reason for playing this game.

Yes, the GM needs to help. He should give them an idea of the campaign and what kind of characters are appropriate. He also needs to assist with hooks and such as needed.

But ultimately, this is a player responsibility. It is complete BS that the GM is the one who is responsible for keeping the party together.

Lazy selfish players have spread this lie too long.

The players need to figure this out - with the GM helping. It's their responsibility.

They should be telling you some reasons the party can stay together, and then you make the needed adjustments so it fits in with the campaign.

Players like to say, "But I'm roleplaying my character," when they torpedo their own game group. Maybe so, but their responsibility when entering the game was to create a character that would work together with the other characters so the party stays intact. When they don't, they haven't held up their end.

In case the Paizo people are reading, I'd like to add that guidelines of this kind is needed anytime an adventure takes place in an urban, or very civilized, or highly lawful society. It's no longer frontier justice or borderland survival at that point - you have lords, sheriffs, and judges you'll answer to.

As a player and DM, I need to know what those guidelines are. If I don't like them, I can always adjust or change them. But if the adventure writer puts it in, then it saves me and many others a lot of time brainstorming these ideas up.

This is a FREQUENT question that comes up. In my own homebrew setting, I even have a little 1 page handout I gave to players so they know it beforehand.

Incidentally, this is one reason I think so much "flavor text" descriptions fail as a game resource whether it is "game fiction" or the pseudo-ecology articles. Most of the time the flavor text is just vague. It does not actually give me anything solid to use in the context of the game. Yeah, it's nice to know all of the ritual hulabalo some monster uses for his religion. But in the end, I as DM will still use almost the exact same description for my PCs. What I need instead is concrete answers I can give players when they have very basic questions like this.

As long as you think the PCs can handle that encounter earlier in the sequence, go right ahead and change when those events happen. The early events are rather general encounters that serve as the backdrop to showcase the devastation of the plague. They can happen at any time.

One last point - I want to emphasize that pre-modern societies do not hold that everyone is equal under the law. Quite the opposite. Aristocrats and other elite probably have very specific privileges that allow them to do things - some nobles were excused from paying certain taxes in ancien regime France, samurai in feudal Japan could kill peasants without a thought. And there were laws that specifically prevented peasants and such from becoming too uppity - like restrictions on what clothing they could wear, or how big a party they can throw.

Furthermore, Korvosa is very much LN, not LG. In fact, there is a strong LE presence in the city by the cult of Asmodeus, and Korvosa is an heir to devil run Cheliax. I expect the Mephits have very many advantages compared to most of the people in the city.

A good way of brainstorming ideas for such might be to work collaboratively with your players. If it sounds fun to everyone, go with it. If ideas don't work, you don't need to use them. Don't feel the need to think up everything yourself.

It's never a good problem when players have incompatible gaming styles. Whenever that has occurred with me, I find either players are just unhappy and keep up with it, or players end up breaking up the party.

The best advice I can give is to discuss this at the beginning of your next game session, and explain to them that you're concerned about this. Get everyone's opinion - how bored or unhappy are they? Then discuss how each one would have ideally preferred the last encounter to have been played out.

That will tell you whether the group is compatible or not. If they are, don't worry. Your only challenge is to somehow "make" the resolution work. If someone rolls bad, you still want them to fail - but redefine failure so that the game can still proceed the way the group wants.

For example, a character is tracking someone. Tracking check fails. But you need the track to happen for the game style you want. Instead of ruling that the track becomes cold and he finds nothing, have something terrible happen instead. A group of rioters, bandits, or unexplainable horror attacks him instead. Simple make the character "pay" instead of making him fail.

If it comes at a high enough cost, players won't think you're being easy on them. And of course, when failure doesn't mean the entire adventure goes to waste, then just have them fail.

I think it might be helpful to uldheim if you wrote up a brief synopsis of how Korvosan law should work in these type of situations. What exactly are the characters allowed to do? What are the social expectations and consequences of their actions? I wouldn't go into great detail, but the highlights of it. If you prefer to hold this discussion "in character," the an NPC solicitor hired by the party could discuss things with them. Then you could have that give and take by roleplay, and not just out of character.

Years ago, I ran a campaign set in Thay of the Forgotten Realms. The party were "good guys" who were native to Thay, and had to deal with the oppression of the Red Wizards. The original scope of the campaign was to lead them to overthrow the Red Wizards and end their tyranny. Yeah - I have overly ambitious campaign plots - but believe me, it was epic and had macguffins aplenty.

Anyway, Thay was a very lawful and evil society. As part of that, I had to develop a lot of laws and explain to the PCs what they could or couldn't do. I put a lot of thought into this. The PCs really did have their own lawyer. Once they had clear guidelines about what they could legally do or not do, they were very relieved. And I even told the Paladin (yes, there was one) what was expected in situations like this because people often don't know what to do when playing a LG character in a LE society. And having a lawyer enabled them to use the legal process to protect themselves in case things went awry.

As native aristocrats, the Mephits probably have a lot more rights/privileges than the normal citizen of the city, and a lot more than weird evil blue guys thought to be a tall tale. Then you have self defense. And you have involvement by the highest law officer in the city. They should be OK with the law.

Anyway, good luck. I'll try to be as helpful as I can.

The major reason for 10 & 11 are to learn the backstory and acquire the artifact. I haven't had the chance to read 12 yet, but I think a group of PCs can survive "occupied Korvosa" if played smart.

In terms of the Mephits campaign, I think they could learn the backstory themselves by other means. Korvosa is built on top of the pyramid after all. You can easily have the secret be learned in Korvosa itself - provided you make the process of learning it a big mystery and going through old legends and stuff. Real Call of Cthulhu RPG investigation type adventures. Given their previous encounter with Thousand Bones, you could even have him show up to tell them what little he knows. This is all very feasible provided you want to do all the work needed.

As for the artifact, the Mephits have two choices. Either hire a group of NPCs to fulfill the quest, or do it for themselves. The Mephits have hired more than enough people, so maybe they could select the commando squad to go grab it. If the Mephits really want to stay in the city, I'd do that. To create some sort of suspense, I'd have them roll randomly to determine a) how long the quest would take, and b) if their hired adventurers ever come back. If yes, great move on to part 12. If not, well, they'll just have to decide if they want to do it themselves.

This brings up a concern I had earlier, which is that the Mephits are more like a social roleplaying troupe while D&D is more fight oriented. If your players are fine with that, it isn't a problem. But it will create problems if you run the campaign directly from the AP which is fight oriented. While there are many encounters you could run as is, it seems to me that this last one (Gaekhan's body) would either be changed or avoided entirely.

I'm not too sure how much I can talk on this thread, so I'll spoiler hide it just to be careful.

I'm guessing a lot here as to how your group actually acts, and how you present things. So my advice may be totally bad or completely irrelevant. But I find this campaign style so interesting I feel compelled to spout anyway. :)

I think the problem is that we're told Kazavon is a dragon, so we think the resolution has to do with dragons. Instead, it's about Zon-Kuthon and Kazavon is a disciple of that god who just happens to be a dragon.

Different people will have different mileage with things like that. For me, I'd prefer a more streamlined mythology for a setting. Otherwise, it can turn into a series of lame oneupmanship. "OK, the secret behind this adventure is an evil cultist of a dark god. Who's a dragon! Who's also a jedi! And part of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force!"

To some people, that is the utter definition of coolness. To others, it just becomes lame.

Not having read Crown of Fangs yet, I can't comment on how it'll actually seem to me, but I'll admit that when I first read Edge of Anarchy's introduction, I definitely expected a very draconic centered campaign mythology.

It's rare to turn away allies when you're under attack (about the only time it's done is when you think the "ally" intends to subjugate you after it's over). So if Korvosa was under attack by armies from a devil cult, I don't think they'd refuse an alliance. Plus, you don't need to convince the ordinary people to ally. You only need to convince the new leadership of Korvosa.

Likewise, the Shoanti seem to want revenge against Chelish. If convinced that Korvosa would be friendly to them, then I think they would consider a temporary alliance at least. And I think the PCs could convince both sides to agree to some sort of treaty.

What happens long term, who knows, but in the short term in this scenario, I think it's feasible.

Mactaka, to follow up on your point:

Church of Asmodeus

Yes, the CR is for the encounter. If you "win" the encounter, you get the XP, and the goal of the encounter is to get the information.

I have not been able to pick up a copy of Crown of Fangs yet, but here are my ideas:

The Church of Asmodeus

The Gray Maidens

The Red Mantis

If they go both ways, try this. Keep Kroft for the shining exemplars. Then give the underhanded cads some other contact - an NPC you make up. However, this NPC is like an undercover agent for Kroft. Maybe a former student of Orsini's academy, a secret agent known only to Orsini and Croft (this is so the agent won't be compromised once Ileosa controls everything). He's some dubious guy in a barely legal business in Korvosa who streetwise people know is connected and dangerous.

This guy can be the mentor/contact/patron for the underhanded guys. He's on the same page as Kroft because Kroft gives him his orders. Have him give the same assignments as Kroft gives the shining knights. But word it just enough differently so that people don't know it's a set up.

For example, Kroft asks the shining knights to investigate Verik Vancaskerkin. NPC dude simply tells the PCs that food prices are skyrocketing, and he hears that someone in Northgate is hoarding food supplies. He wants "in" and asks for help to figure out what is going on. He never mentions the name Vancaskerkin, but the only reason he asks the PCs to investigate the butcher's shop is because he knows Vancaskerkin is there.

Likewise, dealing with Eel's End is rather easy too. NPC wants to know why the Spider King has gotten so powerful, what is the origin of his power? Doesn't mention anything about the ambassadors at all.

If done right, the underhanded PCs will see the shining knight PCs as a source for more information, and the two can work together while pursuing their "own goals." You probably only need to do this during Edge of Anarchy as soon the party will simply be used to working together and won't argue too much.

For Trinia, I'd let it be only Kroft. See if the underhanded PCs object. If so, prompt the PCs to cooperate, and in return the shining knights can agree to help them on their own "solo" quest. Introduce Thousand Bones via the NPC who needs the Shoanti's assistance in smuggling or some such. He sends them to his old friend Orsini, who makes the official introduction. That way you can eliminate Kroft entirely. That's pretty much the end of the adventure, and only Edge really uses Kroft to hand out quests.

I don't interpret the party's relationship with Kroft as joining the guard. Instead, they are a party of specialists hired by Kroft to do things she needs done, but can't use the Guard for. The Guard is too busy with riot control and what not, so she hires these highly capable people. Nothing prevents the party from doing their own thing in addition to her quests.

At the same time, if the PCs don't bite, then you can always use another NPC (Orsini is a good choice as you mentioned) to hire them to do the exact same thing. Why does he want it done? Well because Kroft asked him if he knew anyone who could do task X because the Guard is too busy. Or perhaps he personally knows Thousand Bones, or whatever.

So I don't see Kroft as being a problem in terms of party patron, but if your group resists, you can easily have someone else do it.