Been a very long time since I've posted, but here are my thoughts:
1 - Curse of the Crimson Throne - Amazing all around, even volume 4 is good if you're careful with it
2 - Rise of the Runelords - I've done this one twice to completion and amazing both times, again, even volume 5 is fine if you treat it with care
3 - Reign of Winter - Probably would be higher apart from the fact I sadly never managed to finish it.. sadly the campaign folded before the end of volume 5, but up to that point it was amazing
Other AP's I've played / run in order of favourite would be:
Shattered Star - Loved the dungeon bash feel
Skull & Shackles - Too free form at points, and too much of a railroad in others
Carrion Crown - Too loose of a connection between volumes for me
Kingmaker - Maybe because I ran for a young group with short attention spans, but the kingdom building was such a drag and it was difficult to maintain player motivation
I've got the above two orders going currently but oddly enough, the second one is saying complete (PACG Deck 3) and the first one is pending (PACG Deck 2) - However, I've already received Deck 2 but no sign of Deck 3!
Any chance you could take a look to make sure there isn't a goblin breaking stuff?
Thanks for bringing that order to our attention. It looks like the system goblins are up to some shenanigans with this one. I've beat them into submission, and this order should be on its way soon.
Well... interesting idea... but I really don't want to be seen as just trying to get around the customs :)
My whole point with this, is due to UK customs, I'm not charged on one deck (as it's under the customs limit) but I am on two! I'm perfectly happy to pay customs if an individual item is over the limit.. that really isn't a problem, and it's certainly not a concern for me financially!
However, what really irritated me is that I was forced to pay due to two decks being sent at once due to no fault of my own...
However, as I've said above, water under the bridge - I'm now fully aware of Paizo's position on this, and now that I've calmed down a bit I can indeed see it from their point of view and position!
Starting to be a little happier with the situation, so just going to suck this one up and enjoy my PFACG decks when they get here (I just hope my base set finally gets here first!)
Many Thanks though Steve for your input and to the CS team for their help with this issue :)
Thank you. I'm still annoyed, as the decks should have been shipped separately in the first place and it was an issue at your end that led to two being shipped together...
However, obviously that doesn't change the situation and I'm at least happy that it has been explained! This doesn't excuse the fact that the last post I made gave me the impression that this was possible...
Again, water under the bridge and I'm just going to have to live with it!
I'm really sorry for the confusion, unfortunately, we cannot split order for the sole purpose of getting around another country's customs fees or taxes.
Hum... that's exceedingly annoying...
My first reaction is to ask to cancel the subscription...
I wouldn't have been paying the extra customs charge in the first place if you hadn't delayed the orders...
I know that was circumstances beyond your control, but I don't see why I should have to pay extra because of your errors...
I'll need to think about cancelling my subscription
I appreciate that you are mega busy and it’ll probably take a while to get around to this message!
However, I really need to ask if it’s possible to have the above order sent separately when it comes back into stock, rather than with the September order?
This is avoid the customs charges I’d have to pay if they two items are shipped together! I fully appreciate I have to pay the shipping twice, but this would be a lot cheaper than the customers charge!
If there is an issue with this, please let me know!
Many Thanks again
PS. Have already e-mailed about this, but seeing as the processing date is the 11th thought I'd better let you know through the boards as well!
Well, might as well add my own experiences here :)
I've been playing Pathfinder for about two and a half years and during this time have done the following: (These are all as GM!)
Shackled City (Hardcover): This was my first campaign (converted to PF from 3.5) and only got as far as adventure 3 due to player numbers (at one stage had 8, which was a nightmare!)
Rise of the Runelords (AE, first two books as 3.5 conversion): I've done this one twice with two different groups and completed both! (Well, technically completed as both groups wiped / died to the BBEG at the end!)
Skull & Shackles: Was going pretty well up until the middle of book 4 when I called it a day due to player issues and general RPG workload (8 campaigns at once at that point!)
Curse of the Crimson Throne: Made it to first part of Book 3 before dropping it, again due to a player leaving and also overload
Kingmaker: Most happy to drop this one... really struggled with the (young) group... made it to start of Book 3 (just reached Varnhold) before dropping due to it basically not working and also player dropouts
Not an AP but: Price of Immortality: Finished to end of 2nd book before abandoning due to lack of numbers / time again
That's the ones that have been done / dropped... I'm still running:
Shattered Star: Coming up for 18 months and still just starting Book 4! Found it a real grind at points, but overall really enjoying, especially the sin theme
Jade Regent: This is again taking a while... 9 months or so and just starting Book 3 but making better progress now
Reign of Winter: Loving this one!! Just had to expand the group though, so now have 7 players! Halfway through Book 3, but really looking forward to Book 5!
Curse of the Crimson Throne: Started before the other CoTCT group and also 7 players. Just starting Book 4 and trying to do lots of RP with it!
Carrion Crown: Over 6 months and only on Book 1, very sparse meetings for this one, but excellent group
Any questions or comments on these are more than welcome!
Thank you ever so much again!! I repeat my previous comments about your fast and efficient management of this issue :)
I'm quite happy to wait and get decks 4 and 5 together! As I mentioned before, I was struggling to obtain the decks through my local store, so as a result my regular group are just finishing deck 2 now, so by the time the decks arrive we should be ready for them!
Thank you so much for your prompt attention to this matter :)
I've managed now to start the subscription with deck 5, so if you would please add number 4 and it's promo in as well it would be greatly appreciated!!
Again, fantastic service and love this game... was having difficulties getting it from the local store (no promos and very late!) so even thought the shipping is more, I'm more than happy to subscribe!
I'm trying to set up a subscription for the above, starting with Deck 4, however, ever time I try it, when I get to Confirm the Order it dumps me back to the Shopping Cart... the subscription doesn't show under My Subscriptions and I haven't received an e-mail confirming it's gone through!
Could you maybe check if this is confirmed when you get the chance??
It's actually very different... one group is halfway into Part 3 (7 players!) and the other is halfway through Part 2 (4 players)
Totally different players and characters too... so as always makes for a completely different experience!
Looking forward to your groups further adventures!
Just a quick note... as someone who is running this campaign (twice!), I really appreciate the amount of detail and effort you've put into this journal... it really brings the story alive and makes for a great read!
I thought I'd chip in with my thoughts on this one, since my RotRL Group(s) have changed quite a bit over the 18 months or so I have been running it!!
I originally started running the campaign with two seperate groups of 6 players each. This wasn't too much of a problem, as the majority of the players in the first group were younger and weren't interested in roleplaying as much as they were cracking skulls!
The older group did roleplay a bit more however, and I found running two groups through the same adventure to be pretty interesting, as the differences in how they tackled each section kept it from being boring for me as the GM!
Both groups were then at 7 players for a time, which was quite hard going, but at lower levels it wasn't too much of an issue.
Due to circumstances beyond my control however, I lost 5 players from the second group all at once...
This obviously caused a problem, and I then merged the two groups...
We had 9 players for a short time, but this really wasn't working out, so I split them down into a group of 5 and a group of 4.
We're now just starting adventure 6, and both groups are back to a regular 6 players, with one having an occasional seventh...
This has been a really challenge, as 6 players at high level really wreck the adventures as written, and I've needed to up hitpoints and add extra enemies on a few ocassions to keep things on track!
Still very good fun though and I hope you enjoy the campaign!
I thought it was probably a longshot as these seem to now be like gold dust... however, I'm hopeful that I've got a copy of number 2 still to come, and I've already got 4-6, so hopefully I should be able to dig 1 up somewhere.. (Might break the bank a bit though lol)
I don't know what it is, but I just really want to have the actual physical copies, you know? :)
It cost me upwards of £100 to complete RoTR but it was worth it (and I then went and got the AE too!)
So, thank you very much again for your time and effort!
Your regular session updates are always a favourite of mine, and having had an unusually unfulfilling session last night you've restored my Pathfinder enjoyment once again! :)
If you have a copy of Kingmaker 1 still in stock, I'd be interested in grabbing it! I've just ordered parts 2-6 off Amazon.co.uk after reading that people were having difficulty getting them... A bit worried that I'm going to have pay through the roof for Part 1... I live in the UK but would obviously pay any shipping charges / taxes you'd require!
If you don't have it, no worries, but It's always worth asking!!
Fantastic stuff as usual NH! I love reading your session recaps... especially this one, as my second group just fought Mokmurian today!
We had two deaths (party of six) before they took him out, so he put up a bit more of a fight, though this was the second time I was running him, and had learnt from the previous attempt!
I've just started adventure 5, so I'm looking forward to your players interaction with the next bit...
Love that first idea.. will certainly run with that... thank you :)
Not too worried about them skipping stuff tbh... I'm just levelling up as indicated in the chapters rather than using XP, and most of the time I have to lead them by the nose, so I don't think they will skip much... and even if they do, I'm not too worried... as our playtime is limited, skipping a bunch of easy encounters is not going to be an issue, as long as we hit all the highlights!
Sorry for the confusion... one group is still finishing off book 4, and the other group is just about to start book 5 - Sins of the Saviors... thought I am pretty hopeful that we'll reach book 6 and finish the campaign at some point!
I've been really lucky with this group to be honest.. all are fairly new players (been playing just over a year now), but we've done amazingly well in that time... just starting Book 5 of RotRL...
We have had a few deaths from time to time, but I've been pretty loose with it, and nobody has had to re-roll character so far...
Regarding the BBEG... I'll certainly keep everyone up to date on our progress up to and including that point if you guys are interested!
I'm pretty confident that we'll have the campaign finished by the summer, and I'm already considering trying Reign of Winter when we are!
If anyone has any suggestions as to points of difficulty or lack of difficulty in the next adventure I would really appreciate your comments on them!
Thank you!! You are absolutely right... unfortunately, I think he needs to be bought down a peg or two... at least for maybe one or two encounters, because he's basically thinking he's a one man army (and he's right!) and the ego is getting slightly inflated :)
I always try to ensure everyone can contribute, but recently it's been the 'Ranger Show'.. so a change to that is only going to help I reckon
Having said that, the last encounter (as mentioned above) certainly didn't go his way, and to give him his due he didn't take it too badly... apart from blaming the Paladin :)
Thank you very much again for your comments... as always it's a tricky balancing act, so hopefully we'll be able to proceed without totally cutting him out of the loop!
Guys... thank you both for your great suggestions!
IF: Really like that tactics summary... especially using Wall of Ice to block off the Ranger... I really need to be able to shut him down somehow otherwise it's dead dragon :(
ph: I agree... LOS is the key factor here, but dominate person does work well... in my experience with this party though, it works much better on the fighter, who has a lower will and could probably floor two of them in one turn if he's lucky!!
Cheers again guys and I really appreciate everyone chipping in with suggestions :)
Thank you NH! My group would certainly do a bit more roleplaying, but as I think I mentioned before we only really play for 2 hours a week, so most of the time it's combat encounters with a bit of roleplaying when needed! I do enjoy reading your roleplaying sessions though... it's great that you have the time to do them :)
mb: Thank you very much for those tactics... he can't shoot it if it drops him off a cliff :) I've got a break next week so probably won't be doing that encounter til the week after.. will keep everyone informed though, and thanks again for your input!
First off NH, thank you for your comments :)
I'm a big fan of your groups ongoing adventures, and the fact that my groups have already played through them gives me good material for comparison!!
After yesterday we have now concluded FOTSG and are ready for SOTS... however I'm really worried again about difficulties to start with... especially the
Spoiler!:
poor White Dragon... my 'I Win' Ranger has a thing for Dragons, and has made it his lifes mission to shoot down any Dragon he sees before it can kill him... the last couple of times he even asked the rest of the party to clear away so he could basically solo the Dragon... Problem is, he can do it too (and doesn't even have FE Dragons... yet!)
Any thoughts over and above those discussed above would be greatly appreciated!
The Hounds didn't last too long, but all of the party apart from the Paladin / Fighter failed their saves to be slowed... Hounds hasted themselves but still only lasted two turns..
Mokmurian gave a pretty good account of himself I think... managed to disintegrate both the Bard and Ranger before either could get a shot at him, but the Fighter then did 200+ damage in a single round to him before the Wizard turned him into a mouse! Still a pretty challenging fight and the party were rather surprised at his damage output and sneaky fog tactics...
Overall job done, as I really didn't want a one round wonder, and he certainly got his licks in before snuffing it, so overall, good stuff!
I'm almost certainly going to go with your HP increase idea...
I'll also stick with the increased HD / numbers for now
After looking at Craigs suggestions, I reckon the Hounds could be quite a challenging fight now if used properly, and I'm certainly not doubling Mokmurians HP :)
I'll let you know how we get on with those two encounters next week, but thanks again for your suggestions!
Rolled I's... everyone apart from I think the Cleric got the jump on the HL... (everyone beat the Zombies :) )
Wizard uses Chain Lightning for 54 damage, only 2 Zombies pass the save
Paladin channels positive energy for 26 damage, HL passes but only 2 Zombies pass
Ranger mows down the nearest zombie, but actually doesn't do much more than that
Cleric moves in channels, wiping out everything else!
HL got one attack on the fighter which did about 20 points of damage
Again, comments appreciated... if it's something I'm doing wrong them I'm more than happy to stand corrected :)
Here's some more information for you :) Anything you'd be willing to contribute would be greatly appreciated!
We have 6 characters all currently at level 13 -
Here's just the base stats for em (This is large so in spoiler!)
I've cut quite a bit of the stuff like class abilities and stuff... just left feats / spells etc.
characters stats (Long!):
Elgaria
Female Elf Wizard 13
NG Medium Humanoid (elf)
Init +9; Senses low-light vision; Perception +2
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Defense
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AC 23, touch 20, flat-footed 17 (+5 Dex, +3 natural, +4 deflection, +1 dodge)
hp 80 (13d6+13)
Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +8; +2 vs. enchantments
Immune sleep; Resist elven immunities
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee Masterwork Quarterstaff +7/+2 (1d6/x2)
Ranged Masterwork Longbow +12/+7 (1d8/x3)
Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 13):
7 (2/day) Teleport, Greater, Banishment (DC 25), Forcecage (DC 25)
6 (3/day) Repulsion (DC 24), Heroism, Greater, Chain Lightning (DC 24), Chain Lightning (DC 24)
5 (4/day) Baleful Polymorph (DC 23), Baleful Polymorph (DC 23), Baleful Polymorph (DC 23), Wall of Force, Hold Monster (DC 23)
4 (6/day) Stoneskin, Enlarge Person, Mass (DC 22), Ice Storm, Ice Storm, Fire Shield, Fire Shield, Fire Shield
3 (6/day) Slow (DC 21), Lightning Bolt (DC 21), Lightning Bolt (DC 21), Fireball (DC 21), Fireball (DC 21), Fireball (DC 21), Fireball (DC 21)
2 (6/day) Bull's Strength, Acid Arrow, Acid Arrow, Scorching Ray, Scorching Ray, Web (DC 20), Glitterdust
1 (6/day) Magic Missile, Magic Weapon, Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor, Enlarge Person (DC 19), Burning Hands (DC 19), Burning Hands (DC 19)
0 (at will) Ray of Frost, Open/Close (DC 18), Dancing Lights, Light
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 26, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +6; CMB +6; CMD 26
Feats Combat Casting, Dodge, Empower Spell, Extend Spell, Improved Initiative, Maximize Spell, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Scribe Scroll, Widen Spell
Skills Appraise +24, Climb +13, Disable Device +20, Fly +20, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +24, Knowledge (local) +24, Linguistics +24, Perception +2, Spellcraft +24 (+26 to determine the properties of a magic item), Swim +13
Languages Abyssal, Aquan, Catfolk, Celestial, Chelaixian, Common, Daemonic, Draconic, Druidic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Infernal, Necril, Orc, Osiriani, Shoanti, Sylvan, Thassilonian
SQ arcane bonds (object [masterwork quarterstaff] [1/day]), elemental wall (13 rounds/day), elven magic, force missile (11/day), intense spells +6, opposition schools (illusion, necromancy), specialized schools (evocation)
Other Gear Arrows (20), Masterwork Longbow, Masterwork Quarterstaff, Amulet of natural armor +3, Belt of incredible dexterity +4, Headband of mental prowess (Int & Cha +6) (Climb, , Ring of protection +4, Thieves' tools, masterwork, 616 GP
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Finnan
Male Halfling Bard 13
CG Small Humanoid (halfling)
Init +6; Senses Perception +18
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Defense
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AC 28, touch 16, flat-footed 24 (+9 armor, +4 Dex, +1 size, +3 natural, +1 deflection)
hp 81 (13d8)
Fort +10, Ref +20, Will +14; +2 vs. fear, +4 vs. bardic performance, sonic, and language-dependant effects, +2 trait bonus vs. fear
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft.
Melee Spear +10/+5 (1d6/x3)
Ranged +4 Heavy crossbow +20/+15 (1d8+4/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks bardic performance (swift action) (30 rounds/day), bardic performance: countersong, bardic performance: dirge of doom, bardic performance: distraction, bardic performance: fascinate (5 targets) (dc 18), bardic performance: inspire competence +4, bardic performance: inspire courage +3, bardic performance: inspire greatness (2 allies), bardic performance: soothing performance, bardic performance: suggestion (dc 18)
Bard Spells Known (CL 13):
4 (3/day) Dimension Door, Cure Critical Wounds, Shout (DC 16), Dominate Person (DC 16)
3 (4/day) Haste, Blink, Cure Serious Wounds, Displacement, Charm Monster (DC 15)
2 (6/day) Cat's Grace, Cure Moderate Wounds, Invisibility, Hold Person (DC 14), Blur
1 (6/day) Expeditious Retreat, Cause Fear (DC 13), Sleep (DC 14), Grease (DC 13), Charm Person (DC 13), Cure Light Wounds
0 (at will) Open/Close (DC 12), Mage Hand, Flare (DC 12), Daze (DC 12), Prestidigitation (DC 12), Ghost Sound (DC 12)
--------------------
Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 23, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 14
Base Atk +9; CMB +8; CMD 23
Feats Crossbow Mastery (Heavy crossbow), Deadly Aim -3/+6, Manyshot, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload (Heavy crossbow), Rapid Shot
Traits Courageous, Eager Performer (Perform [dance], Sleep)
Skills Acrobatics +19 (+15 jump), Bluff +18, Climb +1, Diplomacy +20, Disable Device +20, Escape Artist +5, Fly +19, Handle Animal +20, Perception +18, Perform (dance) +19, Perform (sing) +18, Perform (wind instruments) +20, Ride +5, Sense Motive +18, Sleight of Hand +5, Spellcraft +19, Stealth +25, Swim +12, Use Magic Device +18
Languages Common, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin, Halfling
SQ bardic knowledge, fearless, jack of all trades: trained skills, lore master (2/day), versatile performance abilities (dance, singing, wind instruments), well versed
Other Gear +5 Chain shirt, +4 Heavy crossbow, Crossbow bolts (10), Spear, Amulet of natural armor +3, Belt of incredible dexterity +6, Cloak of resistance +5, Ring of protection +1, Musical instrument, masterwork (Flute), Thieves' tools, masterwork, 822 GP, 9 SP
--------------------
Gregg
Male Human Fighter 13
N Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +8; Senses Perception -1
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Defense
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AC 28, touch 15, flat-footed 23 (+12 armor, +1 shield, +4 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 95 (13d10)
Fort +13, Ref +13, Will +8 (+3 vs. fear)
Defensive Abilities bravery +3
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee +3 Scimitar +23/+18/+13 (1d6+17/15-20/x2) and
+3 Scimitar +23/+18 (1d6+17/15-20/x2)
Ranged Light crossbow +17/+12/+7 (1d8/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks weapon training abilities (heavy blades +3, bows +2, close +1)
--------------------
Statistics
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Str 25, Dex 18, Con 11, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 8
Base Atk +13; CMB +20; CMD 35
Feats Cleave, Dodge, Double Slice, Greater Weapon Specialization (Scimitar), Improved Critical (Scimitar), Improved Initiative, Improved Two-weapon Fighting, Lunge, Mobility, Power Attack -4/+8, Spring Attack, Two-weapon Defense, Two-weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (Scimitar), Weapon Specialization (Scimitar)
Skills Acrobatics +2, Climb +21, Escape Artist +2, Fly +2, Ride +2, Stealth +2, Swim +21
Languages Common
Other Gear +3 Full plate, +3 Scimitar, +3 Scimitar, Crossbow bolts (10), Light crossbow, Belt of giant strength +6, Cloak of resistance +5, Ring of evasion, 79 GP
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Laurena
Female Human Paladin 13
LG Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +5; Senses Perception +2
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Defense
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AC 31, touch 12, flat-footed 29 (+14 armor, +5 shield, +1 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 121 (13d10+26)
Fort +14, Ref +10, Will +15
Immune charm, fear, disease
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Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee Heavy Shield Bash +19/+14/+9 (1d4+6/x2) and
+4 Warhammer +24/+19/+14 (1d8+10/x3)
Special Attacks smite evil (5/day)
Spell-Like Abilities Detect Evil (At will)
Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 10):
4 (1/day) Cure Serious Wounds
3 (2/day) Prayer, Dispel Magic
2 (3/day) Resist Energy, Bull's Strength, Shield Other
1 (5/day) Protection from Evil, Restoration, Lesser, Bless, Cure Light Wounds, Resistance
--------------------
Statistics
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Str 23, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 20
Base Atk +13; CMB +19; CMD 31
Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lunge, Mobility, Power Attack -4/+8, Shield Focus, Toughness +13, Weapon Focus (Warhammer)
Skills Acrobatics -5 (-9 jump), Climb +0, Escape Artist -5, Fly -5, Heal +18, Ride -5, Sense Motive +18, Stealth -5, Swim +0
Languages Common
SQ aura of courage, aura of good, aura of justice, aura of resolve, divine bonds (weapon [3/day]), lay on hands (6d6) (11/day), mercies (mercy [diseased], mercy [fatigued], mercy [poisoned], mercy [sickened]), paladin channel positive energy 7d6 (5/day) (dc 21
Other Gear +5 Full plate, +2 Heavy steel shield, +4 Warhammer, Crossbow bolts (10), Belt of giant strength +6, Headband of alluring charisma +6, Trail rations (29), 9 GP, 5 SP
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Loriana
Female Elf Ranger 13
CG Medium Humanoid (elf)
Init +11; Senses low-light vision; Perception +20
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Defense
--------------------
AC 28, touch 16, flat-footed 24 (+11 armor, +3 Dex, +1 natural, +2 deflection, +1 dodge)
hp 95 (13d10)
Fort +13 (+4 vs. hot or cold environments and to resist damage from suffocation), Ref +20, Will +11; +2 vs. enchantments
Defensive Abilities evasion; Immune sleep; Resist elven immunities
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Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee Longsword +15/+10/+5 (1d8+2/19-20/x2)
Ranged +4 Composite longbow (Str +2) +25/+20/+15 (1d8+6/x3)
Special Attacks favored enemies (giants +4, goblinoids +2, undead +4)
Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 10):
3 (1/day) Water Walk
2 (3/day) Barkskin, Cat's Grace, Bear's Endurance
1 (4/day) Longstrider, Resist Energy, Speak with Animals, Entangle (DC 13)
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Statistics
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Str 14, Dex 24, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +13; CMB +15; CMD 31
Feats Deadly Aim -4/+8, Dodge, Endurance, Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Manyshot, Pinpoint Targeting, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (Longbow)
Skills Acrobatics +4 (+0 jump), Bluff +0 (+4 vs. giants, +2 vs. goblinoids, +4 vs. undead), Climb +15, Escape Artist +4, Fly +4, Heal +18, Perception +20 (+24 vs. giants, +22 vs. goblinoids, +24 vs. undead, +24 while in forest terrain, +24 while in mountainous terrain, +22 while in urban terrain), Ride +20, Sense Motive +2 (+6 vs. giants, +4 vs. goblinoids, +6 vs. undead), Spellcraft +17 (+19 to determine the properties of a magic item), Stealth +20 (+24 while in forest terrain, +24 while in mountainous terrain, +22 while in urban terrain), Survival +18 (+22 vs. giants, +20 vs. goblinoids, +22 vs. undead, +22 while in forest terrain, +22 while in mountainous terrain, +20 while in urban terrain, +24 to track), Swim -1 (+3 to resist nonlethal damage from exhaustion)
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven
SQ camouflage, combat styles (archery), elven magic, favored terrains (forest +4, mountainous +4, urban +2), hunter's bonds (companions), quarry, swift tracker, track, wild empathy, woodland stride
Other Gear +5 Breastplate, +4 Composite longbow (Str +2), Arrows (20), Longsword, Amulet of natural armor +1, Belt of incredible dexterity +6, Cloak of resistance +5, Ring of protection +2, Quiver of Blunt Arrows (30), You have no money!
Terrem
Male Human Cleric 13
NG Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +5
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Defense
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AC 28, touch 10, flat-footed 28 (+14 armor, +4 shield, -1 Dex, +1 deflection)
hp 107 (13d8+26)
Fort +15, Ref +8, Will +18
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Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee Heavy Shield Bash +10/+5 (1d4+5/x2) and
+4 Heavy mace +19/+14 (1d8+9/x2)
Ranged Light crossbow +8/+3 (1d8/19-20/x2)
Special Attacks holy lance for 6 rounds (2/day)
Spell-Like Abilities Strength Surge (8/day), Touch of Good (8/day)
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 13):
7 (1/day) Resurrection, Grasping Hand
6 (2/day) Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass, Heal, Stoneskin
5 (4/day) Spell Resistance, Righteous Might, Breath of Life (DC 20), Flame Strike (DC 20), Flame Strike (DC 20)
4 (5/day) Spell Immunity, Discern Lies (DC 19), Holy Smite (DC 19), Divine Power, Divine Power, Restoration
3 (5/day) Searing Light, Searing Light, Prayer, Remove Disease, Magic Circle against Evil, Dispel Magic
2 (5/day) Restoration, Lesser, Bull's Strength, Aid, Shield Other, Bear's Endurance, Bear's Endurance
1 (6/day) Divine Favor, Shield of Faith, Entropic Shield, Comprehend Languages, Enlarge Person (DC 16), Bless, Sanctuary (DC 16)
0 (at will) Stabilize, Read Magic, Guidance, Light
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Statistics
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Str 20, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 14
Base Atk +9; CMB +14; CMD 24
Feats Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Combat Casting, Extra Channel, Improved Channel, Improved Initiative, Selective Channeling, Shield Focus, Weapon Focus (Heavy mace)
Skills Acrobatics -7 (-11 jump), Climb -1, Escape Artist -7, Fly -7, Heal +21, Knowledge (religion) +16, Ride -7, Sense Motive +21, Stealth -7, Swim -1
Languages Common
SQ aura, cleric channel positive energy 7d6 (7/day) (dc 20), domains (good, strength), might of the gods (13 rounds/day), spontaneous casting
Other Gear +5 Full plate, +1 Heavy steel shield, +4 Heavy mace, Crossbow bolts (10), Light crossbow, Belt of giant strength +6, Cloak of resistance +5, Headband of inspired wisdom +4, Ring of protection +1, You have no money!
As I've said above, the major issue here is primarily the Ranger, though the Paladin and Bard can also be a pain when they stack all of their abilities... interestingly enough they don't do it very often, generally because they don't need to!
Thank you for all of your suggestions... I really appreciate the time you've taken to come up with them!
I was already planning to have Mokmurian well prepared, but I'll probably use a few of your suggestions for his fight.. I actually think he's going to give them fits, purely because of the LOS as you've mentioned and actually mainly his DR... that's been about the only thing that's given them issues up to this point, so I reckon he's probably gonna be more than a decent challenge!
To reply to Ckorik though, I've already upped the encounters to account for 6 players...
More spoilers:
For example: The Headless Lord I upped to CR 14 and added 4 more Zombies, and it still made zero difference
I'm a little confused by your mention of dropping behind compared to the level due to sharing of XP... the way I've done it, all of the CR's have been increased by 1 to account for the extra party members, and all XP is divided between the 6 of them, so as a result the progress is the same as a four person party
My party is all 15 point buy as well.. but I'll take another look at everything and try your suggestions to see how that works :)
Craig: I've actually tried that too... and it's working a bit better.. they can easily run through 5 or 6 in a row without a rest though! LOS isn't really an issue unfortunately due to the way things are laid out and the ranger player is careful to stay at the back but still making sure he can at least see a bit of his target (Improved Precise Shot is a real pain!)
As another example of how nasty they can be:
More spoilers:
We did the Shining Child fight as the last one yesterday...
Ranger got ahead of it as usual and took 2/3rd of it's hit points off on his first turn... it then blinded the entire party!
Cleric turned round and used Heal on the ranger who he was standing next to... end result = dead child.
They of course now have to teleport home to get unblinded... :)
Thank you again for your comments, and any more would be greatly appreciated!
Hello everyone... first post and it's going to be a long one!!
First off, I hope this is the right forum.. but it does involve ROTRL so fingers crossed!
I'm a DM of about 15 years experience and for just over the past year I've been running ROTRL... Originally hand converted to PF and since September time using the AE.
We're just approaching the last fight, and I really wanted some opinions on if the way things have been going is normal...
First up I run two groups but I'll just mention the one that's giving me more issues.
Party comp is 6 players - Bard, Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, Cleric and Wizard. They have just reached Level 13 and have appropriate gear for the level. All of the players are young (Under 15) so I've just been giving them gear rather them letting them buy their own. It also saves time as we only play for 2 hours a week and tracking XP and treasure would really have slowed things down a lot.
I've adjusted all of the encounters in the second half of the adventure to take into account the increased character numbers and it's making not the slightest bit of difference...
Here's a few examples:
Fortress of the Stone Giants spoilers!:
In the siege of Sandpoint the raid was defeated by round 8... they managed to take out all of the giants and bears quickly and killed Longtooth before he had time to take more than 1 action (which was a breath that missed!)
The Black Monk died before he even got a turn!! We then redid it to see if he was more effective if they didn't get the jump on him (he'd rolled a really poor initiative) and he managed to take a couple of levels off the bard with the breath of death before pegging it!
By this point I was trying to make it more challenging so took to throwing multiple groups together to try to make things more interesting...
3 bear and 6 giants were merely a speedbump, and then Galenmir died quickly too.
Enga didn't last a round... Neither did the two dragons
Lamias were much harder until they both got turned into Sheep!
The stone golem was actually quite tough, but it missed the ranger with its slow, so it only lasted a round
Finally the fight that made me write this post...
Headless Lord and 8 Zombie Hill Giants - Dead in a round
So, I did a bit or research and number crunching and found that the adventure overall seems to be a bit easy... Comparing APL with the encounters I found the majority of them (over 20) count as 'Easy' going by the usual guidelines....
The other issue is that, as a group the characters are very hard, but we have one stand out - the ranger. Most encounters have now boiled down to one roll - his initiative... if he beats the enemies they die.. if he doesn't they get a turn and then die...
Obviously this is not a great state of affairs... I am still really enjoying our games, as are the players... but I really want to push them, and having an 'I Win' button is starting to become a problem.
I'm sure that there are many reasons for the issues we are having and hopefully just as many solutions... I'm just hoping that some of the experienced posters on here can chip in with their thoughts!
