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Name: Lilac
Race: Aasimar
Classes/levels: Dawnflower Dervish 4
Adventure: Lords of Rust
Location: Aldronard's Grave
Catalyst: Aldronard

The Gory Details: When the party first heard of Aldronard's Grave, Lilac was excited to meet some fellow Sarenites and possibly exorcise the fallen paladin ghost from the fort.

After dealing with the Smilers and rescuing the few Sarenites that survived their attack, Lilac immediately inquired about Aldronard. After learning about his tragic tale of Justinia perishing while he was away during the second crusade, Lilac and Montaigne (Human Arcanist) tried formulating a plan.

Lilac suggested disguising herself as Justinia, possibly to trick Aldronard into thinking his lost love had forgiven him. However, Montaigne talked her out of it, thinking that the attempt would only serve to anger the ghost even further (to the amusement of the GM). Instead, the pair of them settled on forging a letter from Justinia, writing out her supposed last wishes, then leaving the letter in the chapel during the day, and pointing the letter out to Aldronard at night. Failing that, Lilac would try to convince Aldronard as a fellow Sarenite that Sarenrae has forgiven him. If anything went seriously wrong, the party members would yell "tomato" as an emergency code for Captain Andalen and his men to extract the group.

Night fell, and Lilac entered the chapel, followed by Montaigne and Ping (Aasimar Dual-Cursed Oracle). Bakar (Half-Orc Savage Technologist) and Enoch (Android Bladebound Spellblade Magus) decided to stay in the ruined stables, the former knowing he didn't have any magical weapons to harm a ghost, and the latter for reasons that escape this GM.

Aldronard noticed the three of them, and immediately let out a mournful wail that sent Montaigne and Ping running, both of them screaming "tomato!" as they fled. Lilac steeled herself against the unnerving cry and attempted to point out the letter that lay at Aldronard's feet. The presence of intruders combined with the difficulty of a ghost being able to physically pick up and read a letter led to Aldronard ignoring Lilac and floating to her. Lilac then attempted to use her status as a Sarenite to calm Aldronard down, which proved to be a fatal mistake.

The ghost shrieked "It was for you I came north, Sarenrae! Why couldn’t you protect Justinia? Why did you send me away from her?"

And with arms outstretched, Aldronard plunged his hands into Lilac's chest, stopping her heart cold in one brutal touch. Lilac fell victim to a critical hit with corrupting touch and had failed her fort save, dealing her 12d6 damage.

Captain Andalen and his men were unable to approach the body since there was no one to support a retreat. Enoch and Bakar finally rushed over to the chapel upon hearing Montaigne and Ping's cries for help. The former swung his black blade and force dagger at Aldronard, still hovering over Lilac's corpse. Upon seeing how little damage was inflicted upon Aldronard, the two of them decided to drag Lilac's body out of the chapel.

Lilac's death was thankfully not permanent, as Ping was able to successfully cast their scroll of Ressurrection. Lilac awoke with a start screaming "tomato!"

After Lilac revealed that Sarenrae hinted to her during her brief moment in the afterlife that their first plan would have worked, she punched Montaigne on the shoulder for talking her out of it, and the party made their second plan to exorcise Aldronard, this time without anyone getting their hearts stopped.

Spoilers for Lords of Rust

I'm DM'ing a group through Iron Gods. Party just reached Scrapwall, so I'm looking ahead. I noticed the haunted canyon has a persistent mist. A few questions about this:

1) Is this mist also present within the haunted wreck interior?
2) As far as I can tell, only the wraith within the ship can see creatures through the mist. This is especially important for the poltergeists in the area since their only means of damaging the PCs are ranged attacks. Is this accurate?
3) If the PCs were to use wind based spells to try and disperse the mist, would it temporarily work? Say, Gust of Wind to temporarily see 60ft ahead of them? Although, Obscuring Mists says Gust of Wind disperses the mist in 4 rounds and Gust of Wind has a 1 round duration, so I don't even know how that works...
4) Are these mists treated as Obscuring Mist for concealment purposes? (20% miss-chance 5ft away, total concealment further away)

I've invented two more games for Silverdisk hall.

First one is a variation of Hold-em poker with a press-your-luck element: Burning Cards.

Rules: The object of Burning Cards is to forge the best 5-card poker hand from the two hole cards and any three community cards. Rounds consist of Burns where new community cards are dealt, while the dealer adds rolled dice to the Torch. If the sum of the dice in the Torch ever exceeds 21, the Torch flares up, and all players who are not Standing at a safe distance forfeits the hand.
Ante: To ante, each player Pushes one chip into the pot. Each player is then dealt two hole cards. Starting to the left of the dealer, each player decides to either Fold or Push one chip into the pot.
1st Burn: After the ante, the dealer rolls three dice. These dice and all subsequent dice rolled by the dealer make the Torch. The dealer then places the three dice in the corresponding spots on the board and deals three community cards face up below the placed dice. A betting round then takes place.
Betting Rounds: Starting with the first active player to the left of the dealer, each player must do one of the following:
Fold: The player discards their hole cards facedown and forfeits the hand.
Push: The player puts one chip into the pot.
Stand: The player places their personal marker below the card of the current burn, and places one chip into the pot. That player is now a Standing player; they may not use any community cards beyond where they have placed their marker. Each burn, they MUST place one chip into the pot on their turn. Standing players are not at risk from the Torch and are not considered active.
Subsequent Burns: After 1st Burn, each burn will start with the dealer and all Standing Players rolling a die. The dealer adds their die to the Torch. If a Standing player rolls a 1, they also add their die to the Torch, placing it above the dealer die for the current burn. The dealer then deals one more community card to the center. A betting round then occurs, after which more Burns are played until the hand ends.
Ending a Hand: A hand can end in one of two ways:
1) All players stand: At the end of a Burn where all players have decided to Stand, every standing player reveals their hole cards. The player with the best five card hand using their hole cards and the community cards they can use takes the pot. In the case of a tie, the pot is split evenly between the tied players.
2) The total value of all dice in the Torch exceeds 21: All Standing Players win immediately and split the pot evenly between themselves. All other players forfeit the hand.
At the end of the hand, players discard their cards and the dealer button passes to the left.
Running out of chips: If a player runs out of chips in the middle of the hand, that player is forced to Stand upon placing their last chip. A side pot should then be made with all chips placed into the pot starting with the next Burn. If that player wins the hand or ties for winning the hand, they are only entitled to chips in the main pot (which is split separately from any side pots if necessary). The side pots are awarded among remaining players as normal.

Up to six players can play, but to simulate a game, the GM should control the opposing players' actions. Any PCs involved in the hand can make opposed Bluff/Intimidate/Diplomacy checks to influence the actions of their opponents (with secret modifiers/penalties depending on how good/bad the target's hand is). Sense Motive can also be used to gauge the strength of an opponent's hand. Only one check can be made by each PC per burn (to expedite the hand. You may allow the PCs to make more checks if you want).

PCs can cheat by marking the cards (Sleight of Hand + Disable Device), or by signaling to each other (Bluff to pass a secret message). PCs can find other creative ways to cheat, with checks and DCs as determined by the GM.

The second game is something every casino should have; a slot machine!

To play, the PC puts in one chip (denomination determined by GM, but we'll assume a silverdisk). The PC then rolls 3d10, and 1d20. The payout table is as follows:

Any 7: Pays 2
Any two 7's: Pays 5
Any 3 odd numbers: Pays 5
Any 2 odd numbers AND one 7: Pays 10
3 of the same odd number: Pays 10
2 of the same odd number AND one 7: Pays 20
2 7's AND one odd number: Pays 40
3 7's: Pays 200 (adjust the jackpot as you see fit)

Weighting: if the PC rolls a winning combination, check the d20. If the roll is below an 11, change one of the d10s so that the winning payout falls at least one step (optionally, change the d10s so that there is no payout). Change the weighting value at your discretion: currently, the weighting at 11 and downgrading winning combinations will produce a house edge of around 2-5%.

PCs can cheat by using Disable Device to trick the machine into giving a winning result. The DC is 15 vs. a technological device (no E-pick imposes a -5 penalty). On a successful check, the PC can set one d10 before the roll. For every 5 the PC exceeds the check, they may set another d10. In any case, a successful check also negates the d20 roll. The PC must also succeed at an opposed Sleight of Hand check vs. onlookers, including Garmen Ulreth.

I'm about to run Silverdisk hall with my PCs soon. Our rogue dropped out before the start of the campaign, and 4/5 players are NG, so I don't really expect any cheating from the party. Hopefully they like these games!

Two points to keep in mind:

1) A savage technologist can only attack with a one-handed melee weapon and a one-handed firearm* when raging. If you do allow the character to use Sword and Gun to count as Two-Weapon Fighting for feat prerequisites, then they are also only in effect when raging (see rangers losing access to combat style feats, and any feats that use combat style feats as prerequisites, in heavy armor).

2) You can choose which weapon is primary and which is "off-hand" at the start of each round, so a 6th level savage technologist (BAB +6/+1) can either attack twice with their melee weapon and once with their firearm or twice with their firearm and once with their melee weapon.

* Note that because neither is a light weapon, the two-weapon attack penalty is -4 instead of -2

1) Yeah, that was going to be my intention. I'll talk with him and make that explicitly clear.

2) That part I did not know. Would that choice also affect what weapon the Savage Technologist could use on an AoO (assuming he takes Snap Shot at some point)?

One of my players wants to be a Savage Technologist. Savage Technologists at 2nd level gets Sword and Gun, which states:

"When a raging savage technologist wields a one-handed firearm in one hand and a light or one-handed melee weapon in the other, she can make ranged attacks with the firearm without provoking attacks of opportunity. She also gains the benefits of the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, but only if all attacks are made with those weapons."

So, his question was: does Sword and Gun count as Two-Weapon Fighting feat for the purposes of meeting feat prerequisites? In other words, could a Savage Technologist gain Improved Two-Weapon Fighting later down the line without having to actually pick up the Two-Weapon Fighting feat?

If not, is it a big deal if I overrule it? Thematic wise, it'd be kind of silly for the Savage Technologist to not get more attacks with the pistol naturally if he's able over time, IMO.

Invented a new gambling game for Silverdisk Hall called Torched Sevens. It's a craps-lite game that's thematic to the setting, and it should be easy for the PCs to grasp.

The game uses 2d6. Each round, the players place their bets (minimum 1cp, maximum 50gp). The roller, one of the players referred to as "The Smelter", is then given the dice by the croupier, and rolls them. Bets are won or lost based on the result of the dice.

The possible bets and their payouts are as follows:

Roll is a 2: 29 to 1
Roll is a 3: 14 to 1
Roll is a 4: 9 to 1
Roll is a 5: 13 to 2
Roll is a 6: 5 to 1
Roll is a 7: 4 to 1
Roll is an 8: 5 to 1
Roll is a 9: 13 to 2
Roll is a 10: 9 to 1
Roll is an 11: 14 to 1
Roll is a 12: 29 to 1
Lower than a 7: 1 to 1
Higher than a 7: 1 to 1
Pits (any 1 on the dice, representing the torch fire pit): 2 to 1
Carts (any 6 on the dice, representing the carts that carry materials to the torch): 2 to 1

The last bet that can be placed is the Torch fire bet (maximum 1gp). This bet can only be placed if the previous roll was not a 7. The bet stays on the table until a non-7 is rolled, or if four consecutive rolls are 7, at which point the bet is taken off by the dealer, and the highest applicable payout is awarded. Payout of the Torch fire bet is as follows:

Two consecutive 7's: 30 to 1
Three consecutive 7's: 200 to 1
Four consecutive 7's: 1000 to 1

When two consecutive 7's are rolled, onlookers and players commonly say "The dice are on fire!" When four consecutive 7's are rolled, onlookers and players yell "TORCH!" and it's customary for the winners to give a free drink to the Smelter, or for the Smelter to buy a round of drinks for the table if the Smelter placed a fire bet. After at least two consecutive 7's and upon completion of the Torch fire bet, a new Smelter is selected.

PCs can attempt to cheat by past-posting, or by rigging the dice. Either attempt requires a DC 15 Sleight of Hand check to fool the dealers and the boxperson (The Ropefists are in charge of the game, but they have to watch all of the players as well as the PCs).

Past-posting requires no additional check; on a successful past-posting attempt, a PC can move a bet any PC has placed on the table to an adjacent spot (a bet on 6 can be moved to 5 or 7, for example). For every 5 that the PC exceeds the DC, they can either move another bet to an adjacent spot, or move the original bet two spaces away. Consecutive attempts to past-post increase the DC by 2 per consecutive attempt (and goes down by 2 for each subsequent round the PC does not attempt to cheat), and may require Bluff checks to act dumb in front of the dealers.

Rigging the dice requires the PC to be the Smelter and pass a DC 15 Disable Device check, and the check must be made before the dice are rolled. A success means the PC can reroll one of the dice after the roll is made. If the PC exceeds the DC by 5, they may set one of the dice to any face after the roll is made. If the PC exceeds the DC by 10, they may set both of the dice.

If three consecutive 7's are rolled, all eyes are on the Smelter and the table to see if the "torch flares up". Any attempt to influence the dice must attempt opposed Sleight of Hand checks against the three Ropefists controlling the game, and against Garmen Ulreth (make this roll secretly).

If a PC fails a Sleight of Hand check to rig the dice, or if that PC fails three past-posting attempts, then some time during the night, one of the Ropefists appears to escort the PC to the "VIP room", promising fine wine, girls, etc., located in the back of the hall. Waiting for that PC in the back room is four more Ropefist thugs ready to rough up the offending PC. If the PC is knocked out, the thugs strip them of their chips, and kick the PC out the back door into the streets.

At your discretion, the dealer can attempt to introduce loaded dice into the game once three consecutive 7s are rolled. The PCs can spot this with opposed Sense Motive or Perception checks. If these dice are rolled without being tampered, reroll any result of 7.

PCs can also come up with their own creative ways of cheating the game. Determine the effects, risks, rewards, and consequences for these.