asteryx's page

Thanks for the comparison to RHoD above, it is quite helpful.
Actually let's continue that example. My PCs doing RHoD will soon go ask wizards of a certain Graymalkin Academy (dungeon 140) for help against the Red Hand Horde...

What I will mourn the most is that Dungeon had a variety of adventures both in terms of levels and settings. At the price of Dungeon subscription, it was a no brainer for me to subscribe and use/discard/ keep in reserve for when the PCs take an unexpected direction. At the price of Pathfinder, I won't be able to take that approach.

An adventure path takes a long time to play and are more difficult to insert into one's campaign. You pretty much have to commit to play an AP for 6-12 months. While I enjoyed reading the Age of Worms, I only played one of the installment (and I have plans to use 2-3 more as they could be reused as standalone). I never got into the SavageTide setting so I kept it mostly unread in case someone wants to DM it for me one day. From the small amount I read of it, it didn't appear it could be easily "reused". Personally, I prefer the 3parts paths (like Vampires of waterdeep or the Temple of the Scorpion God ) since they have more chances of being used and allow the authors to develop a story line more deeply than just one short adventure.

So my questions are
- whether Pathfinder will provide me with drop&insert adventure material for my somewhat-homebrew campaign which is now in the middle of RHoD?
- Which issue of Pathfinder will feature "mini" adventures?
- Will it be one 50pagers standalone in one issue or several 10pages ones in that issue?
- is there a teaser/example to see what it is, before we buy it?

While I trust the writing will be good, I'm undecided at this point given the Pathfinder price.

I would have allowed that NPC an AoO. Better I would probably have him do a grapple against that PC with an exposed back (with some bonus and the PC without his strength bonus as his strength is used in climbing).

That player won his meta-intimidate check against you the DM.
THere's rule zero for that and while it should be used sparingly with lots of restraints, it was invented to counter the rules-lawyer as they disrupt the flow by definition.

We finally got RHoD started. I started writing down what happens in a wizards board
D&D styles/D&Dadventures/ RHoD chronicles (adjusted for higher levels):
http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=741883

The prequel encounter with the slaughter wight and 6 murkers was a slaughter with one PC (the barbarian) KIA and several negative levels to the others. The player faces was priceless when they realized that the militia/caravan guards that came to help them would prove to be a liability as they were being killed and turned into more wights.

The PCs brought their friend remains to Brindol and were told that Raise Dead are reserved for heroes of the state and not just sold to the rich. This will be a motivator for the PCs to defend Brindol.

Oh and now they appreciate their cleric a lot more.

Although if you roll a few threes, its all a moot point . . . sorry, I lost two levels last gaming session, and I'm still feeling the pain . . .

I'll tell my players that there are others like them - wight survivors. Maybe there's a support group - Drained Anonymous!

Actually it gets more complicated as the barbarian in question was killed in the same fight.I ruled he has to roll 24h later as they plan to resurrect him in a couple of weeks. I haven't found the Fortitude penalties for being dead ;-)

At least, I have time to resolve this ruling.

Our barbarian 8 was drained 4 times so he has 4 negative levels. Which save bonus should apply 24h later when he rolls to see if each drain is permanent?

Each negative level bestows a double whammy: -1 penalty to save and -1 effective level. So the Barb 8 take a -4 (from each neg lvl) and a -2 (Barb8 vs Bar4) for a total of -6 to Fortitude save for 24hours. The question is whether those penalties apply when he rolls his Fort save 24h later.

Should he rolls with:
i) +9 as a Barb 8 with 16 of Constitution (no penalties)
ii) +7 (4+3) (his Cons +3, his effective level is Barb 4's Fort+4 but no -1 per neg. level)
iii) + 3 (4 effective lvl + 3Constitution -4 from the neg levels penalty still in place)

I'm leaning toward iii if only because otherwise high level characters would never lose a level permanently.

RAW PHB p310's text is slightly different from the SRD as it states the "Neg . level goes away, but the afflicted creature must make a Save to determine whether there's a lasting effect."

SRD doesn't mention the neg lvl going away and hence its penalty should apply to the For save.

RAW SRD:
Each successful energy drain attack bestows one or more negative levels on the opponent. A creature takes the following penalties for each negative level it has gained.
–1 on all skill checks and ability checks.
–1 on attack rolls and saving throws.
–5 hit points.
–1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, reduce it by one for each negative level).
...
Negative levels remain for 24 hours or until removed with a spell, such as restoration. After 24 hours, the afflicted creature must attempt a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 attacker’s HD + attacker’s Cha modifier). (The DC is provided in the attacker’s description.) If the saving throw succeeds, the negative level goes away with no harm to the creature. The afflicted creature makes a separate saving throw for each negative level it has gained. If the save fails, the negative level goes away, but the creature’s level is also reduced by one.[/indent][/i]

Throughout their first levels adventures, PCs found various clues that local goblins (Yellow Moon tribe) were preparing an assault of their homebase. These Goblins finally attacked human settlements as they marched east. Then the PCs spied a goblinoid pow wow where a charismatic leader rises to unite 2 large tribes: one is the red hand and the other yellow moon. I got the idea from looking at the RHoD logo.

Afterward, the PCs encountered those goblins left behind. All those left behind were weak (not well equipped, low HD) and were easily dispatched. Next they go east and get into the Red Hand of Doom adventure where the experienced goblinoids went to.

My PCs used Color spray (15' cone burst) and then went tap dancing to crunch all the critters before they became conscious again.

Spell requires target to have eyes and the rest is based on HD.

It will be a slaughter but I think the PC will surprisingly survive it ok. At 135hp the Slaughter Wight should survive the 3-4 fireballs going his way + scorching rays but then the barbarian has a long history of crit'ing my Bosses. We'll see how fast they can wake up and whether they take guard duty or rely on the caravan drovers only.

I don't want to overdo it/TPK on a side encounter just before RHoD starts. The slaughter wight will be on a "recruiting mission" with only a few minutes before dawn: 1 or 2 attacks per caravan person to maximize the # of new wights. After attacking a PC and noticing he doesn't die from a few slams, he'll just go after next target such as another PC or an easier target i.e. civilians. Then the PCs will need to deal with the spawns. This will spread the pain and the drains.

The PCs rely too much on their unique cleric e.g. they never carry Holy water or use death ward. A Gather Intelligence would have informed them of rumors of undead on the road. So I'll have surviving drovers splash holy water on a spawn wight and dispatch it. Afterward the PCs will race to get the Break Enchantment in Brindol and to get their Cleric to do tons of Restoration in time. The RolePlaying of who should get the few Restorations will be fun to watch. They'll get in debt of the chick cleric of Brindol too which is cool. One new hook could be to save Elsir Vale while waiting for a Greater Restoration from her far away superiors.

Being drained will make the first encounter(s) more manageable.

The Keep's wyrmlord is a Sorcerer 6 but gonna be 10. Minor Globe of INvulnerability will even the odds by removing the artillery threat. Invisibility Sphere will be one dangerous trap. Also a
A combo I like is Celerity & Benign/Baleful Transposition to move/swap position. Example swap the evil animal companion who just delivered a Shocking Grasp to the PC wizard with a minotaur ready to swing.

SC has a good Wiz3 spell for alarming: "Skull watch" with nice flavor too.

The Ranger Wyrmlord needs a Str boost and being 11th gives him COmbat Mastery to become an arrows machine gun. His spellcaster minion is a Mindbender/Bard so not much firepower.

I have a problem with the LIch. Once he has his phylactery, why wouldn't he jsut kill the PCs. He'll need to be adjusted right before they meet him so both sides are afraid of combat i.e. Mutually Assured Destruction.

Advice on what a summoner should conjure along with stats table of those which cannot be found directly in the MM. And I don't mean choose the octopus when at sea.

It would add depth to the games as I suspect many DM & players are lazy like me. I'll choose the Hellhound over the Fiendish dire weasel(FDW) as I won't apply 2 templates just to figure out whether the FDW is better on some aspect. How about choosing a few lemures instead of the Hellhound, when does it make sense?
What about all the other MOnsters books?

Also it would be neat to see
- is it worth having the Augment Summoning feat tree?
- new magic items or focus to help the summoner e.g. extend the duration.
- rituals or glyph on the ground to boost a spell
- Explanations on when to Gate vs Summon vs Call vs Extraplanar travel
- extended rules allowing Summoner to stretch themselves
(like in many Fantasy novels) and summon/conjure/call a monster with the risk it will turn against you. What Mechanics could be used for that? Maybe it's a feat or COncentration check allowing a caster of Summon Monster N to choose in the N+1 or even N+2 table with a percentage chance of failure every round.
- I could see many web enhancements on this

These summoners have experience, their lives are on the line and they have Int so they should know what to use when.

Thanks - that's what I need.

Your 2PCs death was against advanced dragon or the scenario as written?
Doubling critters is the basis of the solution but it lengthens each fight. Any good pointer to solve this? Maybe I need a co-DM for tactical fight.

Vraath Keep:
You're right I need to give him 4 lvl otherwise, it's too easy. Minor Globe of Invuln. will reduce their artillery threat. I'm making the Minotaur bodyguard a Barbarian 6 and he'll get Stoneskin and maybe a Fly spell. Sorcerer will Dispel Magic. The whole Keep needs more Traps.

Rhest:
That Ranger wyrmlord needs more punch in melee and some arcane help. I'm not sure whether to increase his ranger level or multiclass him.

I need to find out more about those alarms spells. There will be patrols around the Keep and one that comes back in the middle of the fight unless they scout ahead to attack right in between patrols in/out.

First my preemptive strike at next game session: their caravan will run into a Slaughter Wight & a half-dozen Murks (Libris MOrtis) to peel off a level or 2. This should work since the cleric has just been petrified in DUngeon #126 Menagerie and won't be around Restoring & healing.

With him petrified, they have an extra incentive to go to BRindol to fix him.

They haven't got much feats in mounted combat yet but it's coming. I'm keeping a tight control on which spells are "available". Invisibility was difficult to get and so will Teleport.

FYI: combatMedic = same spellcasting + healing kickers - no progression in turning undead. Kickers example are a 1 round sanctuary and later on aid on the subject you just healed. Heal checks become a Move action,... it's from Heroes of Battle

I've been dropping hints and hooks in the last dozen gaming sessions leading toward RHoD. Many goblins have been moving away from the PCs areas and toward Wyrmsmoke Mtns. The PCs once had a short adventure to spy on that migration. They managed to get a glimpse of AzarKul persuading a tribe to join his forces (similar to RHoD's back cover).

My problem is that I did let them do a few more adventures (the downside of not railroading) and they now leveled up quite a bit. Short of having them run into a dozen wights to lose more levels than hte cleric can cast restoration, I need to advance the adventure.

I'm looking for advice & "scaling notes" as I need to scale up RHoD for a party of 6 PCs which start at 8 (halfway to 9th) levels. Playing new PCs is not an option.
They have a Wiz8, a Wiz7 evocationist, Rogue4/warmage4, paladin 7, Barbarian 6/HorseLord2, ranger6/wildPlainOutrider2, cleric6/combatMedic2.

They're traveling to deliver stuff to Brindol then they'll try to come home going west and run into the horde and fall back.
It's in FR.

I'd like to know what has worked and what has not.

This RHoD is timely as in my campaign the PCs are now 4th & 5th level and the next adventure is a goblins attack on the village they use as a base (really!). After that they'll be tasked to investigate what caused the raid and sneak into the goblins settlements, and reading the WoTC excerpt I think I just found the perfect hook for what comes next.

My goblins tribe will have been pushed into a preemptive strike by the advancing Kulkor Zhul hordes. Noone wanting to fight a 2 fronts war, they decided to attack the humans before being sandwiched. As the PCs visit the goblins, emissaries from the Son of the Dragon will deliver an ultimatum and they'll be caught in a goblins vs hobgoblins fight! Then we'll start the RHoD stuff.

Is there any Giants in this adventure?
What about the PC level? Is it really for 6th level? I find that most WoTC adventures either
- underestimate the level needed !!!
- assume Party rests & sleep every 2-3 encounters and enemies patiently wait for them to recover and recharge
- assume adventurers are willing to face high lethality while it's supposed to be their choice whether to fight or not and waiting a few weeks (and get a level) increase their survival chance by a lot.