so, 1 issue is that the rare stuff doesn't appear to have any way to gain access other than the super specific
book says on pg 79 wrote:
The rare options are associated with particular orc holds, seldom shared with anyone who isn’t part of that community or recognized as a deeply trusted outsider.
which i'm not sure it's possible to get after the start, and given potentially lots of the PCs might be from outside belkzen, potentially none of them will meet it at the start
then some items have specific issues with missing/contradictory bits of info
flowing water tattoo says wrote:
Attempt a counteract check with a counteract rank of 2 to end the effect.
but it doesn't say what to use for that counteract check for the modifier?
storied skin tattoo says wrote:
You can add the visual trait to the Recall Knowledge action in order to study your tattoos, granting you a +1 item bonus to your check using the chosen Lore skill. A storied skin tattoo starts with an icon that represents a central event in your subject of study and is usually placed on the forehead or over the heart.
how do you look at your own forehead without some kinda mirror? or your heart if you're not fully bare-chested? also if you do use a mirror, it's gonna be reversed, and are bare-chested, it's gonna be upside down when you look at it!
Hey - so the very recent blog, and the lists on this thread list 7 mythic monsters, and that's what i've heard elsewhere too - but...
the top of this page says wrote:
8 terrifying new mythic monsters and rules for creating mythic threats of your own!
so was there an 8th taken out due to page space or something, or has everyone been counting wrong, or there's an 8th that is hidden elsewhere than the rest?
Firearms that are improperly maintained or subjected to unusual strain can misfire. If you attempt to fire a firearm that was fired the previous day or earlier and hasn't been cleaned since then, roll a DC 5 flat check before making your attack roll. If you fail this misfire check, the weapon misfires and jams. The attack is an automatic critical failure, and you must use an Interact action to clear the jam before you can reload the weapon and fire again. Once you have spent at least an hour cleaning a weapon, you don't need to roll for a misfire until the next day unless an effect says otherwise. You can clean multiple firearms during this hour, up to a reasonable limit as determined by the GM (typically no more than five).
Some abilities cause a weapon to misfire as part of their effects. If such a misfire happens as a result of an attack (due to an action that causes a misfire on a failed attack, for example), it retroactively makes the attack a critical failure.
noticed an error in a hazard - Shadow maze routine CF gives the "incapacitated" condition - should this be stunned? paralayzed? something else? F is slowed 2, so gotta be worse than that at minimum
anyway, onto my question (which i doubt will be answered, this forum isn't that active!)
the poison in Peridantia says, "A creature within Peridantia is exposed to soul mist" - does this mean that they're re-exposed immediately if they remove it via success or resist it to start with, or magic?
also, they need to make masses of survival checks in the same place, with lvl 20 DC, not bad so far for a lvl 20 party, except that, along with nature, survival is specifically not recommended in the player's guide, and i think none of my players consequently has above trained in it (and no item bonuses), which makes that a very hard check! lvl 20 trained, assuming like 5 wis, is +27, so they need a 13, CF on a 1-3, CS on 20 only, so they'll get 12 pts eventually, cause they're more likely to succeed than crit fail, but it'll req quite a few checks, maybe like 30! that's gonna feel pretty bad i think! no alternate skills are suggested at all, seems it's gotta be survival...! also every time they fail or CF, which is 60% chance... they get a trivial haunt... they're lvl 20, each haunt is a simple lvl 18 hazard! (technically a lvl 20 complex hazard would be trivial, so these are way below trivial!)
i looked through, after noticing that so many encounters were trivial and added them up, there's 23 trivial, 15 low, 8.5 moderate, 1.5 severe, 0 extreme - so... very nearly the majority - 48 enc, 23 of em trivial!! approx 48% of em!! - that's gotta be the easiest bk 6 yet - i know some are pretty much designed to combine, but still other bk 6s had way harder stuff! FotRP has a 280xp enc, AoE has a 220, a 200 and a 180 all in the final bk - other APs have had enc that pretty much will always combine, making em way over 160xp enc, but still doable due to PCs being so high lvl!
the enc are pretty overwhelmingly made up of lower lvl enemies too, which will make it seem very easy too
on another topic the rotbomber has this strike
"necrotic pustule +26 (negative, range increment 60 feet, splash),
Damage 3d10+14 bludgeoning and negative damage plus necrotic rot"
are undead immune to it completely? does it do the whole dmg as splash?
relevant passive ability, "Propulsive Pestilence The pressurized necrotic gases within the rotbomber’s pustules make them explode far more dramatically than most alchemists’ bombs. The rotbomber’s necrotic pustules deal splash damage to every creature within 15 feet of the target."
my undead PCs also won't really be affected by necrotic rot either
Its very obvious yeah that none of other writers were consulted that book 2 sneaked in plot ritual that gives negative healing for year :'D
So removing it from ap is probably just straight up better for the experience
That works for living PC's, but my whole party is undead already from character creation. I guess replacing the damage to cold or something is the best solution for this situation
I run for 2 grps, and my parties are also fully negative healing, mostly cause they're mostly undead, it feels like a massive copout to just have some encounters be bypassable cause the PCs have negative healing, changing dmg types is way better, but janky
James Jacobs wrote:
the strong expectation we had when writing all of these volumes is that most groups are going to play living characters, simply because that's the standard expectation
this hasn't been born out by my experience at all, where 7/8 of the PCs accross my 2 grps are undead, and the remaining is a dhampir, they didn't even need the ritual to get neg healing! i've heard of other grps like the above mentioned, that are similar, and with the ritual, most parties will likely be fully neg healing!
lots of encounters are either ignorable, or much much easier if you don't change the dmg type from negative - like the wraiths, the PCs can just ignore em altogether if they have neg healing
I missed the sponsored badge last year that you'd had in previous years, i was only able to attend last year due to the capricious generosity of someone! if you want to make it truly accessible, that incl to those who can't even afford online only badges!
the rostland hinterlands random encounter table (pg 52) should probably say 1 brush thylacine, they're lvl 2, so 2 of em is a severe enc at lvl 1, but low if there's only 1 - the alternative, that it's meant to be standard thylacines is unlikely, as there's an entry for 3 of em lower down the table
inhabit vessel on the granite vultures is missing the following strike (probably supposed to be the Jaws attack), and the jaws attack is missing an attack bonus!
1st mistake spotted: the stealth bonus of the tylegmut's last meal haunt is clearly supposed to be +12, for a DC of 22, the high DC for lvl 4, rather than as stated, +22, for the high DC for lvl 10!
a few niggles as usual - mistakes perhaps or things missing
looks like a map for event 2 is missing - for izem's big apartment
also super vague as to what you're supposed to do to convince the pixies! if any kinda skill is used, they'll likely crit, due to them being lvl 4!
the encounter with the spawn of toan in A4 appears to be mislabelled in difficulty - the PCs are lvl 15, the spawn are lvl 11, so are lvl-4, which is 10xp each, there's 8 of em, so total 80xp, which is moderate, not trivial!
is it DC 35 or 38 to know which stairs are safe for the flensing chute? the statblock says, "Perception DC 38 to note which stairs have slightly different wear patterns to know which ones are safe to step on" yet the text above it says, "when stepped on out of sequence. This order can be detected with a DC 35 Perception check"
is the order to step and which are safe different? how?
just noticed something major missing from the Primordial flame - spell att & DCs!
the artifact casts the spells itself, activate is command, interact - so you don't need to be a caster to use it, so that means it need its own att/DC stats!
it has a counteract mod for another use, but it'd be completely OP to have a lvl 8-10 have a +35 spell att mod...
perhaps it could scale off the PC's class DC/Spell DC?
the text in B18 says, "Commander Montgrim offers to ally with the party if the scouts help his company defeat their foes: the tatzlwyrms in area B13, the “ghosts” in area B17, and the necromancers in area B24. Once complete,
the soldiers reclaim the forest and prepare to either march to join the party’s following or welcome them to the forest." and then a bit late it also says, "After the party defeats Turkek and her minions in area B32, Commander Montgrim, Moro, Nuphri, Timini, and Yosef join the party’s following as lieutenants. The other 30 soldiers join as followers."
so is just the 1st 3 needed, or all 4 places that need to be defeated, for them to join?
it seems pretty likely that the map for B13 was cut off on the right side, for some reason, as the central area is cut off, and the text describes 2 outcroppings that provide easier access to the cave, saying there's 3 lvls above the ground level (5, 10 & 20ft above), but the map only shows 2 (1 outcropping)!
i saw this exact discrepancy in another recent AP - the text says the screaming sulphur rejuvenates after 1d4 days, but the statblock says 2d4 days, which is it?
the tallow bombs seem to be missing normal (non-splash, non-persistent) dmg - though the description says there should be some! "A tallow bomb deals the listed fire damage, persistent fire damage, and splash damage" it should probably be the same amount as the splash?
what height is the high ground above the low ground on the reaver squad map? and would the hunters who would be wanting to stay at range be all on the high ground? there's 0 description of the map, nor does it say where anyone is on it - perhaps they're all supposed to be hiding behind the bushes on the map? though reavers are untrained in stealth, so that wouldn't work! the hunters are lvl 0 with only +5 stealth too, so they're not gonna hide well either
there's woefully little
i gathered this for my players,
if anyone wants to do some reading, like i will be, on the lore of the area - the books i've found so far with some info are the following: People of the North (pgs 4-7, 22-3, 25 (top)), 1e's Inner Sea World Guide (pgs 106-9) & 2e's Lost Omens World Guide (pgs 115-6)
has anyone got a plan for how olanso terimor is gonna hide/sneak with very little cover in the room? if she can't do this then a big ability she has is worthless!
just spotted another room that doesn't have enough room for the occupants! B6 is 7x9 sqs but has 3 gargantuan creatures listed! suppose i'll have to artificially expand the room - not a simple task on VTT!
maybe the size is a misprint? Huge might work? or maybe the scale is a misprint and it's supposed to be 1sq= 10ft? or the room is supposed to be bigger without changing the rest of the map, there is room for it to be a bit bigger without moving it (5ft wider) or much bigger if it's moved east
The camarachs were a post-turnover addition, and I didn't have knowledge of them/their size when I did that room. They're really cool critters, so I'd just increase the size the room to accommodate them.
thanks for responding Amber - pretty rare for authors to respond this long after it came out - gotta be 4-5months + now - really appreciate it!
just noticed something, Hestriviniaas's tail att doesn't have reach, which is pretty weird for a huge creature, but also it should probably have 20ft reach? this'd fit with the pattern of the rest of the proteans in the book of jaws xft reach, claws xft reach, tail x+5ft reach - whereas without changing it, atm it's x, x, x-15, which is pretty weird!
it's also missing the chaotic dmg which likewise all the other proteans have on every att, and therefore the other traits that go with it
noticed another mistake in Wynsal Starborn's statblock - his determination ability says "counteract lvl 17th", which would mean he's lvl 33-34 - obviously supposed to be 9th!
noticed another mistake (maybe), Kalyn Pouch (used later as priest of blackfingers) has 6th lvl cantrips and max 6th lvl spells, but has 7th lvl focus spells - this seems to be a mistake?
The Darkside Mirror in the Harrowland chapter seems...very deadly and hard to redress as players. As I understand it, immediately upon being triggered the mirror sucks in the triggering PC, spitting out an evil version of that PC (DC 34 reflex save to avoid). Assume that only one PC is sucked into the mirror. To retrieve him/her, the remaining PCs must not only kill the evil duplicate, but also succeed on a DC 34 ('legendary') Thievery check to retrieve their friend. What if the rogue has been sucked in? Go and find a legendary thief to help? (But after ten minutes, the absorbed PC is no longer retrievable by a thievery check, and it's not clear what you're supposed to do after ten minutes have passed. Roll up a new PC and abandon that one to live in a different dimension? Is smashing it supposed to end the effect? If so, why bother including a Thievery check option at all?
Am I missing something?
The PC's should be level 14 at this point in the adventure, so the standard DC would be 32 (see CRB table 10-5: DCs by Level). The AC, DCs, etc. for this hazard are all around 32/34, which is only a bit harder. Granted, the nature of this hazard's effect is pretty steep for this level, but the Stealth DC of 24 should be very easy to spot and avoid for a level 14 party.
actually +24 means the stealth DC is 34! no idea how they're supposed to do the legendary theivery check, being lvl 14...
The excorions in the end boss battle are actually lvl 7 in the bestiary section, rather than the lvl 6 stated in the text, and the difficulty calculation of severe seems to use lvl 6! if you remove 1 then it becomes correct for severe! otherwise it's 140xp!
thought i'd come report some PC deaths so others can maybe learn from this and possibly prevent it happening to their party
so, the 1st happened in the menagerie, i think to the ankrav, they found all of the single enemy fights there really hard except the rust monster (which i removed elite from so they could fight it with 3 remaining PCs)
The next deaths were due to the gelatinous cube at the start of ch 3, only 1 PC searching, i asked about 3 times, "are you sure only 1 of you is searching" before rolling their perceptions, the searching one failed and walked right into it, they proceeded as a grp to fail almost all of the fort saves and reflex saves, so it ended with 3 of them dying while engulfed because they stayed paralysed until they went to dying then just died cause pretty hard to survive that. I did read the description that included the shiny armour and weapons sitting in the corridor, either they didn't hear me properly or weren't suspicious about that?
the last PC only survived cause they never failed a reflex save and passed a fort save in time to run away
another thing - does anyone know where to find a good picture of a flash beetle? there's pics for fire beetle and for 2e on the bestiary page, a stag beetle, but no flash beetle that i can see? anywhere else there'd be an image in a paizo source for one? or something else to search for other than flash beetle on google that would find the right sorta thing?
maybe you should all stop complaining about it and offer solutions? or go make another thread to complain?
there's more than 1 thing in the AP that needs discussing here, like the normal stuff discussed in these threads normally - such as:
The Exploding Statue Hazard in C7 says " The statue explodes, spraying shrapnel to the west in a 5-foot cone and dealing 1d10+7 piercing and 1d10 fire damage to all creatures in the affected area"
What is a 5ft cone shaped like?! obviously not just a 5ft square, cause no chance (barring familiars) there's gonna be more than one person in a square! Maybe it's a typo and it should be a 15ft cone? assuming the statue to the left of the door that's already exploded is the same, 15ft cone might make sense for the existing dmg maybe?
regardless of what it says in the advancement section, it's probably a good idea to go off when the encounters move from [difficulty] 1 to [difficulty] 2, i.e. the end of chapter 1, seems likely it's a mistake in the advancement section
if you use a VTT and duplicate the stuff in the AP manually in the VTT then random encounters are a real pain - you've gotta create upto 20 encounters that are individually quite unlikely to occur usually, makes preparations take a lot longer to do, I just stopped using them after a while cause they took too long to do for little return.
It is indeed for 4 players. I have 5 players so what I did was go through each room to see how much XP I needed to add based on the rules (table 10-1) for bigger parties. Some places I added Elite to the enemy and sometimes just had to add some small monster or just up their number. The hardest part was solo monsters, as with 1 extra player Elite seemed like overkill based on the guidelines, so a there's quite a few vipers and rat pets.
seems like you've done all of it adjusting for 5 PCs, would you mind putting a list here of what you did? my party is also gonna be 5 - thx
I'll probably nix the deed to the Citadel in my game - the Hellknights completely abandoned the location, so I see no reason the players would be preoccupied by the legal ramifications. After all, the goblins had been occupying the Citadel without legal ownership, and no one seems to care.
pg 21, Alak wrote:
“Oh my no. My order has pretty much washed its hands of this place—most of them think of Isger as a backwater, in fact. It’s a shame seeing this place left to rot, though. In fact, there’s a story that when my order left this place, they hid the deed to the Citadel somewhere inside, and anyone brave enough and strong enough to find it would be rewarded with ownership of the place.”
bigger quote:
pg61, location of the deed wrote:
The lictor at the time had no interest in retaining a presence in Isger, but he had a mercurial and whimsical streak in him that compelled him to leave the deed behind, so that anyone brave and resourceful enough to find their way to this deepest part of the fortress would be rewarded.
A successful DC 15 Society check (or automatic confirmation from Alak, if he is asked) confirms that possession of this deed grants legal rights and ownership of the citadel to the deed’s possessor, by local, national, and Hellknight law. Technically, the Order of the Nail could contest this ownership, but if Alak is consulted, he can confirm that his order has little interest in Citadel Altaerein or Isger today, and that it is unlikely to contest the PCs’ claim to the ruined castle. After all, the cost for repairing Citadel Altaerein and maintaining it is not something the Order of the Nail is eager to front—whether or not the PCs themselves are prepared to foot this bill is something that they’ll have to decide for themselves. The next volume of Age of Ashes has additional information for how the PCs can use downtime to rebuild and repair Citadel Altaerein, and eventually use it as their own base of operations.
In addition to approving of the PCs taking possession of the keep, Alak offers to inform the Order’s leaders of this development and speak to them on the PCs’ behalf, assuring them that the PCs are responsible and trustworthy owners, should they wish to take possession of Citadel Altaerein. “It’s best for the citadel to fall into hands capable of restoring and respecting it,” he says. “Far better you own Altaerein than for it to persist in its role as home to monsters and hooligans, I’d say.”
If the PCs wish to use Citadel Altaerein as their base of operations, they can show this writ of ownership to any artisan, builder, or similar contractor in Breachill. Those professionals will gladly complete paid work to help fix up the keep to the PCs’ liking. For more information about how the repair and rebuilding of Citadel Altaerein works, see Pathfinder Adventure Path #146: Cult of Cinders.
