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I know there was a recent Shatterhorn thread, but this question was never answered. How do the PCs find out about Shatterhorn? I've scoured 13 cages and don't see how they learn about it. The beginning of SonS says they "should know about the existence of the second Cagewright lair by now." How?
Just began chapter six this week, and our session ended with Kaurophon mysteriously appearing to help fend off the babaus while the PCs were beginning their 500 mile trek eastward to Cauldron. I'm playing Kaurophon basically as Gollum. He doesn't appear in human disguise (my party would likely detect it, one more reason for them to suspect him), but rather as his E.T.-looking self. The party should go along with him out of necessity and the link with Tercival's dying words, and I plan to play him as sympathetic and "trustworthy," hopefully building so that his eventual betrayal is all the more impactful. I also do a pretty dead-on Gollum voice, and after seeing the picture of Kaurophon it just seemed like a natrual fit. How have you run this character to make for good role-playing? What are some trust-building tips so they don't see the betrayal coming a mile away?
Thanks a bunch, Robert, that will help greatly. One more question - what if Zenith doesn't survive the encounter at the end of chapter 4? Obviously this will affect the Cagewrights' plans, but I don't think the book talks much about it. I have a trigger happy player in the group, and if Zenith attacks them, willingly or not, well, it might end badly.
I am part of a group that has played SCAP up to chapter four, where we suffered a TPK at the hands of the Kuo-Toa cleric. Our DM moved away, and I am preparing to take over as the new DM and continue the campaign. My players have their new PCs and will be a search party sent out by Jenya (original, I know) to Bal-Hhamatun. I've been frantically skimming the book to prepare for our first session this week, trying to figure out what's "really" going on. I think I have a decent grasp on the main plot - Vhalantru as a beholder in disguise, the Cagewrights seeking the Shackleborn for their ritual, etc. But I haven't been able to read chapters 1-4 in as much detail as I would like. I played through them, but player knowledge and DM knowledge are quite different. Can you all help bring me up to speed on plot points (especially things from chapters 1-4) that I might have missed as a player but will need to know as a DM?
After suffering a TPK last week just prior to the Temple of the Ancient Ones, my group's new PCs, a search party dispatched by Lavinia, set out for Golismorga. Thus, there was no Irgzid with them this time as they arrived at the Temple. After a failed attempt to guize itself as one of the fallen character's spirits, the Aboleth surfaced and began to give the PCs the old "enemy of my enemy" speech. They were quite diplomatic (as one of my players told me, "I think we dodged a bullet there") and accepted the aboleth's advice. Here's the interesting thing. One of my players is playing a druid/beastmaster with elemental companions instead of animals. His fire elemental could not move through the water of the temple, and his earth elemental perferred not to. So, he asked the aboleth to protect them until he returned. The aboleth "graciously" agreed, but seriously, what would he do here? My first instinct is to have him devour the elementals, but he will have to reckon with the PCs on their way out of Golismorga (that tunnel, after all, is the last to flood). Would he play nice while the PCs destroy the "kopru filth" or was this simply a stupid decision that should turn out as such? If he does kill the elementals, should the PC "feel" it (a la Yoda in ROTS)? Looking for ideas.
Wow. Much more interesting than the beholder encounter in my campaign last week. It unceremoniously killed them all. Fun, yes, but I can't compete with talking monkeys. I need more creative players. :)
This is now a moot point, as last night my group suffered a TPK at the hands (or eyes?) of a wandering beholder before they ever got to the temple. Irgzid is dead, too, so the replacement party will have to go it alone.
I am currently running "Lightless Depths," and this week will likely see them reach the imprisoned Aboleth. They trust Irgzid rather blindly (ironic since it took them until this chapter to finally trust Lavinia) and are following him into the depths. However, it seemed unclear to me in the adventure just how much he understands about the aboleth. Does he really believe he was visited by an ancestor spirit? Is he even aware of the aboleth in the room? Also, what is his endgame? I know he wants the koprus destroyed, but to what extent should he help the PCs in Golismorga? After the mission, then what? Maybe its just me, but clarity seemed to be an issue here, especially when Irgzid is never mentioned again after the encounter with the aboleth? Can anybody shed some light on this?
As my characters finish "Tides of Dread," we're going to play up the tension that results from Lord Meravanchi's plan to annex the Olman villages (he won the election in my campaign). I'm planning on having the PCs save him from an assassination attempt, but what if the attempt suceeds? If he dies, am I substantially hurting the rest of the AP?
Last night, we finally ran the Battle of Farshore. It was a great session, but we ran out of time after fighting the Vrocks. The night ended with Vanthus's arrival and revelation to Lavinia. So, on Monday night we'll open with the fight against Vanthus. Here's the dilemma: The party has fought well, already amassing enough victory points to win the day (barring a shadow pearl disaster). However, the Vrocks nearly killed them all. They completed their dance of ruin, killing the cleric and the samurai outright. I had Captian Kabbanja rush to their aid to desperatly try to defeat the demons. Our psion poured considerable energy (and XP) into raising the two dead characters, as well as Kabbanja when he valiantly fell. The five of them finished off the demons. Unfortunately, now they've got a cleric with almost no spells and a psion with almost no power points, leaving basically the banged up samurai and rogue to take on good ol' CR 14 Vanthus. Granted, it should be a tough fight, but I want to give my guys at least a fighting chance. This has TPK written all over it. Any suggestions?
This could be fun. We're currently running "Tides of Dread." My PC's spent their last few minutes of gametime last week deciding to go on a hunting excursion, seeking animal hides for the tannery. They invited Tolin of the Jade Ravens along due to his good survival skill, and since the two parties are on decent terms (save for Tolin's dislike of the rogue, who is romancing Lavinia), he came along. Well, in their first hunting encounter, the dice handed them a herd of 5 triceratops. They figured they'd give it a shot. In the first round, a trike charged and dropped the psion from full health to 4 hp, at which point the psion teleported back to Farshore. The others also decided to get out of dodge, with the cleric summoning a celestial eagle and the three remaining characters riding it to safety. Problem: Tolin was cut off and was left behind to suffer a grisly death at the hands of the 5 territorial trikes. This week, upon arriving back in Farshore, they'll get to explain to the rest of the JRs why their friend didn't come home. I'm looking for ideas on how to play this up. I've decided the Ravens won't be happy and will set out on an expedition to reclaim Tolin's body, but should they be seriously miffed? How should Lavinia react? One of my players in particular has a rather nonchalant attitude about the fate of NPCs (the cleric, *irony*), so I'd kind of like to shake them up a bit. Any ideas are much appreciated!
In my campaign, Meravanchi has just won the election. The Backdrop: Farshore section details that if this happens, one of his primary goals is annexing the seven villages. How does he go about doing this? Is it immediate? We're about 3 weeks (in game) from the invasion, and I'm thinking about having an assassination event play out from some angry Olmans. Just not sure how it would all go down, and how quickly. Also, should it affect Olman support for the battle since the PC's have already secured it by appeasing Zotzilaha?
Without question, Tides of Dread has been the greatest chapter in an awesome campaign. I'm about two weeks out from running the Battle of Farshore, and I'm looking for ways to make this a truly moody, memorable battle. What time of day should the attack take place (leaning toward dusk), what should the weather be like (thunderstorm sounds nice, but maybe a little TOO cliche), how should I involve some key NPCs (Lavinia, Lord Meravanchi, etc.)? If you have already run the battle, what did you do and how did it go? If you haven't yet, have you come up with any ideas? From the pirates storming the beaches to the showdown with Vanthus, this has the makings of an iconic encounter for the ages.
For the characters and monsters, D&D minis. For the playing surface, I have a 2 foot by 3 foot dry erase board. Using a knife and a ruler, I cut a 1 inch square grid into the whiteboard. A few dry erase markers and voila, any place your heart desires, battle grid ready. Super easy to erase and redraw mid-session.
Our party of four experienced character death for the first time in the Dark Mountain Pass Section of Here There Be Monsters. The replacement characters were two adventurers from Farshore on an excursion to the mainland who stumbled upon the remaining PCs. This week, we added a fifth player, whose character was also an explorer from Farshore. However, in the battle against Olangru and the Lemorian Golem (nasty, nasty encounter) 3 PCs, a cohort, and an animal companion died, leaving only two characters: a rogue (the only remaining original character) and a samurai (the fifth character just added). Next week we will begin "Tides of Dread," but my question is what to do storywise with these 3 new PCs. Should they be more Farshore residents? Olmans from the seven villages? Something else? I'm just trying to come up with options for my players to work with. What have you guys done? Thanks in advance for the help.
Well, my group experienced character death for the first time last week, with both our paladin and wizard meeting their end. That leaves a druid and rogue holed up in Dark Mountain Pass with the NPCs making their way to Farshore in "Here There Be Monsters." One of my players is going to play a fighter with the Kensai prestige class from Complete Warrior for his new character. My question is this: a primary feature of the Kensai is an oath that he swears to a powerful Lord of his alignment, a deity, an ideal, etc, that guides him as a warrior. At this point in the Savage Tide, what should his oath be? I want something with a nice roleplaying hook for the campaign. The player is playing the Kensai as a former gladiator who abandoned arena combat to pursue his oath. Lavinia is the obvious choice, but with her already in farshore and the PC's wandering through the jungle, it would seem a stretch storywise. I'm really just looking for ideas. Anybody feeling creative?
PC - Cade Coldwater, human wizard 6
Our party was struggling taking down Sutolore in the Tamoachan ruins, with nobody able to get a hit in as he flew around the room using his breath weapon repeatedly. Cade was standing atop the pyramid sarcophagas, which he was investigating when the demon attacked. As Sutolore passed by the pyramid, Cade made a daring move, making a 10 foot horizontal jump with no running start and then attempting to grapple the flying demon to the ground. A miraculous jump check pulled it off, followed by a successful grapple. Cade and Sutolore came crashing to the ground, allowing the party's melee fighter, a paladin, to come up and do some serious damage. The entire party survived what was shaping up to be a rough encounter. |
