| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
More Proteans and their gods - The Speakers of the Depths
Search Posts
After witnessing the party wipe the floor with Tarkilar, his zombie and t-rex minions, and then taking out Triel, Skaven came to the party when they were weakened and negotiated a truce. He wanted to stay and continue his studies and was happy to hand over the wands in exchange. Since he loved secrets and the PCs also wanted information they also brokered an agreement to exchange information. Of course Skaven wasn't always completely honest with them but it gave me another interesting source of intel for the party. Later on in the campaign it was great to see the party's reaction when they turned up to exchange info with Skaven only to find that he was a dry husk lying on the floor. The Cagewrights had decided to clean house and Skaven was a loose end that needed tying up. However they did find Skaven's magical ring which was a repository for his knowledge and supposition about a great many things - searceable by voice commands. So Skaven continues to provide info to the party albeit in a different manner.
Koramado is correct.
I'm with Ogre Bane on this one. I level the characters when I think they should, using the intro of each chapter as a guide. It takes a lot of the hassle out of DMing and focuses the players on roleplaying and alternative thinking. What about xp for spells, item creation etc? I still give out xp for fights but it's not called xp, its called Hero Points and they can use these for spell costs, item creation costs etc. Any character can use them like action points except 1,000 hero points = 1 action point.
Here's my take on Alakast. It's a levelling weapon and uses a replenishing charges system. I wanted both of these features because I wanted an iconic weapon that wouldn't eventually run out of power. Format:
1 Quarterstaff +1,10, 10, 10, Empathy, 5, 2,000
Alakast has x charges a day available for use where x = wielder’s level/2 rounded up. All metamagic feats can only be used against evil outsiders. Demon Resistance - Against evil outsiders the wielder receives the stated luck bonus to AC and Saves. If an evil outsider touches Alakast, Alakast can choose to release any amount of remaining charges as positive energy into the evil outsider. This results in damage equal to the number of charges released x 20. Fort save for half, DC equal to Alakast’s current ego score. Caster Level equal to wielder’s arcane caster level.
Some fantastic ideas floating around in here! I really like the idea, that's already been mentioned, of the Adventure Path starting off with the PC's being part of a small resistance force in an area that was formally a human/elven/good guys(?) country/territory and has been conquered and it's people subjugated by the githyanki/yuan-ti/bad guys etc. It gives the chance for some guerilla warfare style play which would be fun. Or even more extreme, only a few of the Players Hanbbook races survive in a post invasion world that has had huge climate change (possibly icy wastes) as a result of the invading forces magical asssault on the planet. These races band together in small mountain fortresses, underground caverns and generally remote places to try to survive. Perhaps no one has ventured out much in 100 years and all these isolated pockets of survivers don't know about each other let alone what is happening in the rest of the world. Maybe these places have breeding programs where they try to help the races survive by breeding superior exemplars of their races to either distill the essence of their race for further procreation, or to be used as the first ones to venture out and find out what the hell is happening out there. Perhaps they're breeding new and strange mixes of the races. What about a world where the ruling power is a massive enclave of wizards and mages and then psionics arrive (somehow?) and allow the common people to suddenly gain significant power. After many years the psions gain more and more power and territory until the campaign is based around the struggle between these two forces. Each group fears the other as each is especially susceptible to the others powers (use the psionics is not transparent rule). Therefore they remain in their fortresses while getting others to take the battle to the enemy. This one might not suit an Adventure Path as it may be too specific.
Yasumoto is right. Nothing that significant was altered in the hardcover. They're both for 6 characters. In saying that the hardcover adds a lot of intersting extras and it's great having eveything in one book.
Once again inspiration emanates in a radiant manner from your thoughts, Delvesdeep. I read your post yesterday and was just in the midst of sorting out the structure and nature of the power groups in my own campaign. How fortuitous! So taking a leaf out of your book (or should I say a chapter) here’s what I’ve come up with: Apprentices Thifirane (apprentice to Vhalantru)
Cagewrights Vhalantru
I have decided that part of the Cagewrights long term plans to ensure success is to have members in strategic positions of power within Cauldron so that:
In terms of plot this allows many of them to be met and foreshadowed and for each PC to have a particular nemesis – one that is closely associated with them in some manner. Shebeleth will masquerade as a church inquisitor from the Cathderal of Pelor in Sasserine and make life hell for my resident priests of Pelor (Kristoff and one PC, Rahm). As Delvesdeep wote Nulin seems imminently capable of heading the Last Laugh, with Velior as his second. The Ebon Mind – as posted in Riptide777’s post : This is what I have done with one of my PC's. He is an elan psion and has ostensibly come to Cauldron to help another elan set up a "Department of Psionics" at the Blue Crater University. In reality he has been sent to Cauldron by the elan council to track a dangerous psionic renegade known as "The Ebon Mind". Fresh evidence has recently come to light that The Ebon Mind was in the region about 30 years ago and it is the best lead the council has had in years. Who is the Ebon Mind? It's Thearryn Louvel, one of the 13, whom I have changed from a wizard to a psion to give my campaign some more flavour in that direction. Xokek is changed to a psionic character to match his master’s class. He will approach the new Psionics department and apply to become a student. I like the idea of Alurid being a party killer but I think I’m going to leave that up to the Necrocants. Gau is outwardly a member of the Temple of Lordly Might and is their high powered muscle man. His true allegiance of course is to The Cagewrights. Others Khyron is still the leader of they Necrocants. However the other members are in fact the three assassins used at the beginning of the Soul Pillars – Tulrak, Kennock, and Zeanna. The Necrocants reside in the Haunted Village but have contact with various nefarious groups and are often hired for “Wet Work.” They are the ones, aided by Vhalantru that have culled the Cauldron population of adventurers. Like Delvesdeep’s Alurid, I plan to have rumours that they killed an adventuring party and eventually have the party actually see them attacking a group. It possible that Alurid could be the leader of this group and they are unaware of his membership in the cagewrights. Being a nasty bunch, the Necrocants have made enemies. I intend to have them first foreshadowed by the arrival of a bounty hunter in Cauldron – who of course is chasing the Necrocants. I’m toying with the idea of making this Kyan Winterstrike – one of the omitted Cagewrights. Ardeth Webb has become the leader of an evil monk organisation in my campaign. Gadrick Arthun is actually a member of the Last Laugh The rival gang the Alley Bashers quickly becomes near to extinction and their leader retreats to the prison mine, Blackmaw, that is located on the slopes of cauldron (from dungeon 135 – The Chains of Blackmaw). “Old Man” Muros does this is for his own safety and fully intends to run the guild secretly, from there.
This is what I have done with one of my PC's. He is an elan psion and has ostensibly come to Cauldron to help another elan set up a "Department of Psionics" at the Blue Crater University. In reality he has been sent to Cauldron by the elan council to track a dangerous psionic renegade known as "The Ebon Mind". Fresh evidence has recently come to light that The Ebon Mind was in the region about 30 years ago and it is the best lead the council has had in years. Who is the Ebon Mind? It's Thearryn Louvel, one of the 13, whom I have changed from a wizard to a psion to give my campaign some more flavour in that direction.
My group keeps track of initiative by using the battle grid and minis. All the PC's have 2 identical minis representing their character. One stays on the battlegrid as usual and tracks their position. The other tracks their initiative. When initiative is determined these second minis are placed in order on the battlegrid but right on the edge of the the grid. We have numbers on this edge so their actual initiative number is evident. After the first round I place a mini(s) for their opponents. The advantage of this system is that eveyone can see it and when initiative order is changed it's simple to move a mini to a new position. People delaying or readying actions are placed off the board but still in their relative position to the other minis. When their action occurs they are simply placed back on the board at the appropriate place in the initiative order.
Thanks, zeal. Yeah, if you get a moment, I'd appreciate more of the mechanics on these things. Right now, I seem to have DM's block in coming up with exactly how I could make these things work and my party's at the level I'd like to start introducing some of this kind of stuff. Jeffrey, If you could e-mail me it would be a lot easier and I would be happy to give you what I've got. tommy.quiet.dog@gmail.com
Special Materials - DM's Guide page 284, 285 - silver, alchemical
Yep. He's human.
Jeffrey, I basically had an endpoint for the item, which to be honest is usually pretty powerful, and then broke it's powers down into twenty sections each corresponding to a level. Of course the early levels usually provide lesser powers and they increase as the levels increase. I looked at the treasure levels for each level and tried to make the 'item of legacy(s) worth about (very approx) one quarter to one third of the standard treasure value. At 20th level that makes a 250,000 gp item, which is very powerful. Sometimes they level simply based on the characters level, and sometimes this is just a guide for me to see when the item should gain new abilities e.g I have a dwarven cleric who has claimed the Malachite Fortress for dwarves again and has a reasonable clan going on there. They are so grateful that they have created a magical weapon for him. Every time he returns to the Fortress they take his weapon away and enhance it further and I use the levelling guide I created to know what abilities to give it. I have another set of item for my rogue/ninja that increase in power as more of the set is acquired. One item has one power, two items both have two powers awakened, three items have thress powers each ...... With regard to the parasitic ally: My campaign has recently involved the players journeying into the Sea of Dust to save a companion and discovering they are from the ancient Suloise race that inhabited these lands. These people fled and migrated westwards after the rain of colourless fire. Many including Surabar were descendents of these people and settled Cauldron. This ancient civilisation was like ancient Egypt. In their journey they discovered an ancient priesthood and helped them defeat tomb raiders of a sort. As a reward from the God Set one of the PC's has received a "blessing". A strange scarab beetle has burrowed into the characters body and has attached itself to her central nervous system. This will provide a few benefits for the PC and eventually the beetle will multiply and inhabit other PC's. If you want specifics I'll have to post that later as a certain 16 month old daughter of mine is making it difficult to write anything at the moment........
Good advice from Mr Stop. I like the idea of gestalt characters although I haven't gone that way with my campaign.These are the ways I helped ensure my party has a reasonable chance of survival. 1.I used 32 point buy for character generation. 2.The characters start with max hp and then they have a sliding scale of minimum hp per level. 3. They get action points instead of xp for defeating creatures and good roleplaying. (this is because I decide when they level) 4.They will each gain a special item(s) that are micro artifacts and specifically tailored to them and level with them. 5.Soon they will be gaining a parasitic ally that will help them substantially
I really like the idea of the Order of the Chalice instead of the Chisel. Can you post what you came up with? That would be greatly appreciated.
Contrary to what it states in the magazines, James Jacobs says that the SCAP is designed for 6 players and not four, so gestalting should be fine (and probably necessary). Personally I wouldn't go wizard/cleric because you might need two characters using spells in certain situations, and the wizard negates some of the advantages a cleric has. Fighter/cleric is always good.
I agree with these guys. You do an amazing job. Fantatsically detailed. Where do you get the time?
Hopefully this is my last post on this. I've decided I would definitely change it to evil outsiders and the number of charges per day that Alakast has would be equal to x, where x is the wielder's level/2, rounded up.
Having thought about it a bit, a posible alternative to this, to make it less powerful, is let the staff have a certain amount of charges per day, say 10 and then have a cost in charges for each ability. e.g. 1 Protection from Evil (1 charge)
All metamagic feats can only be used against Tanar’ri. Demon Resistance - Against Tanari’ri the wielder receives the stated luck bonus to AC and Saves.
Here’s the idea that I’m probably going to use for Alakast in my campaign. I realise that it is very powerful but all my characters will be gaining powerful signature items that are of near artifact level at 20th character level. This item progresses as the character progresses in level. Feedback is welcome especially as to the gp value at each level. I’m thinking that at 20th level it would probably be worth around 200,000 – 250,000 gp. The reason I chose to use a limited amount of uses per day rather than charges is that I want Alakast to be a permanent magic item rather than something that eventually runs out of charges and effectively dies. It could be changed to Evil Outsiders instead of Tanari’ri. Not sure. Would it make it too powerful? Level of
1 Protection from Evil 1/day
All metamagic feats can only be used against Tanar’ri. Demon Resistance - Against Tanari’ri the wielder receives the stated luck bonus to AC and Saves. Push Staff – Wielder may choose to use one of the staff’s abilities one extra time during the stated time frame. E.g if the wielder wants to use a extra orb of force then the staff cannot be pushed until the next day. If used on banishment , the staff cannot be pushed again until a whole week has passed.
What's FC1?
I'm looking for the archives and the post by Gary in this thread said that I could browse them by clicking on the archive link at the top of the page. I'm sorry but I can't find this archive link. Can someone advise me please as I would dearly love to find the archives. Thanks for your quick reply. I've been really impressed with the way Paizo administers these boards.
Gary Teter wrote: "The messageboard archives are now browseable in addition to being searchable. In any forum, click the archives link at the top of the page to see the archived threads. You can sort the list of threads by date, subject and number of posts. As always, you can reply to an archived thread and it will get moved out of the archives and back onto the main forum page." I'm looking for the archives and the post by Gary in this thread said that I could browse them by clicking on the archive link at the top of the page. I'm sorry but I can't find this archive link. Can someone advise me please as I would dearly love to find the archives. Thanks
Trying to get this onto the current board.
I'm looking for the archives and the post by Gary in this thread said that I could browse them by clicking on the archive link at the top of the page. I'm sorry but I can't find this archive link. Can someone advise me please as I would dearly love to find the archives. Thanks
Thoth-Amon the Mindflayerian, I was thinking of doing this myself. Do you give them actual experience points or do you just say, "Hey, you've gone up a level." If it's the latter, how do you deal with item creation, powerful spells and death, all of which cost xp?
The Rod of Pelor's Mercy is great. I want to use it. Do you have a gp value for this microartifact?
|