GM questions for Crypt of the Everflame; locked doors, traps, and the undead

Hello all. I am still relatively new to gm-ing, and will be running this adventure this weekend. Upon reading over the module, I've still got a few (spoilery) questions. First of all, I'm concerned about resolving the various locked doors. I'm hoping my players will be patient and find the relevant keys, since the DC for each is like, DC 30. I'm wondering, are the doors easy to break down? Should I allow it? It seems to me that once they see the doors are basically impossible to unlock at level 1, they'll just sit there and hack each one down , which didn't seem that hard, honestly, if they are wooden doors. It also seems like that would defeat the purpose of most of the first level of dungeon; find the keys, etc.
Next, the trap room in room 2; it seems that, unless the players fall into the trap in the center of the room, they will not find the satchel with the hint on how to open the door to the south, which also seems odd. Is this door also "breakable", so that if they get bored they'll just hack the door down and completely bypass the trap room? I'm still new to resolving trap finding, locked doors, breaking said doors, etc., so any tips are welcome on how to adjudicate such decisions.
Concerning the undead: if I read that some skeletons get "2 claw +2" attacks....does this mean they receive two attacks at no penalty, with a +2 to each attack roll, or does it simply mean this as sort of "flavor" for one attack, in that the skeleton swings both claws at the player with one attack roll? Again, thanks for any clarification you can give.

Assume the Room 2 mechanical door is metal, and if your worried they won't check for pits, put some emphasis on the brooms near the room's entry and have the rogue roll an int check DC:12 to use the broom to check the floor.

the undead yes it'll be a pain, the "2 claw +2" it is 2 attack rolls with +2 on the attack roll for a full round action, otherwise it's one claw attack.

if your worried about the keys you could have a small note found near one of the doors mentioning a key.

Thanks for the response! I have another question, concerning damage reduction. I understand that a bludgeoning weapon overcomes the 5/dr for undead, and I suppose magic of any kind overcomes this as well. How about magic weapons? Does a +1 magic weapon of any type overcome all dr then, even if it's, say, a longsword or other slashing weapon? I've seen discussion elsewhere concerning magic weapons overcoming dr, but I've seen "dr/magic", as well, which seems redundant if that's the case. I'd there a certain "+" needed to overcome a given dr value? Does +1 overcome any and all dr at any level? I feel like I've confused the issue a bit in my own mind, ha. Thoughts?
Thanks again!

PRD: Damage Reduction

Simply because a weapon is magic does not necessarily mean that it will overcome other types of DR. A weapon would have to be at least +3 to work against /silver or /cold-iron, +4 to work against /adamantine, and +5 to work against /good, /evil, etc.

As far as I can see, magic will not affect /bludgeoning, /slashing, /piercing, or /—. Therefore, a +1 dagger would not overcome a skeleton's DR because it is not a bludgeoning weapon.

Keys...

As for the locked doors, if the party meets any NPCs in the dungeon (i.e. Roldare) he could mention that there are missing keys. Also, since the backpacks found in the dungeon are from the people who went to prepare the site, there could be a note in one of them detailing suggestions on where to hide the different keys.

Failing that, if the players get stuck allow everyone in the party to make an Intelligence or Wisdom check. Whomever does the best will realize that there must be someplace they missed because others have done this test in the past and the doors show no signs of being destroyed and replaced.

PRD: Damage Reduction

Simply because a weapon is magic does not necessarily mean that it will overcome other types of DR. A weapon would have to be at least +3 to work against /silver or /cold-iron, +4 to work against /adamantine, and +5 to work against /good, /evil, etc.

As far as I can see, magic will not affect /bludgeoning, /slashing, /piercing, or /—. Therefore, a +1 dagger would not overcome a skeleton's DR because it is not a bludgeoning weapon.

Thank you! Is there a table or other reference found in the rulebook that lists what value is necessary for all the different damage types? I've seen others reference such numbers as "+3 to overcome this", or "oh yeah, you'll need a +4 weapon to overcome that damage type", etc. I feel like I'm missing some common knowledge here, I suppose.

The link I provided at the top of my prior posts show the table from which I copied those values.

If you check the index at the back of the CRB and look for "Damage Reduction" you'll find those same rules on pages 561 and 562. Remember to check the index in any rulebook when looking for quick answers — they are usually very helpful.

From memory you have to add a key (the key to one of the doors in the room with the hundred keys at the bottom of the pool). They forgot to include it anywhere in the dungeon.

FWIW, my players didnt even think of hacking down the door - they just went running off the directions they were railroaded into (and loved it, by and large). I suspect your players will go searching first, unless they're in the habit of picking locks with battleaxes. If they get to the point of wanting to hack through a door it's probably because they're frustrated - in which case I'd let them, since a bunch of players in 'stuck mode' is not usually a fun experience for anyone.

The link I provided at the top of my prior posts show the table from which I copied those values.

If you check the index at the back of the CRB and look for "Damage Reduction" you'll find those same rules on pages 561 and 562. Remember to check the index in any rulebook when looking for quick answers — they are usually very helpful.

As someone who started with Pathfinder and didn't play 3.5, I must say that there is a wealth of very important rules hidden in the CRB glossary that you wouldn't expect to find there. Also, once you move beyond Crypt of the Everflame and start dealing with more monster statblocks, there is a ton of crunch/rules in the Bestiary's appendices that are important to find.

Just a pointer, so that you don't have to go through what I did. :)

This is the module I chose to run my first time GMing. I had the same questions about the doors. My players saw the door was locked and still wanted to bash it in. I felt bad saying it would take a long time, thus railroading them to the other door that wasn't locked, but it seemed like it worked.

Any suggestions on running the wooden golem? I don't know if my players will know to grab the shields that are required for the arrow room. I know when I actually played the module previously, we all ended up unconscious because we didn't take the shields with us.

@Jinnobi33

I run it pretty much like a program.

10 If <adventurer enters lower platform> Then <step forward off platform>.

20 If <adventurer on lower platform> Then <move towards closest adventuerer and attack>

30 If <no one on lower platform> Then <Return to starting position>

40 GOTO 10

As to the arrows.

That works. I appreciate the help. Our DM said the door shut behind us even though someone was standing there. We all got trapped, at least she didn't kill us.

I Googled this module myself as I'm preparing to run it as well. And found this thread. Nice to see that it's not like 2 years old or anything.

I have a question about the map. Room 9 (Wood Golem) and Room 4 (Bombardier Beetle) have a set of stairs going to the middle of the map but stop 5 feet short. The room descriptions don't mention these stairs and the 2nd floor map shows no sign of connecting anywhere to them. Is this just a map mistake or am I missing the description for where they lead somewhere else?

I have a question about the map. Room 9 (Wood Golem) and Room 4 (Bombardier Beetle) have a set of stairs going to the middle of the map but stop 5 feet short. The room descriptions don't mention these stairs and the 2nd floor map shows no sign of connecting anywhere to them. Is this just a map mistake or am I missing the description for where they lead somewhere else?

My understanding of the map was that those stairways connected to each other as a small passage way between the two rooms. Seems to work out pretty well.

1. Put a key on the opposite side of the pit, or just greatly lower the DC of the lock.

2. The stairs are supposed to meet up.

Both were oversights.

Attribution: Both corrections taken from episode one of the Pathfinder Chronicles Podcast.

There was some discussion when it came out in this thread in which it was confirmed that the stairs were intended to connect. There's some other useful discussion there too, from memory.

1. Put a key on the opposite side of the pit, or just greatly lower the DC of the lock.

2. The stairs are supposed to meet up.

Both were oversights.

Attribution: Both corrections taken from episode one of the Pathfinder Chronicles Podcast.

Awesome. That cleans up the stairs nicely. But what's this about a key needing to be placed? The only pit I know about is the one in the

Edit: Scratch all that stuff about the key. Just read it on the link Steve posted. I didn't even notice the door on the map. lol I'll just remove the door and call it good.

One idea about some of the not-so-obvious ewquipment, is to have the mentors of the various PCs play up some aspects of the trip. They will think they are just egging them on about the "perilous" mission. "This is a crypt. Have you brought along blunt weapons? You know Undead are tough to hurt without them." Let the mentors, mentor. They won't know that they are really giving life-or-death advice.

BTW, I wouldn't stress over getting the key out of the pool. I have ran this adventure 3 different times. All three figured it out. The funny thing was that the group of college students were the slowest to figure it out, and the quickest was my 13yo son.

Speaking of equipment, how do you handle that? It says that the characters are expected to travel light and will be given a few items before they take off. How does this translate into starting funds for the character? I originally planned on just using the class average for starting gold, but should I reduce this amount since they're getting a bunch of stuff? Or just to tell them to use it to buy weapons, armor and other class-related stuff and keep the rest of the gold?

I chose a completely different approach to the beginning of this module. To make things easier I had them purchase the gear they wanted as normal. In the town square the mayor simply handed them a carved, wooden box. Inside the box was a map fragment, a potion of cure light wounds, and a bottle of brandy.

I also just started GMing, Crypt of the Everflame being my first module. I think it's important to remember that while RPGs are games meant to be played by the rules, it's more important that everyone has a good time. It's okay to throw extra hints in the story if your players aren't getting it. It's alright to make adjustments to traps or enemies if your players don't have the right weapons or spells. Get creative with it. Your players are gonna come up with stuff that you never even thought of anyway, and you'll have to make stuff up for it. My players had no way to totally defeat the skeletons in area 12, so they got 'em to 0 hp, then threw the bones in a bag with some rocks, tied them shut and threw them into the key pool. Was that in the printed adventure? No. Was it awesome anyway? Totally.

I'm pretty new to this, and I'm positive there are a bunch of things I did wrong. But we all had fun anyway, and that's what's important, right?

Im currently running this one and so far I am having a blast. First thing I told my players sin. Half of it are noobies is to use ur imagination and think outside the box and just play ur character.
The room with the pits I ket them know that they almost tripped over a sadllebag and 3 brooms lying in plain sight. After the magus ran off and landed in a pit, the rogue and qitch was wondering if the brooms were for the witch to fly over. My other noobie whos a sorcerer whos understands and plays that hes a glass cannon grabbed a broom and started tapping the floors in front of him. Made me proud. Since it was there first dungeon, after they got thru it I explained that yes the sorcerer was brilliant in using the broom. It started to dawn on th. Of the options they coukd do
The locks doors they played as they should. The noobies didnt know or think to try to break down a door and my experienced players just got done running part of a campaign with a dwarf barbarian who just automatically started smashing doors that were locked. The room with the pool, the sorcerer dropped his magic dagger into the pool bc he thought u had to give up a magic itemvto go forward. Thanks to him, he was able to detetct with detect magic the depths of the pool amd thatvthere was also another magic item.
The gollem, my monk disarmed both shields after I explained with each atk how dangerous and menacing the dual shields he was bashing them was. Gave him some style points when he diaarmed them by saying t he shields were embedded into the golems hand and that each time he disarmed him, he was ripping the golems hands right off withvthe shields.

Sometimes with noobies in running ur firat campaign with them, ya gotta tweek the stats and scenarios aroundvto reward them for thinking outsidevthe box. Im still learning that with m odules they are okay to run as they are, but its good practice to be prepared and know the module and add some flair to it.

Keep at it, ull do fine :-)