Well it’s been a while since I posted in here but my group was on a short hiatus but it’s looking like I’ll be starting Zenith Trajectory in a week or so. And, as usual, I’ve exercised some creative license and given a lot of the baddies a nice GlassJaw makeover.
First, some background on my experience with the Adventure Path so far, especially the Kopru Ruins. My group had a tough time with Life’s Bazaar but got through it without any casualties. Tongue-Eater, from Flood Season, was probably the single most difficult encounter they’ve faced so far - thanks to my feralized version of TE of course ;>). Except for the skeletal t-rex, however, they walked through most of the Kopru Ruins.
I had a few complaints with the Kopru Ruins:
Too many mooks. The mooks in the ruins were useless. They just slowed the pace down and everyone was sick of dealing with them after a while. The group went through two whole sessions where all they did was fight mooks. I also don’t like the fact that all the mooks had masterwork gear. I’d rather give the players another magic or two that they’d actually use rather than having them haul back 20 masterwork rapiers to sell in town. It’s crazy from an economic standpoint and takes time in-game.
BBEG’s without allies or with ineffective allies. The battles with the three Ebon Triad members definitely didn’t go as I had planned. Tarkilar was a joke. Even if the BBEG’s CR is higher than the PC’s, being outnumbered is a huge disadvantage. He hardly took any actions in the battle. The Triel battle was good but still not really a challenge. Even with good rolling, the PC’s could all but ignore the mooks. Triel made the strongest melee fighter in the group run in fear and they still won with minimal damage. I tweaked Skaven quite a bit and had him cast fear with his first action. He made 3 out of the 5 party members run but the dwarf bbn/ftr and one of the clerics that remained still took him and his minions down. The harpoon spider couldn’t really much of anything since his BAB was so low. They did get smacked around quite a bit by the skeletal t-rex though.
So without further adieu, here are my tweaks for AP3 - Zenith Trajectory.
Some general comments: I used a lot of material from the Forgotten Realms Underdark book, including the general stats for the kuo-toa themselves. Kuo-toa in the FR get EWP (pincer staff) as a bonus feat. I also used a couple of prestige classes from Underdark as well.
First, the mooks:
Kuo-Toa Soldier, Rog1: CR 3; Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic); HD 2d8+1d6+6; hp 16-28; Init +6; Spd 20 ft., swim 50 ft.; AC 20 (+2 Dex, +6 natural, +2 shield), touch 12, flat-footed 16; Base Atk +2; Grp +5; Atk Shortspear +5 melee (1d6+3) or bite +5 melee (1d4+3) or light crossbow +4 ranged (1d8); Full Atk Shortspear +5 melee (1d6+3) and bite +0 melee (1d4+1); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Sneak attack (1d6); SQ Adhesive, immunity to poison and paralysis, light blindness, resistance to electricity 10; AL NE; SV Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6; Str 16, Dex 15, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 6.
Languages: Aquan, Dwarven, Kuo-Toan, Undercommon.
Skills and Feats: Craft (any) +5, Escape Artist +8*, Hide +4*, Listen +10, Move Silently +5*, Search +5, Spot +10, Swim +7*, Tumble +5*; AlertnessB, EWP (pincer staff)B, Great Fortitude, Improved Initiative.
*includes -2 armor check penalty (-4 for Swim).
Possessions: shortspear, heavy wooden shield with adhesive (Reflex DC 13), light crossbow, 10 bolts.
Kuo-Toa Pincer, Ftr1: CR 3; Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic); HD 2d8+1d10+12; hp 22-38; Init +1; Spd 20 ft., swim 50 ft.; AC 17 (+1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 16; Base Atk +3; Grp +6; Atk Masterwork pincer staff +8 (1d10+4 plus grapple) or bite +6 melee (1d4+3); Full Atk Masterwork pincer staff +8 (1d10+4 plus grapple) and bite +1 melee (1d4+1); Space/Reach 5 ft./10 ft.; SA Pincer staff (grapple); SQ Adhesive, immunity to poison and paralysis, light blindness, resistance to electricity 10; AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +6; Str 17, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 6.
Languages: Aquan, Dwarven, Kuo-Toan, Undercommon. 9
Skills and Feats: Climb +6, Craft (any) +5, Escape Artist +9, Listen +8, Move Silently +6, Search +5, Spot +12, Swim +11; AlertnessB, EWP (pincer staff)B, Combat Reflexes, Toughness, Weapon Focus (pincer staff).
Possessions: masterwork pincer staff.
Kuo-Toa Whip, Clr2: CR 4; Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic); HD 4d8+8; hp 19-40; Init +1; Spd 15 ft., swim 50 ft.; AC 23 (+1 Dex, +6 natural, +4 armor, +2 shield), touch 11, flat-footed 22; Base Atk +3; Grp +6; Atk Morningstar +6 melee (1d8+3) or bite +6 melee (1d4+3); Full Atk Morningstar +6 melee (1d8+3) and bite +1 melee (1d4+1); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Lightning bolt; SQ Adhesive, immunity to poison and paralysis, light blindness, resistance to electricity 10; AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +10; Str 16, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 19, Cha 8.
Languages: Aquan, Kuo-Toan, Undercommon.
Skills and Feats: Concentration +6 (+10), Escape Artist +3* Listen +11, Search +4, Spot +15, Swim -1*; AlertnessB, EWP (pincer staff)B, Combat Casting, Lightning Reflexes.
*includes -6 armor check penalty (-12 for Swim).
Lightning Bolt (Su): Two or more whips can generate a stroke of lightning every 1d4 rounds. The whips must join hands to launch the bolt but need only remain within 30 feet while it builds. 1d6 points per whip, Reflex save for half (DC 11 + highest Wis mod + number of whips).
Spells Prepared (4/3+1, base save DC = 14 + spell level): 0 – cure minor wounds, detect magic, read magic, mending; 1st – command, doom, protection from good*+, shield of faith.
*Domain spell. +Evil spell.
Domains: Destruction (smite 1/day, +4 to attack, +2 to damage), Evil (cast evil spells at +1 caster level).
Possessions: morning star, scale mail armor, heavy wooden shield, divine scroll (bear’s endurance, cure moderate wounds).
As you can see, I added some fighters to the ranks. I wanted some of the mooks to use pincer staffs. I thought some fighters with pincer staffs to grapple the PC’s along with the rogues would spice things up a bit. The mooks still might not have much of a chance against the PC’s but at least they’ll be a bit more fun to run.
You can also see that I modified their equipment substantially. I didn’t want the whips to each have a suit of banded mail +1. To compensate, I did give some better gear and treasure to the higher-level baddies.
Aabhaca the Ferry-keeper, Male Kuo-Toa Mnk5: CR 7; Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic); HD 7d8+14; hp 11; Init +2; Spd 30 ft., swim 50 ft.; AC 26 (+2 Dex, +4 Wis, +6 natural, +1 Dodge, +1 monk, bracers of armor +2), touch 18, flat-footed 23; Base Atk +5; Grp +12; Atk Masterwork pincer staff +9 melee (1d10+4) or unarmed strike +8 melee (1d8+3) or bite +3 melee (1d4+3); Full Atk Pincer staff +9 melee (1d10+4) and bite +3 melee (1d4+1), or unarmed strike +7/+7 melee (1d8+3) and bite +3 melee (1d4+1); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Pincer staff (grapple), stunning fist (5/day, DC 17); SQ Adhesive, amphibious, evasion, immunity to poison and paralysis, keen sight, ki strike (magic), light blindness, purity of body, resistance to electricity 10, slippery, slow fall 20 ft., still mind; AL LE; SV Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +11 (+13 vs. enchantments); Str 16, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 6.
Languages: Aquan, Common, Kuo-Toan, Undercommon.
Skills and Feats: Escape Artist +10, Hide +12, Listen +14, Move Silently +12, Search +5, Sense Motive +8, Spot +18, Swim +11; AlertnessB, EWP (pincer staff)B, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist.
Possessions: masterwork pincer staff, bracers of armor +2.
Aabhaca didn’t get changed too much. I did give him Improved Grapple though. I figured that if he knocked someone into the water, he would grapple them. My players hate being grappled so they’ll love me for this.
Mangh-Michto the High Priestess, Female Kuo-Toa Clr5/Sea Mother Whip 4: CR 11; Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic); HD 11d8+33; hp 91; Init +1; Spd 15 ft., swim 50 ft.; AC 26 (+1 Dex, +6 natural, +9 armor), touch 11, flat-footed 25; Base Atk +8; Grp +10; Atk +1 pincer staff +12 melee (1d10+4 plus grapple); Full Atk +1 pincer staff +12/+7 melee (1d10+4 plus grapple); Space/Reach 5 ft./10 ft.; SA Lightning bolt, pincer staff (grapple); SQ Adhesive, immunity to poison and paralysis, light blindness, resistance to electricity 10; AL NE; SV Fort +11, Ref +6, Will +16; Str 15, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 21, Cha 8.
Languages: Aquan, Kuo-Toan, Undercommon.
Skills and Feats: Concentration +13 (+17), Escape Artist +7*, Knowledge (religion) +5, Listen +7, Spellcraft +8, Spot +11, Swim +*6; AlertnessB, EWP (pincer staff)B, Combat Casting, Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (necromancy).
*includes -2 armor check penalty (-4 for Swim).
Punish the Infidels (Sp): Every opponent within 30 feet suffers the effect of a doom spell (CL 4, Will DC 16).
Independent Lightning Bolt (Su): Generate lightning bolt once every 2d4 rounds on her own, 4d6 damage, Reflex save for half (DC 19).
Inspire the Faithful (Sp): Every ally within 30 feet receives the effect of an aid spell (CL 4).
Spells Prepared (6/6+1/5+1/4+1/3+1/2+1, base save DC = 15 + spell level): 0 – cure minor wounds x2, detect magic x2, read magic, resistance; 1st – cure light wounds x2, divine favor, entangle*, entropic shield, protection from goodE, shield of faith; 2nd – bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, hold person, owl’s wisdom, shatter*, silence; 3rd – bestow curseN, contagion*EN, deeper darkness, dispel magic x2; 4th – control water, cure critical wounds, divine power, unholy blight*E; 5th – dehydrate*N, slay livingN, spell resistance.
*Domain spell. EEvil spell.
NNecromancy spell. The DC for these spells is 17 + spell level (also inflict spells).
Domains: Destruction (smite 1/day: +4 attack, +9 damage), Evil (cast evil spells at +1 caster level), Watery Death (smite nonaquatic create 1/day: +5 attack, +9 damage).
Possessions: +1 mithril full plate, +1 pincer staff of the watery grave (12 charges), divine scroll (cure serious wounds, freedom of movement, invisibility purge), holy symbol.
Mangh-Michto, buffed: HD 11d8+55; hp 113; AC 29 (+1 Dex, +6 natural, +9 armor, +3 deflection), touch 14, flat-footed 28 (20% miss chance vs ranged attacks); BAB +8; Grp +12; Atk +1 pincer staff +13 melee (1d10+7 plus grapple); Full Atk +1 pincer staff +13/+8 melee (1d10+7 plus grapple); SQ SR 21; SV Fort +13, Ref +6, Will +18; Str 19, Con 20, Wis 25. Concentration +15 (+19), Swim +8*. Save DC 17 + spell level, 19 + spell level for Necromancy spells.
• bear’s endurance (9 mins), bull’s strength (9 mins), entropic shield (9 mins), owl’s wisdom (9 mins), shield of faith (9 mins), spell resistance (9 mins).
Mangh-Michto, buffed w/ divine favor & power: HD 11d8+64; hp 122; AC 29, touch 14, flat-footed 28 (20% miss chance vs ranged attacks); BAB +11; Grp +16; Atk +1 pincer staff +20 melee (1d10+11 plus grapple); Full Atk +1 pincer staff +20/+15/+10 melee (1d10+11 plus grapple); SQ SR 21; SV Fort +13, Ref +6, Will +18; Str 21, Con 20, Wis 25. Concentration +15 (+19), Swim +9*. Save DC 17 + spell level, 19 + spell level for Necromancy spells.
• bear’s endurance (9 mins), bull’s strength (9 mins), divine favor (1 min), divine power (9 rounds), entropic shield (9 mins), owl’s wisdom (9 mins), shield of faith (9 mins), spell resistance (9 mins).
I changed Mangh-Michto a lot, including changing her to female just to mix things up. The Sea Mother Whip PrC is from Underdark. I upped her one level as well. My group has 5 players and they’re pretty powerful so I usually boost the power level slightly here and there. I changed her feats around as well. I gave her Scribe Scroll because I found it interesting that all the whips carried scrolls but no one had Scribe Scroll. The staff of the watery grave is an item from Underdark. It contains spells from the Watery Grave domain (also from Underdark). It’s a very powerful item but I gave it very few charges and technically, the PC’s won’t be able to use it because none of the spells it contains will be on any of their spell lists.
I statted out her stats with divine power and favor separately because those have the shortest duration and most likely she will cast those right before, or during, combat.
Hagu-Shoigu the Inquisitor, Male Kuo-Toa Mnk3/Inquisitor of the Drowning Goddess 4: CR 9; Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic); HD 9d8+18; hp 66; Init +2; Spd 40 ft., swim 50 ft.; AC 25 (+2 Dex, +4 Wis, +6 natural, +1 monk, ring +2), touch 19, flat-footed 23; Base Atk +7; Grp +19; Atk Unarmed strike +12 melee (1d8+5) or bite +12 melee (1d4+5); Full Atk Unarmed strike +11/+11/+6 or +12/+7 melee (1d8+5) and bite +7 melee (1d4+3); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Grappling adhesive, mark of the outcast 1/day (Will DC 11), pain touch, stunning fist (4/day, Fort DC 18), weakening touch; SQ Adhesive, amphibious, devoted mind, evasion, fear aura, immunity to poison and paralysis, keen sight, light blindness, resistance to electricity 10, slippery, still mind; AL LE; SV Fort +9, Ref +12, Will +14 (+18 vs. glamers, +20 vs. enchantments); Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 8.
Languages: Aquan, Kuo-Toan, Undercommon.
Skills and Feats: Concentration +10, Escape Artist +10, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (religion) +4, Listen +9, Move Silently +6, Sense Motive +16, Spot +13, Swim +12; AlertnessB, EWP (pincer staff)B, Combat Reflexes, Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Pain Touch, Rapid Stunning, Stunning Fist, Weakening Touch.
Fear Aura (Su): 1/day; 20 foot radius; aura lasts 3 rounds and a new saving throw is required each round (Will DC 13) or be affected by a fear spell (CL 4).
Grappling Adhesive (Ex): +4 bonus to start or maintain a grapple and disarm checks.
Possessions: amulet of fists +1, ring of protection +2.
Hagu is a brand new BBEG and is Mangh’s right-hand man. As written, the PC’s encounter Mangh alone in her chamber. That’s no good in my book. Hagu is a grapple specialist. The Inquisitor PrC is also from Underdark and grants bonuses to grapple. For those with Underdark, you might notice that I added the Inquisitor levels to his monk levels to determine unarmed damage, number of attacks, speed, and AC bonus, even though the PrC doesn’t grant those as written. I’m a bastard - sue me. He also has some feats from the Complete Warrior. His tactics are to use his stunning fist attacks (Weakening Tough/Pain Touch) and then start grappling.
Because I added Hagu, I removed Hlanamm. I just didn’t see the point of him. I also felt he was somewhat weak and wouldn’t pose much of a challenge.
Saagogoi the Hunter, Male Kuo-Toa Rog3/Asn3: CR 8; Medium monstrous humanoid (aquatic); HD 2d8+6d6+16; hp 50; Init +7; Spd 20 ft., swim 50 ft.; AC 22 (+3 Dex, +6 natural, +3 armor), touch 13, flat-footed 22; Base Atk +6; Grp +9; Atk MW dagger +10 melee (1d4+3) or bite +9 melee (1d4+3) or hand crossbow +10 ranged (1d4); Full Atk MW daggers +10/+5 or +8/+8/+3 melee (1d4+3) and bite +4 melee (1d4+1); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Death attack (DC 16), poison, sneak attack +4d6; SQ Adhesive, amphibious, evasion, immunity to poison and paralysis, light blindness, keen sight, resistance to electricity 10, slippery, trap sense +1, uncanny dodge; AL LE; SV Fort +4, Ref +12, Will +7; Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 6.
Languages: Aquan, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Kuo-Toan, Undercommon.
Skills and Feats: Climb +10, Craft (poison), Disguise +2, Escape Artist +12, Hide +19, Jump +8, Listen +12, Move Silently +14, Search +12, Spot +19, Swim +12, Tumble +14. AlertnessB, EWP (pincer staff)B, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Two-Weapon Fighting.
Spells Prepared (3/1): 1st –ghost sound, true strike x2; 2nd – invisibility.
Possessions: +1 leather armor of shadow, slippers of spider climb, 4 masterwork daggers (2 with poison), masterwork hand crossbow, 10 bolts (4 with poison), 2 doses of large scorpion venom poison (DC 18, 1d6 Str/1d6 Str).
I changed Saagogoi from a monk to a rogue for two reasons: one, because I added Hagu, a monk, and two, so he would have more sneak attack damage. As stated in the module, Saagogoi is going to stalk the PC’s. I figured the rogue levels would make him more effective at this. I also added the shadow property to his armor to boost his hide skill. And as you can see from most of my baddies, I’m not a fan of Weapon Focus for non-melee types.
And in a uncharacteristic show of good will, I changed the shadow essence poison to scorpion venom. I didn’t want anyone to permanently lose a point of Str. That’s just frustrating for a player in my opinion.
Zenith Splintershield, Dwarf Ftr7/Dwarven Defender 3: CR 10; Medium humanoid; HD 7d10+3d12+43; hp 110; Init +2; Spd 20 ft.; AC 24 (+1 Dex, +9 armor, +3 shield, +1 Dodge), touch 12, flat-footed 23; Base Atk +10; Grp +14; Atk +1 adamantine dwarven waraxe +16 melee (1d10+7/19-20/x3); Full Atk +1 adamantine dwarven waraxe +16/+11 melee (1d10+7/19-20/x3); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA Sunder (+20); SQ Defensive stance 2/day, dwarven traits (+2 bonus vs poison and spells), uncanny dodge; AL LE; SV Fort +12, Ref +5, Will +4; Str 19, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12.
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Kuo-Toan.
Skills and Feats: Intimidate +10, Jump + 7*, Sense Motive +2, Speak Language (kuo-toan), Spot +2. Dodge, Endurance, Improved Critical (dwarven waraxe), Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Toughness, Weapon Focus (dwarven waraxe), Weapon Specialization (dwarven waraxe).
*includes -6 armor check penalty.
Possessions: +1 full plate, +1 heavy steel shield, +1 aberration bane adamantine dwarven waraxe, amulet of health +2, gauntlets of ogre power +2, sphere of the unseen.
Zenith Splintershield, defensive stance: hp 130; AC 28 (+1 Dex, +9 armor, +3 shield, +1 Dodge, +4 defensive stance), touch 16, flat-footed 23; Base Atk +10; Grp +15; Atk +1 adamantine dwarven waraxe +17 melee (1d10+8/19-20/x3); Full Atk +1 adamantine dwarven waraxe +17/+12 melee (1d10+8/19-20/x3); SA Sunder (+21); SV Fort +16, Ref +7, Will +6; Str 21, Con 22.
I actually didn’t do a lot to Zenith himself. I did redo his abilities with 28 point-buy though. Since the PC’s will be fighting Zenith alone, I wanted to boost him a bit. Other than that, the only other major change I made was to swap out Quick Draw with Improved Sunder and make his waraxe adamantine. Once again, I’m sure to win some fans from my group. One of the players in my group is a dwarf who uses a dwarven waraxe and he’s been dying to find a magical one. I figured this would be a nice little reward, even though there are very few aberrations in the AP.
Dhorlot the Dragon-Father, black dragon, young adult: CR 9; Large dragon (water); HD 16d12+48; hp 165; Init +0; Spd 60 ft., fly 150 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft.; AC 24 (–1 size, +15 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 24; Base Atk +16; Grp +24; Atk Bite +19 melee (3d6+4); Full Atk Bite +19 melee (3d6+4) and 2 claws +17 (1d8+2) and 2 wings +17 melee (1d6+2) and tail slap +17 (1d8+6); Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with bite); SA breath weapon, bull rush, frightful presence, spell-like abilities (darkness), spells, sunder (+23/+27); SQ blindsense, DR 5/magic, immunity to acid, paralysis and sleep, keen senses, SR 17, water breathing; AL CE; SV Fort +13, Ref +10, Will +11; Str 19, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 12.
Languages: Draconic.
Skills and Feats: Concentration +16, Diplomacy +9, Hide +15, Intimidate +16, Listen +15, Knowledge (nature) +10, Move Silently +15, Search +10, Sense Motive +8, Spot +15, Swim +14; Clinging Breath, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Natural Weapon (bite), Improved Sunder, Multiattack, Power Attack.
Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day – darkness (50’ radius).
Sorcerer Spells Known (cast 5/4; CL 1, DC = 11 + spell level): 0 – daze, detect magic, ray of fatigue, read magic; 1st – mage armor, shield.
Blindsense (Ex) [60‘]: Uses keen sense of smell and hearing to pinpoint creatures or objects (still requires a line of effect).
Breath Weapon (Su): Line of acid (5 ft. high/wide), 80 ft. range, DC 21 Reflex save for half, 10d4 acid damage. Cling Breath: Half damage repeated 1 round later. Can be used once per 1d4+1 rounds.
Frightful Presence (Ex): The ability takes effect automatically whenever the dragon attacks, charges, or flies
overhead. Creatures within a radius of 150 feet are subject to the effect if they have fewer than 16 HD. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a Will save (DC 19) remains immune to that dragon’s frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure, creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken (-2 attacks, saves, skills, ability checks) for 4d6 rounds. Dragons ignore the frightful presence of other dragons.
Immunities (Ex): Immunity to acid, paralysis effects and sleep.
Keen Senses (Ex): Four times human in shadowy illumination, two times normal light, darkvision 120 ft.
Water Breathing (Ex): A black dragon can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use its breath weapon, spells, and other abilities while submerged.
Treasure: scroll of dismissal, cloudkill, and wall of fire, potion of bear’s endurance, potion of cure serious wounds, potion of displacement, oil of keen edge, minor ring of energy resistance (electricity), wand of see invisibility (22 charges).
Ahh, good old Dhorlot. I’ll start by saying that black dragons are my favorite and I’m pretty unforgiving when it comes to running dragons. Even though he’s the same CR, Dhorlot got a huge power boost.
First off, there is no way I’m going to have him sitting in a 25’x25 room. I’m actually going to have the room open up into a cavern filled with water. If he heard the PC’s, he’s going to be hiding underneath the water (having cast mage armor and shield on himself). Secondly, my dragons don’t have Weapon Focus. Since he is very melee-focused, I gave him Multiattack and Imp Multiattack. Improved Natural Weapon should go along with Imp Sunder nicely. And to top it off, I gave him my favorite feat from Draconomicon: Clinging Breath. There’s nothing like some acidic sludge to stick to you for an extra round. I did add to Dhorlot’s treasure but I’m actually thinking about throwing something else in.
Phew! That should do it. If anyone has any questions, comments, or suggestions, let me know!
Thx Glassjaw for the nice work. I used your changes in Flood Season and i'm gonna consider using these changes as well!
Keep up the good work!
Dimi
I have not DMed this adventure. Still I find it very surprising that you think the adventures villians need such upgrades. Zenith Trajectory seems to crop up consistently in this AP as the place where the party got their butts handed to them in campaign after campaign.
I'd not be suprised to find that this adventure is second only to Castle Maure in terms of killing off unfortunate PC types in the campaigns run by the DMs that frequent these message boards.
I'm curious why your confident your players will go through this adventure with comparitive ease while most DMs start serously thinking about fudging here in order to avoid being bombarded by dice after they TPK the party.
I find it very surprising that you think the adventures villians need such upgrades.
Well technically, the only NPC whose CR changed is Mangh, and it's only 1 higher. Everything is the same CR. My changes were mostly personal preference.
I will admit though that some of my feat choices and PrC's do make some of them more powerful, but that's more of am indication of how all feats and PrC's are not made equal. *shrug* If nothing else, the changes will make the NPC's more fun for me to play. :>)
Also, the things that seem to get the most complaints (the cryohydra, Aushanna, the advanced erinyes) I haven't changed at all. In fact, I'll probably end up scaling down the cryohydra just because I don't like the 3.5 hydra rules as written. I also don't want an isolated encounter that doesn't have much to with the overall module to expend a lot of the party's resources or actually kill them.
I find it very surprising that you think the adventures villians need such upgrades.Well technically, the only NPC whose CR changed is Mangh, and it's only 1 higher. Everything is the same CR. My changes were mostly personal preference.
I will admit though that some of my feat choices and PrC's do make some of them more powerful, but that's more of am indication of how all feats and PrC's are not made equal. *shrug* If nothing else, the changes will make the NPC's more fun for me to play. :>)
Also, the things that seem to get the most complaints (the cryohydra, Aushanna, the advanced erinyes) I haven't changed at all. In fact, I'll probably end up scaling down the cryohydra just because I don't like the 3.5 hydra rules as written. I also don't want an isolated encounter that doesn't have much to with the overall module to expend a lot of the party's resources or actually kill them.
Excellent work Glassjaw. I will probably make the same substitution for the black dragon's lair and stats that you made I like that alot. Sounds like you run a great campaign, and take a lot of time to create memorable scenes for your players. Keep up the great work.
I concur - excellent work, GJ; it takes a lot of work to tweak NPCs and villains with the new system...
I'm past those modules now, but excellent tweaks nonetheless.
M
Thanks guys - it means a lot.
My group is not playing as frequently as we have been only because we got a little burned out with the Kopru Ruins and we started alternating another campaign. We should be heading into Zentih Trajectory full-force next week though. I'll let everyone know how the encounters go.
I also have some cool ideas for Demonskar. I'm probably going to keep it pretty much as written, but I was thinking of tweaking the hag covey quite a bit, even so far as to make each hag a different type: one green, one sea, and one annis. If you are going to have a hag covey, you might as well do it right. ;>)
I really wish i could see these before i ran the adventure... however my party just finished TOTSE so we are well a head of you... However at your recomeation i did take the underdark book and upgraded the Kou-toans in the Adventure however not quite to the power you did...
Thanks for your hard work
Thx Glassjaw, this really looks cool. My group just entered the Kuo-Toa dungeon, and I think I'll try and work in your changes.
Sounds like you did some good work there, GlassJaw. I do a lot of prep work myself, as my group is kinda large... 7 players and 2 NPCs (one is a cohort) and 1 PC in absentia (merchant marines). So, with 10 characters, between 5th and 7th level, they tend to be tougher than the adventure as printed. But in other ways, the adventures are still very challenging to them. In other words, I have to change some places, but not others.
For instance, in Flood Season, for the fight with Tarkilar, between the Glyph of Blinding in the outer chamber, and the room of Zombies just outside his door, the fight with Tarkilar was no cakewalk! Mind you, they'd already fought the skeletal T-Rex (changed to Huge, cuz 3.5 skeleton template rules made it an even 20 HD skeleton at Huge), the group had been chewed up already so were just burning some clerical spells to Cure their wounds. Then the dwarf rogue/ranger saw the glyphs, but flubbed his disarm check. While he was yelling in shock and surprise at losing his vision, Tarkilar bolstered the Zombies... also, since he had the spell, I had the Zombies' room Desecrated in advance. So, when the rest of the party entered the Zombies' chamber, the clerics weren't able to turn the zombies right away. This meant that Tarkilar could spend a few rounds just out of sight casting some battle-enhancing magics on himself... I think I used Bull's Strength, Divine Power, and Aid. By this time, the party had taken out about half of the zombies and were starting to push through to Tarkilar. Tark' waited just down that 5'-wide curving corridor so the PCs couldn't rush him, and when the first fighters came close, he started using trips and disarms with his spiked chain. On his turn, he'd always take a 5-foot step back, and then cast or smash someone with the chain. Sure, the party won, but two players were at negative hit points, three more had single digit HPs, and the whole group had to seriously rest and recover before they could move on.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, Yes, as DMs we may have to tweak the adventure a bit to challenge our players, but if you use the resources given in the AP to their best effect, you will likely not have to make big changes very often.
Sorry for Bumping this old thread, but i was wondering if You (Glassjaw) could let us know your Tweaks for the rest of the Adventure Path! especially the next two chapters!
Many thanks in advance!