Having failed to secure part nine of the path (and a bit disappointed at missing an issue of Dungeon mag which normally never happens!) -I am going to roll with this punch and take this as an opportunity to change things up a bit more for our campaign. :) Yay! Happy!
I was wondering what you would think might make a cool swap for 'Into the Maw' but at the same time flow back into 'Wells of Darkness' (Which I hopefully will get hold of!) near seamlessly. I have a hefty collection of magazines, sourcebooks and things I could possibly use as a substitute so feel free to mention anything you feel would fit.
Couldn't you just order it here off the Paizo site? That's exactly what I did last month, when my local store never got copies of the issue with Serpents of Scuttlecove. I tossed in some Player's Guides to Ptolus to make the shipping cost worthwhile, and ta-da! I now have my missing issue.
It would be a shame to miss out on the full Savage Tide experience...
R-Type you really should order from Paizo, I missed an Issue I contacted customer service, and they wrote back and sent another out very prompt. They were awesome! I'm about to do that again If I don't get my latest Issue "Wells of Darkness".
DAve
Couldn't you just order it here off the Paizo site? That's exactly what I did last month, when my local store never got copies of the issue with Serpents of Scuttlecove. I tossed in some Player's Guides to Ptolus to make the shipping cost worthwhile, and ta-da! I now have my missing issue.
It would be a shame to miss out on the full Savage Tide experience...
I totally agree. While never one to discount the possibility for an original adventure design, Into The Maw has some of the best encounters in the path, so it's one that's well worth the effort to track down.
However, I suggest checking out the Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss for alternatives, should getting Into The Maw not be an option. This is one of my favorite sourcebooks, because of its high level of originality, while retaining the option of expanding upon the Abyss with great flexibility.
Personally, I have a soft spot for the Molydeus demon--which is in this book--and would fit within the scope of the campaign as a vicious encounter (amongst others); it first appears here, to the best of my knowledge.
Also, you may want to keep the level of the Abyss Lavinia is kept upon a secret, resulting in a search through the Abyss, and thus expanding the scope of the Abyssal encounters. (However, since this idea is integrated into the following two adventures quite extensively, this option may result in the later adventures becoming a little stale.)
Another option would be to have the wakeportal inactive, until they get, say, a special "fuel" for it...a fuel that can only be discovered by further exploring Scuttlecove. (Seriously, for such a great backdrop, it's almost a tragedy that it only gets played around with for one adventure.) Perhaps they will have to face off with Kedward Bone, or the Monks of Dire Hunger. This should level them up to a point where an encounter in the Abyss that can recover Lavinia--if necessary at all--or slay Vanthus will be less intensive for you to work out.
While the adventure itself wouldn't be too hard to swap out - just find a way for the PCs to get to the abyss, get Lavinia out of jail and kill her undead brother; Once you have "Wells of Darkness," you'll figure out what clues you need to sprinkle into your version of Into the Maw to keep the path going.
-HOWEVER-
Missing "Into the Maw" means you miss a bullywug lich, a celestial mountebank and a grossly perverse demodand, among other things. It's a great adventure. You should really consider tracking it down. Now, If you're going to change up an adventure, "Wells of Darkness," might be a good choice... ;)
While the adventure itself wouldn't be too hard to swap out - just find a way for the PCs to get to the abyss, get Lavinia out of jail and kill her undead brother; Once you have "Wells of Darkness," you'll figure out what clues you need to sprinkle into your version of Into the Maw to keep the path going.
-HOWEVER-
Missing "Into the Maw" means you miss a bullywug lich, a celestial mountebank and a grossly perverse demodand, among other things. It's a great adventure. You should really consider tracking it down. Now, If you're going to change up an adventure, "Wells of Darkness," might be a good choice... ;)
Yeah, I definitely have to say you are missing out on some pretty cool encounters and very interesting villains if you miss "Into The Maw". Personally, I love the kelvezu blackgaurd, S'Sharra! She is going to put some serious smack-down on my pcs and she's cute as a button to boot.
Wells of Darkness on the other hand... All you really need is an adventure where the PCs must rescue a powerful demon with information. Much easier, in my opinion. Not to mention you won't be missing out on much...