Hopefully others can use this thread to clarify questions arising in this adventure. If you happen to see another thread, please link post a link in this one to try and keep things tied together.
Chapter 1: Edge of Anarchy
Chapter 2: Seven Days to the Grave
Chapter 3: Escape from Old Korvosa
Chapter 4: A History of Ashes
Chapter 5: Skeletons of Scarwall
Chapter 6: Crown of Fangs
In the next week or so, we're expecting to ship the next volume of your subscription.
That's right, coming to a mailbox near you!
Don't forget, if you see something that relates to the AP, please link it here!
Enjoy
Seems as if the pages have moved. Here's the revised listing.
Chapter 1: Edge of Anarchy
Chapter 2: Seven Days to the Grave
Chapter 3: Escape from Old Korvosa
Chapter 4: A History of Ashes
Chapter 5: Skeletons of Scarwall
Chapter 6: Crown of Fangs
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The Blood Pig minigame seems like a lot of fun, but I'm a bit confused with some rules and concept. So if I understand correctly, a pig comes out from a random site at the start, then the teams try to grab the pig and bring it into their pen; PCs at the bottom half put the pig in their pit at the opposite end, while the captains are on the upper half, and score at the bottom. Is this all correct so far?
So, is the concept of this game suppose to be kind of like rugby or football? That is, the team with the ball (pig in this case) has to get to the other side, while the other team tries to impede their progress? Presumably, the side the pig comes out on has the initial advantage?
Also, is it within reason to say that there are a lot of spectators watching? Possibly, making bets?
Creative Director
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If blood pig rules are a bit confusing in play... that's good, actually! The rules were created by a lunatic, after all.
But the new pig itself is put up into one of the cages at the start of a round, not into a random spot. The game itself is indeed a rugby/football type game, where the team with the pig has to get to the other side, and once you dump a pig into a pit, the new pig pops up in the cage at the far end.
And yes... whenever a blood pig game goes live... there are LOTS of spectators on the building rooftops cheering and taking bets.
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If blood pig rules are a bit confusing in play... that's good, actually! The rules were created by a lunatic, after all.
Thanks for the clarifications! On another note, should players be given the gist of the rules from Pelts at the start? For example, would he mention that a team loses if they kill a wolverine? Does he mention that teams can knock people into the pits? Or should the players find this out the hard way...
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Creative Director
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Thanks for the clarifications! On another note, should players be given the gist of the rules from Pelts at the start? For example, would he mention that a team loses if they kill a wolverine? Does he mention that teams can knock people into the pits? Or should the players find this out the hard way...If blood pig rules are a bit confusing in play... that's good, actually! The rules were created by a lunatic, after all.
There's a bit of read-aloud text from Pilts at the start of the first game. That should be ALL the rules the PCs get from him, really, unless they ask for clarifications, in which case he'll answer those on a case-by-case basis. He'd not reveal that killing a wolverine loses the game unless the PCs ask about that specifically, for example. In game, the rules have never been written down, and I suspect they change more or less weekly.
At Salvator’s home (The Artist's Lair map), area B4 is named Fungal Incursion (EL 6) on page 20 of Pathfinder 9; however, there is no encounter or trap specifically listed. Was there an encounter or trap planned for this room but left off of the description?
At Salvator’s home (The Artist's Lair map), area B4 is named Fungal Incursion (EL 6) on page 20 of Pathfinder 9; however, there is no encounter or trap specifically listed. Was there an encounter or trap planned for this room but left off of the description?
Considering the EL and the nature of the room (fungal pigments), I think it's safe to assume that a yellow mold had grown there (at least, in the original draft).
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Creative Director
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At Salvator’s home (The Artist's Lair map), area B4 is named Fungal Incursion (EL 6) on page 20 of Pathfinder 9; however, there is no encounter or trap specifically listed. Was there an encounter or trap planned for this room but left off of the description?
Yeah... originally, there was a patch of yellow mold there, but I decided that felt a little silly and too goofy, so I took the yellow mold out and then promptly forgot to remove the (EL 6) from the area. Feel free to put yellow mold back in there if you want. I just felt that it was a little too unnecessary and illogical... not EVERY room in the game that has fungus needs to also have dangerous fungus, I guess.
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At Salvator’s home (The Artist's Lair map), area B4 is named Fungal Incursion (EL 6) on page 20 of Pathfinder 9; however, there is no encounter or trap specifically listed. Was there an encounter or trap planned for this room but left off of the description?Yeah... originally, there was a patch of yellow mold there, but I decided that felt a little silly and too goofy, so I took the yellow mold out and then promptly forgot to remove the (EL 6) from the area. Feel free to put yellow mold back in there if you want. I just felt that it was a little too unnecessary and illogical... not EVERY room in the game that has fungus needs to also have dangerous fungus, I guess.
Ahh, I was wondering that was what happened when I noticed that EL. I'll be interested to see how much that room messes with my players internal metergamers, I think all but one of them have had very unpleasant encounters involving yellow mold in previous games, playing on those sort of expectations is always fun :).
During 7 days till death this was written about Roth the Necromancer
The next
adventure, “Escape from Old Korvosa,” includes notes on
how to incorporate Rolth into the adventure as an additional
enemy, but if he perishes at the PCs’ hands here, his death
won’t impact the next adventure in any major way.
Where are these notes at?
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During 7 days till death this was written about Roth the Necromancer
The next
adventure, “Escape from Old Korvosa,” includes notes on
how to incorporate Rolth into the adventure as an additional
enemy, but if he perishes at the PCs’ hands here, his death
won’t impact the next adventure in any major way.Where are these notes at?
The answers you seek are in this thread:
That is what we call in the industry a "Broken Promise." In other words, we forgot to include more notes in Pathfinder 9 on how Rolth could continue to vex the PCs. They're not in there. That said... the best place to put Rolth is in with the Emperor, maybe as an advisor or something who tries to convince the Emperor to not be friendly with the PCs?
Basically, he was forgotten.
At Salvator’s home (The Artist's Lair map), area B4 is named Fungal Incursion (EL 6) on page 20 of Pathfinder 9; however, there is no encounter or trap specifically listed. Was there an encounter or trap planned for this room but left off of the description?Yeah... originally, there was a patch of yellow mold there, but I decided that felt a little silly and too goofy, so I took the yellow mold out and then promptly forgot to remove the (EL 6) from the area. Feel free to put yellow mold back in there if you want. I just felt that it was a little too unnecessary and illogical... not EVERY room in the game that has fungus needs to also have dangerous fungus, I guess.
Thank you for the insight. (I thought for awhile that there was supposed to be a Fungus Skeleton in the room!)
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If blood pig rules are a bit confusing in play... that's good, actually! The rules were created by a lunatic, after all.
M'nnnar
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I'm a bit confused with the rope bridge layout underneath the Arkona Palace. As I understand it, from the ledge next to the spiral staircase down to the waters below, it's 100 ft. I don't quite understand where the next 50 ft drop is. The text says something like where the first rope bridge descends to area D20 from the ledge's southern end is a 50 ft drop to the water. I'm confused as to where this is exactly. So how many rope bridges are there? The way I'm imagining it, is the bridges sort of make up the sides of a triangle. And you start at the bottom left corner of the triangle (south wester corner) and move clockwise. So you walk around the triangle twice total to get to the bottom? How steep is each bridge? And lastly, how high is the spiral staircase back up to the surface? Sorry for the horde of questions, and thanks for any responses!
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Creative Director
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The bridges do indeed make a triangle; furthermore, the ledge leading from the stairs in the upper caverns that lead up to area D4 slopes down as well, to the first ledge with a bridge connected to it just south-southeast of the stairs. That bridge leads down to area D20, and then down further to D22, then down even further to the western ledge in area D23.
The ledge in the upper caverns overlooks the ledges at D20 and D21 below; they show up on both maps, but you can only reach them from the upper caverns by rope bridge or by falling/flying down to them.
M'nnnarIf blood pig rules are a bit confusing in play... that's good, actually! The rules were created by a lunatic, after all.
Does this game have anything to do with a toned-down(?) version of Ashbourne's traditional Shrove-Tuesday shindig up in Derbyshire? :)
Bravo sir bravo - I live about 5 miles from Asbourne and for a while back in the days of Dungeon I'd played about with an idea for a shrove tuesday hobbit game involving a live pig - the adventure would have been set over the events of a day, starting with a big breakfast and ending with a big slap-up feast, with lots of kobolds in disguise.
I'm a bit confused with the rope bridge layout underneath the Arkona Palace.
It still gives me headaches too if it's any consolation.
Ah, but I have this idea about something really Escher in my head...
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The bridges do indeed make a triangle; furthermore, the ledge leading from the stairs in the upper caverns that lead up to area D4 slopes down as well, to the first ledge with a bridge connected to it just south-southeast of the stairs. That bridge leads down to area D20, and then down further to D22, then down even further to the western ledge in area D23.
The ledge in the upper caverns overlooks the ledges at D20 and D21 below; they show up on both maps, but you can only reach them from the upper caverns by rope bridge or by falling/flying down to them.
Ahh... that makes sense now. Thanks for that! A "side view" picture might be helpful too, for future reference.
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Creative Director
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Shouldn't the DR for Rakshasas be Good and Piercing and Wood? I know the OGL lists only Good and Piercing, but I always thought they feared blessed crossbow bolts. With the DR as written, any good-aligned cleric with Align Weapon could make a sword, a VERY common weapon, into a Rakshasa killing machine. Any comments?
Wood is not an "official" material as far as damage reduction goes. We introduced it in the nosferatu in Pathfinder 8, but that's the only time it's shown up, as far as I know. And yes, with the DR as written, a good cleric CAN make any piercing weapon into something that can really hurt Rakshasas... that's the point of the spell. Taking that away from clerics is kinda unfair. In any event... rakshasas and the blessed crossbow bolts thing hasn't really been a part of the game since 2nd edition. Of course... all that said, you can certainly make that change to your own game, but make sure you give your players a chance to figure that out if you do! It's unfair if the GM changes the rules and then hides those changes forever from the players...
And remember... not every group has a cleric. And not every cleric remembers to prepare align weapon all the time, and probably never prepares enough to hook up the entire party with the spell.
Also, I think the SR is incorrect for the main antagonists. The SR should go up +1 for each class level they have (which, as is appropriate, make them practically immune to any spell allowing spell resistance).
The SR is indeed incorrect for a few of the rakshasas with class levels, and should be increased by +1 per class level. Of course, their baseline SR of 27 more or less already makes them immune to most spells cast by the PCs anyway, so if you forget to make these increases, it's doubtful that the omission will make much of a difference in actual game play.
Lastly, I didn't read anywhere how many human servants they have in the house. I understand that if the PCs try to invade the house, the humans are sent after them first so the house leader can observe the PCs in action. So what kind of staff do the Arkonas possess?
The Arkonas' human servants and guards dwell in the outbuildings or elsewhere on the palace grounds; they aren't really allowed into the main building much at all, except to clean some areas and to serve food and all that. The section on page 35 that mentions how Bahor waits to see how the PCs fare in a fight against the house guards doesn't refer to humans, but to the other rakshasas that dwell in the palace, along with other guards like the water elemental, the elephant, and the belkers.
The human servants are all pretty low level NPCs, in any event; all 2nd level experts for the most part, I'd guess. They don't have much of a role to play in the adventure.
Bahor is suppose to send Vimanda into the labyrinth to ambush the party, but she is already listed in there when they arrive. Is she there already or not?
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So as I understand it, the PCs could side with Bahor and go down to the dungeon level. However, they can then be swayed by Vimanda to join her instead, in which case, the PCs go back up and confront Bahor? And then he (tries) convincing again and they back down again? Seems like a lot of back and forth. Also, regardless of who they side with, once they rescue both Vencarlo and Neolandus, neither Bahor nor Vimanda is just going to just let them walk out right? So one way or another, the PCs are going to have to kill them both it seems...
Is it possible that Bahor can be dragged down into the dungeon too? In which case, they can make the two siblings fight each other, perhaps even get Sivit in?
Oh, and one more thing... is there a "correct" way for the PCs to deal with Sivit's symbols? Seems like basically they just walk into them and trigger them. The d20 SRD says that "A rogue (only) can use the Search skill to find a symbol of death and Disable Device to thwart it." But even so, the rogue would have to look at it, thus triggering it right? Seems like there's no way to get around it... or is that the point?
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Creative Director
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Charles has it pretty much right in the previous post as regards the complex situation that the Arkonas have woven for themselves. The PCs don't really have to kill Bahor, in any event: they just need to get out with the two prisoners. Bahor won't stop them from doing this, but Vimanda will try.
As for how to deal with the symbols... the "correct" way to deal with them is with dispel magic. Another handy way to deal with them (although a sort of cruel way) is to use summoned creatures as advance troops. Send them into rooms or around corners and pow; they trigger the symbol and let the PCs know what they're up against. Or at least give them a clue or two. Navigating the dungeon while avoiding looking at certain spots adds a level of tactics and difficulty that not all players will enjoy... but some might!
Disable device works too... not all of the symbols activate on them being looked at. Even then... symbols have range; Most of them do, though, which is why I put in the "Sivit's Symbols" sidebar. If your group is getting fed up with all the symbols, you should tone back their presence.
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Sorry to continue the Bahor/Vimanda topic, but if Bahor allows the PCs to leave with Neolandus, what next? It seems that Bahor and the Arkonas essentially drop off the radar after Escape from Old Korvosa. But if Bahor lives and allows the PCs to run off with Neolandus, I would assume he would come back into play somehow?
Yes, after Escape from Old Korvosa we're no longer given any more plot concerning the Arkonas. In Crown of Fangs we're given a few hints (on p. 9) about what sorts of things might have been going on in that part of town, depending on how things stood at the end of Escape from Old Korvosa.
Note that we're given a lot more information on the state of the Arkonas than we are on any of the other Great Houses. It's just assumed that if we need this information then we make it up depending on how things have been going in our campaigns.
Need help with anything?
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Sorry to jump off the topic briefly (for my contribution I figure if either Bahor or Vimanda are left alive they'll expand to retake everything Pilts had gained control of and then hole up, hoping that the party will take out the queen, and work on some kind of plan to get the throne for themselves or install a puppet leader that doesn't rely on using Neolandus to do it), but I've just run this chapter and I noticed a couple of minor stat block problems which I figured I should throw them up.
1) The Red Mantis Assassins have two off-hand attacks, but they don't have Improved TWF. Hell if you drop the cat's grace off their stats, they don't even have the dex to qualify for the feat, so I assume the second attack should be dropped.
2) Both Bahor and Vimanda have a claw and a bite as well as their iterative attacks. As far as I was aware you could only have one nat weapon on top of iteratives so I dropped the claw... I think that's right anyway.
3) A couple of stat-blocks seem to have the crit range on their weapons omitted for some reason, mostly fine, but I completely forgot that Bahor's improved crit with his kukri meant he was threatening on a 15-20 till halfway through the fight.
Some notes on the enemies here for those who don't enjoy killing party members. Both Bahor and Vimanda are nasty for their already high CR due to both being in none-preferred classes. Vimanda is fine as long as the party have weapons that can damage her, Bahor is also mostly fine, but if he can get sneak attacks off he can kill people easy as his huge to-hit means he will probably hit every time. The big unexpected nasty here though is those cobras that Avidexu has as pets, don't just pass them over because they're CR 5, they strike me as really under-CRed due to a truly lethal poison (DC19 1d8 Con) that can be used at range or in melee at good to hit (+11) and decent damage on the bite (1d8+9), couple that with pretty decent AC and hitpoints and... yeah they were scary :).
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1) The Red Mantis Assassins have two off-hand attacks, but they don't have Improved TWF. Hell if you drop the cat's grace off their stats, they don't even have the dex to qualify for the feat, so I assume the second attack should be dropped.
Or, if you're running Pathfinder Beta RPG, the assassins should have an extra feat, and you can just give them the Improved TWF.
2) Both Bahor and Vimanda have a claw and a bite as well as their iterative attacks. As far as I was aware you could only have one nat weapon on top of iteratives so I dropped the claw... I think that's right anyway.
Where is the rule for this? I've been looking for it in d20srd for some time now...
Thanks for the tips on the enemies. My group is just about to do this part, so your notes are greatly appreciated!
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Creative Director
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2) Both Bahor and Vimanda have a claw and a bite as well as their iterative attacks. As far as I was aware you could only have one nat weapon on top of iteratives so I dropped the claw... I think that's right anyway.
You can have as many secondary attacks as you want if you have them and use a weapon as a primary attack. In the case of the rakshasas, they use one-handed weapons and bite and claw as secondaries. (For examples of this in the MM, check out creatures like the troglodyte or the ice devil.)
Setting up for the Arkona invasion next week, but having a slight problem with Sivit's Symbols. In Vimanda's tactics bloc, it states that 'Vimanda knows that there are several symbols placed through out the dungeon, and even though they don't affect her since she's lawful evil...'
Do the symbols not affect LE creatures? My players are LN, and two LEs.
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You can have as many secondary attacks as you want if you have them and use a weapon as a primary attack. In the case of the rakshasas, they use one-handed weapons and bite and claw as secondaries. (For examples of this in the MM, check out creatures like the troglodyte or the ice devil.)
Huh, must be one of those mistakes/house-rules that propagate through a group until everyone assumes it's in the books, it did seem a very peculiar rule. Thanks for the correction!
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Creative Director
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Setting up for the Arkona invasion next week, but having a slight problem with Sivit's Symbols. In Vimanda's tactics bloc, it states that 'Vimanda knows that there are several symbols placed through out the dungeon, and even though they don't affect her since she's lawful evil...'
Do the symbols not affect LE creatures? My players are LN, and two LEs.
She's keyed her symbols to not affect lawful evil creatures, yeah. So your LE characters have a pretty huge advantage there.
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My group has just finished Escape From Old Korvosa and are transitioning to History of Ashes. They've collected a lot of loot and treasure, but they realize the danger of going back to Korvosa so they decide to follow Vencarlo and Neolandus' advice and head toward Harse. Is there a town/city they can stop by on the way to Harse that would buy there loot (like, the magical kukris from Sivit, and other misc. magic items)? I'm thinking Palin's Cove, but I'm not sure how populated that place is. Also, there's the option of stopping by a city (like Janderhoff, Abken, Kaer Maga) after their brief stay in Harse. What do you all think?
On a slightly unrelated note, Vencarlo was completely killed by the large reefclaw at the secret Arkona pier. After finally destroying the reefclaw, they took the boat and went across the river and up towards the foresty area and leveled. They also used the Sending spell to make contact with Cressida to find them a 5000 gp diamond so they could raise Vencarlo from the dead. Cressida managed to find a diamond (ie. DM making sure Vencarlo isn't dead) and handed it over to Grau Soldado. The next day, Grau went over to the Soldado residence (from Seven Days to the Grave) and the PCs journeyed west along the coast and met with Grau and paid for the diamond. After that, Vencarlo was able to give them the shpeel and tell them to go to Harse. Anyway, I just thought the whole thing was amusing and thought I'd share it with y'all.
I started the game with a group of four PCs, but are now six. I have lost count of the experience that the group of four should have. Where should the PC's be (approximately) during Escape? What level they should have entering in the Arkona Palace and the Vivified Labyrinth?
I made pictures of the other three configurations of the Vivified Labyrinth. Can I share with this community, or would be a violation of copyright?
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Creative Director
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I started the game with a group of four PCs, but are now six. I have lost count of the experience that the group of four should have. Where should the PC's be (approximately) during Escape? What level they should have entering in the Arkona Palace and the Vivified Labyrinth?
I made pictures of the other three configurations of the Vivified Labyrinth. Can I share with this community, or would be a violation of copyright?
The long way to solve this is to look at the EL of the encounters. The party's average level should be within 1 point of the average EL, as a general rule. Don't bother including ELs for encounters that the PCs aren't really supposed to accomplish (like fighting Bahor, for example).
The short way is to post here and get an answer from the editor in chief. :P
By the time the PCs reach the Arkona Palace, they should be 9th level. By the time they're deep in the Vivified Labyrinth, they should be about to hit 10th level or should be 10th level.
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Thanks, James. You are the editor in chief more handsome, wonderful, nice ... Well, it’s a joke. But I don’t doubt: you're the better ;)
Thank you very much, I don’t find where I had written the experience of the old PCs before the new PCs joined the party, so I could not re-calculate.
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The other three configurations of the Vivified Labyrinth:
Rotation1
Rotation2
Rotation3
My players will enter the Labyrinth next week. The descritpion of Arkona Palace indicates that the rooms are 20 feet high, but no ceiling heights for the dungeon itself are given. Should these halls and chambers be 20 feet as well? That seems a bit tall.
Help, anyone? Thanks!
My players will enter the Labyrinth next week. The descritpion of Arkona Palace indicates that the rooms are 20 feet high, but no ceiling heights for the dungeon itself are given. Should these halls and chambers be 20 feet as well? That seems a bit tall.
Help, anyone? Thanks!
I hate to ask again, but I still need a little help here...
Thanks in advance!
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My group has just finished Escape From Old Korvosa and are transitioning to History of Ashes. They've collected a lot of loot and treasure, but they realize the danger of going back to Korvosa so they decide to follow Vencarlo and Neolandus' advice and head toward Harse. Is there a town/city they can stop by on the way to Harse that would buy there loot (like, the magical kukris from Sivit, and other misc. magic items)? I'm thinking Palin's Cove, but I'm not sure how populated that place is. Also, there's the option of stopping by a city (like Janderhoff, Abken, Kaer Maga) after their brief stay in Harse. What do you all think?
To get into the Cinderlands, the Party pretty much has to pass through Kaer Maga, as it's the only point in the eastern Storval Cliffs to go up without airborne capacity