Well, not really, but that's where we live. This first post is just a copy/paste from the Party Comp thread on the AoW forum, but more will come as it is played.
>>Well, finally started the campaign for real this past weekend after our party managed to defeat Adimarchus, successfully wrapping up the SCAP after almost 3 years. Now, a new band of misfits seeks to save the world(they just don't know it yet!) Allow me to introduce you to them...
Joshua(Human male Cleric 2) - A young priest of Pelor, and the only native of Diamond Lake in the party. Joshua has recently returned home on orders of his church to investigate both the odd rumors about undead in the hills surrounding the town, as well as the growing influence of the local order of St Cuthbert. He has considered establishing a church or shrine in town. Unfortunately for Brother Joshua, he is a bit claustrophobic...
Sylendira (Human* female Warlock 2) - A week ago, a burst of light was noticed in the hills west of Diamond Lake. Members of the town guard sent to investigate discovered only a young woman with no memory of how she got there or where she came from. Beyond even 'normal' amnesia, she seems to lack even normal emotions or personality. Neither the priests nor the druids in and around town can find any cause for her malady. Strange things have begun to happen to the young woman, including the ability to 'feel' magic, to walk upon walls, and to emit destructive blasts of energy from her hands. She has joined the party in hope to learn to control her budding powers, as well as perhaps find something that will jog her missing memories and emotions. Thus far, the only emotion she has found has been fear, and almost unspeakable dread of tails, tentacles, and similar writhing things...
Moriyokiri, known to the party as Cuda (drow male rogue** 1) - An elf, by all appearances, but actually a drow transformed to look like an elf. A mysterious patron rescued Cuda from being transformed into a drider, and set for him the task of investigating the strange occurences in and around the town of Diamond Lake. His patron also told him to seek first the Whispering Cairn. Our budding rogue, however, has an extreme disinterest in getting dirty...
Nala (Elf female Fighter 2) - Nala has left her elven homeland, seeking instead of life of wandering, adventure, and thrill seeking.
She has recently taken to the life of a bandit, stealing from those she sees as being able to afford the losses. An expert with the bow, and a gambler, she has agreed to help the group with their investigation, but only joined the group after losing a bet to Cuda, betting he could not convince the next being to walk in the door to join the party...
Ixit (Poison dusk lizardfolk female Druid(shaper variant) 1) - The next being to walk in the door. Ixit recently came to the local druids seeking help in controlling her emerging shapeshifting talents, and to learn their lore. She comes of late from the Mistmarsh, her tribe a recent addition to the tumultuous warring tribes within that swamp. Originally mistaken by Cuda as the druids pet, she has joined the group to, if nothing else, prove him wrong...
Dar'shan (Human male Barbarian 1/Ranger 1) - This warrior has recently been working as a guard at the Emporium, having come to town to seek his fortune. He left his home city of Cauldron after witnessing demodands raining from the sky, and escaping a partially aborted volcanic eruption. He has sought greener pastures, perhaps hoping to find his fortune and wealth in Greyhawk City...
Imon Fen (Human male Spellthief 2) - A treasure seeker, and self stylized artifact hunter, Fen came to Diamond Lake invetigating rumors about the burial grounds near town. He believes that lost magic lurks below the ground, items lost for a millenia just waiting to be discovered. He sought out the group after catching wind of their intentions to also delve into the Whispering Cairn...
Oh yes, we're sticking with Greyhawk, as that's where our SCAP was run.
Couple side notes...
* - Sylendira is no longer fully human, having been chosen to undergo the transformation into an Elan. Like all else about her past, she does not remember this, but she has discovered she no longer needs to eat or drink.
** - Cuda is not an actual rogue, but is playing a rogue/swordsage hybrid we cooked up. He keeps the scouting, stealth, and trapfinding abilities of a rogue, and gives up sneak attack and several other rogue special abilities. He gains limited access to swordsage manuevers and stances, but none of the other special class abilities of the swordsage.
>>
I started the group at level 2 after reading so many posts about the meat grinder factor of this AP, and seeing WC as the number 2 killer of the 12 adventures.
Using a few house rules -
1) At 1st level, characters choose a number of skills equal to 1 + Intelligence bonus. These skills are always considered class skills for that character. I did this to allow characters to pick up skills they wanted for their characters that don't necessarily belong to their chosen classes. Not giving them any extra skills, just a broader selection when choosing their skills.
2) Following one of the things I like in the upcoming 4E, a few skills are being combined. Hide and Move Silently are now Stealth. Listen and Spot are now Perception. And Open Lock & Disable Device are now one skill, I just haven't made up a name for it yet.
3) Fighters are modified. I am allowing them to use feat retraining starting at level 4, for fighter bonus feats only, similar to the ability of a sorceror to swap out spells for new spells. Fighters also get to choose a signature weapon at 1st level, and receive specific feats in the Weapon Focus tree for free as they level up as fighters. This option is available ONLY to characters who start their career as fighters, and the bonus WF tree is only for Fighter levels.
4) I am allowing pretty much all of the splatbooks, including Bo9S. However, anything from those books; prestige classes, feats, spells, etc., will be reviewed by me on a case by case basis. Some feats and spells have already been modified or outlawed. For example, the transposition spells from the SC are banned, and the Mage Slayer chain has been altered.
5) Tumble. I have never liked the flat tumble DC. The fact that you can just as easily tumble past a 20th level fighter as you can a 1st level wizard annoys me. Tumble now has a scaling DC, 10 + opponent's BAB to pass them and 20 + opponent's BAB to move through them. Certain feats can raise this DC.
Those are the only ones coming to mind immediately.
Four sessions to post about, so bear with me. ;)
In the first session, half a session really, the party formed up around Cuda, who, through promises, cajoling, lies, and swindling that would have made any used car salesman proud, gathered the group together and convinced them to explore the Whispering Cairn. dun dun DUN!!!
In session two, the group delved in to the Cairn itself. While investigating the first few alcoves, Cuda decided to scout ahead, and noticed the wolves in the last alcove. Ixit, realizing that they were probably just hungry, and, in a rare moment for our group, chose the non-violent solution, somewhat befriended the beasts, and provided them with a meal.
Moving deeper into the cairn, they found the sarcophagus(which they were terrified to touch) and the lanterns. Now, I must point out, that, at this point, not one person actually entered any of the seven alcoves, whether to examine the alcoves themselves or the lanterns. They did, however, notice the mobility of the sarcophagus and began experimenting, stopping to argue and discuss amongst themselves as the elevators appeared and disappeared. Whilst arguing over what they should do, with the sarcophagus pointed at the damaged elevator, all discussion was halted as it collapsed into the chamber below.
Cuda, who had actually moved near the elevator before its collapse, peered down the tunnel and saw the incoming swarm. Thinking quickly, he backed to the entrance of the tunnel and doused it with oil, and lit it before the swarm arrived. The swarm, heedless of the danger, charged through the flames to the food...err...adventurers beyond! The mad slasher followed quickly, leaping over the flames to attack the party. Much panic ensued, as the party tried to figure out how to hurt the swarm. A large portion of the swarm was crushed when Ixit, now shifted into the form of a crocodile, rolled on the swarm as it attacked her. Meanwhile, the mad slasher was hacked down fairly quickly by Dar'shan and the rest of the party, although it managed to take a few fair sized pieces out of just about everyone. Cuda finally managed to ignite the swarm, finishing it off to the relief of the party.
To be continued...(After I get home from work and have
Grrr...stupid work computer....claiming to post 3 posts and none of them show up!
Anyhew...
After fighting the swarm, the party elected to not climb down that tunnel, and instead opted for the yellow tunnel instead, the one leading to the lair of the architect. Syl was the first to ride down the elevator. When it came back up, Brother Joshua was examining the device, but had made no move to actually enter it.
Well, Brother Joshua, as mentioned before, is claustrophobic, and is already very uncomfortable in this cairn.
Well, Cuda is very impatient. Cuda decided to shove Joshua into the elevator.
Cuda succeeded on his bull rush attempt.
Joshua had now entered his own personal HELL.
Several years later(to his perspective, anyway) Joshua collapsed out of the elevator, sweating and panicking. And looks up at the ceiling to see Syl starting down at him from her spot on the ceiling.
Oh, and the rest of the party made it down the elevator without incident.
Oh, I have to tell you, the look of horror and fear on the face of Joshua's player so made that whole night worth it.
After successfully escaping the treacherous elevator, the party next faced off against...
A large stone block.
Yes, a stone block.
It took them 15 minutes to gather up the courage to try to move it, to disarm the trap, to squeeze 2 characters through the opening above it, and finally pull it down.
And who says it's only 3.5 combat that can slow things down?
After that, things seemed to be going quite well for the group. They seemed quite fascinated by the statues here, especially the air currents in the statues hands. Of course, no one noticed the strangler lurking behind one of the statues...
Several eye beams later, with Cuda running for his life, Dar'shan sleeping on the floor, and most of the rest of the party thoroughly confused, they finally noticed the beast.
To make a long confusing battle short, the fight ended when the strangler attempted to strangle a sleeping Ixit, when it was pulled off of her by Dar'shan, and then hacked to pieces by Dar'shan's bastard sword.
Oh, and Syl can't hit the broad side of a barn with her eldritch blasts. Or a tiny, flying aberration.
The rest of the lair was explored rather uneventfully, with the party avoiding the brown mold as they had no real means to kill it.