Im starting a game once our other game ends (its at 18th level)
Im wondering how anyone has used the Sandpoint Devil
Director of Brand Strategy
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Im starting a game once our other game ends (its at 18th level)
Im wondering how anyone has used the Sandpoint Devil
My PCs are holding a meeting with the town leaders, spellcasters, and Shalelu in the next session. I an going to plant the seed of increased sightings of the Sandpoint Devil there. The PCs are still lvl 1, so they'd get utterly walloped if I threw the Devil at them now, but I can certainly start to scare them. I might even put a sighting in the hunting trip with Aldern. When and if they'll ever actually fight it, I don't yet know.
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I used it to prevent too much curiosity. The paladin had a night outside Sandpoint and when a-hunting on his own and once he saw that he returned quickly to the farm to gather the others. Of course, they found no tracks and soo moved on with their mission.
Thanks for reminding I still have this to use! :-)
-DM Jeff
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I had a character in my group who wanted to take some levels in the Sacred Exorcist prestige class, but before I would let him do so I had his church send him on a mission to exorcise Sandpoint of its devil, first. So convincing his comrades to help him out in this new quest he and the rest of the party, with the help of a local guide, travelled to "the pit" and tried to ambush the SD while it still slept during the day.
Well needless to say, the Shoanti Barbarian stumbled on some bones and woke the dang thing up before they had a chance to get in position and it nearly killed them all.
In the end though, except for the ranger who spent the entire battle with the Sandpoint Devil running away in fear, we all had a blast and the party was rewarded with even more local fame by exorcising the Devil and the cleric was allowed to level in his prestige class.
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I've been playing up the "Sandpoint Devil is an ill omen" aspect. Lots of rumors of sitings sprang up after the goblin attack, sitings after the unpleasantness at the Glassworks, etc.
The party even encountered it on the road to Thistletop one foggy morning. Had everyone make a Will save upon hearing it howl, which the entire party promptly tanked (they were third level). They hid in the underbrush as it galloped past. An NPC aiding the party mentioned seeing the devil up close was an "omen of impending doom". The party actually discuss returning to town and giving up the assault on Thistletop! Braver voices eventually prevailed, and the party pressed on toward "certain doom".
I plan on continuing to use the Sandpoint Devil's appearance as a warning sign for future events in the Sandpoint area.
I ran it against them...
My PCs were dead set on examining the hole where the thing was said to lair. I had them find signs of a Gnoll encampment around the crater, and starnge hieroglyphs that dotted the pit. The Half-Orc Barabarian decided to call out the beast and flung his torch into the pit. At this point, the PCs were probably 4th level, just begining Skinsaw. I had the thing charge out of his hole, taking to the air and trampling the Barbarian. The rest of the party has perched on the crater's edge, so it continued toward them and unleashed its breath. After I read the after-effects of failing the breath's saving throw out loud (which 4/4 did), a scream of "Run Away!!" resounded. They ran all the way back to town with their tails between their legs. What's better is that none of their attacks were able to hurt it, conveying the feeling that the beast is immortal and unkillable.
I doubt it will make another appearance; I'm equating it to a beast of ill omen, an older nature spirit that represents its ancient hunger, akin to the Wendigo and other things lurking in the depths of Golarion.
I gave my players a list of stuff nearby that scared them. I distributed it as a handout, in fact, when we started the campaign. I made the Sandpoint Devil (which the goblins call "The Great Devil") the most prominent entry (though Shalelu was close to the top, along with Deverin Hosk). They saw it from a distance once, and they talk about it all the time. I like that they're terrified of it and I rarely have to use it. :)
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Haven't yet started my Runelords campaign yet, but soon.
The Sandpoint Devil will figure prominently in the local lore, as my PCs will be from Sandpoint or living there for some time before campaigns start.
I am going to stalk the PCs with it anytime they go trekking near dark, and maybe have it show up to feast at a few battle sites (I can just see the PCs emerging victorious from below Thistletop at night only to confront a hideous creature feasting on the remains of goblins - and maybe a black horse...mwahahaha!
Of all the lunacy-
So I GM a group of five players (currently 4th level with one 5th level-we had a near TPK early on)-we’re running through the ROTRL campaign, and just finished the Burnt Offerings module. One of my players read ahead and has been “cheating”- always too prepared for every situation. So I set it up that there have been some killings in Sandpoint- and it looked like it was the Sandpoint Devil. Everything that the PCs have heard is that it’s unstoppable, no one ever returns, and nothing survives after seeing it. Well, what do they do but decide to hunt it down. They climbed up the Devil’s Platter and searched until they found the Pit. About this time the SPD shows up- lets loose with its scream which chases two of the PCs off, then it lays down a fog and starts blasting with its breath weapon.
The remainder of the party keeps fighting, until they realize they are going to be handily slaughtered. The cleric flies off and finds the other PCs, and the whole party retreats to where? No other place than The Pit itself- den of the SPD. So I suspect I have a TPK on my hands. But hey, the townsfolk all warned them, and they had a chance to flee. What would you guys do? We finish with the PIT encounter this Weds night.
I can't wait for when I actually run RotRL, and get to use the devil. I definately like the ill omen motif.
The Sandpoint Devil was first brought up in a good ol' BS contest at the Hagfish, where the PCs got to hear rumors about the Devil and how he was an ill omen. A few sessions later, I called for Spot checks on the road to Thistletop. One character rolled a 20, and I described to her how in addition to seeing what was actually plot-relevant, she caught a glimpse of some great flying beastie over Devil's Platter...
I added a bit of a side-track in between Skinsaw Murders and Hook Mountain Massacre, in which they stopped off at an inn in Whistledown on a chilly winter's night to escape the cold. They picked a place run by an anthropomorphic hog, who would serve anything to anyone--the only taboo food was paying customers. And the guest of honor was a cold rider, come in from Irrisen to conduct his annual solstice hunt (why yes, I was a fan of Carnival of Tears. How'd you guess?). With the cold rider very keen on having a party of worthy opponents to hunt, the party wu-jen convinced him that to the west was a devil born of mortal flesh who would make for a fine quarry.
The cold rider, apparently, failed at his hunt. Shortly after the giant attack on Sandpoint, the party's hobgoblin bard challenged the devil who owned the party knight's soul to a fiddle contest for her soul back, to be held on Devil's Platter. The ranger, seemingly doing her best to collect as many sin points as possible, sold tickets. To Sandpoint's innocent civilians. Who all trekked up Devil's Platter, supposedly under her protection, only to be surrounded by bugbear cultists. The devil, Zaganit, arrived in grand style riding the Sandpoint Devil's back.
Fortunately for Sandpoint, the hobgoblin won and the devil lost, sending his forces into spiteful retreat. Sandpoint was safe... for the time being.
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My group fought the CR8 Sandpoint Devil at 3rd level. The only fighter in the group opened a barn door and got trampled to -8HP. After a few rounds they retreated and allowed the Devil to escape. They never thought about it again until they reached 12th level. They knew it was an CR8 monster and figured it would be an easy hunt this time.
Foolish PCs!
I leveled the Devil up, added a few feats and borrowed a couple of qualities from a nightmare. This made it a fair fight. THEY LOOVED IT!
Spoilers for my Rise of the Runelords Campaign:
When one of the players had to leave the group, it was a great tie in, because his character disappeared without a trace. No one found any of his belongings, and no one could find any clue to his whereabouts.
The PCs, on top of everything else, have been trying to research the Devil to figure out why it attacked them but didn't kill them, and why people disappear, and if any of this has to do with the goblins and Nualia and the Cult of Lamashtu, which they have just found out about.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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What would you guys do? We finish with the PIT encounter this Weds night.
First, I'd have people build new 4th Level characters, "just in case". Then, go to town.
If the Sandpoint Devil kills the PCs, will a new party have enough motivation to continue with the adventure path?
If so, and if you kill the party, the new characters will be frightened of the Devil for the rest of their careers.