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I had been interested in pathfinder since the first issue of the adventure paths, this led to a interest in the new RPG. Though I had purchased the Beta Rules and the compendium I thought the chances to play were kinda slim. Luckily my friend and long long long time gamer also had a interest in Pathfinder and decided to run it on off weeks from their normal game.
Two weeks ago we sat down to play our first ever game of Pathfinder with a foray into the town of Falcon’s Hollow. Now I choose to play a Barbarian, playing RPG’s since 1979 ( yes we are old…we know our THACO) I had never played the class. We had a 20 point stat buy and this made for a reasonable character. For those of you who know the scenario…I failed my saving throw, My poor Character caught the illness that was spreading through the town as did the Cleric ( as if that wasn’t bad enough…I had to live with the knowledge that the sorcerer made his saving throw….WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!!!!).
We visited a local herbalist, she told us of a cure that she knew of and we set off to gather the ingredients. Our journey took us into the forests to the north of the city, we escaped ambushes ( One where I found a new friend…a fox I named “Trap”) and encounters till we reached the oldest tree in the forest. Well, collecting the moss wasn’t going to be a cake walk as a creature descended from its towering branches towards us. We made quick work of it, collected what we needed and set off for the Witches hut.
( Note: I did not make a single saving through for the illness….so all during the adventure my CON was dropping)
At the witches hut, our Dwarven Cleric made enemies with a innocent animated caldron and was swallowed whole and we had to “Extract” him using the normal methods ( reads: Two handed gizzard opener). After gathering what we needed we headed to the old Dwarven monastery.
Spider’s, Dark Mantles, Bats ( oh I do love swarms now) and Wolves/Wargs all joined into the great Monastery Jamboree as we struggled to find the mushrooms needed. We were Victorious…but only by the thinnest of margins as all the party but the cleric fell in the last fight ( The only save I made was to stabilize as I fell to the floor).
After some healing we limped back to the Town where we became local heroes…as we should.
I liked the changes in Pathfinder, the sorcerer being able to use a magical attack when out of spells, My barbarians Rage etc. I think they all played very well.
Last Night we began “The Crown of the Kobold King” I switched my Human Barbarian for a Halfling Rouge ( I still call them Thieves…I am old). Our Cleric and Sorcerer continued onto this adventure as well and we added a new Barbarian, a good mix for a party.
We learned that children had disappeared from the town and after talking to the Sheriff, we set off to find out what had happened. I ended up speaking with some of the local kids ( being the less frightening of the Party) and we discovered that there had been a dare and they had gone to the burned down Orphanage to camp out. The Kind lady that ran the orphanage, as it turned out, was actually a cruel woman with a soul as black as the darkest night. We found evidence of this in the Basement…we also found that there was a small issue of a spider infestation….that we solved by allowing the spiders to swarm over our cleric and then set him on fire…ok, maybe not the best way to do things I’ll admit but it worked.
We found the children’s camp outside, and a path leading north, we began to follow but soon discovered a small girl, a survivor of the Orphanage fire, I gave her food and we decided for safety sake we should keep her with us. We encounter a Harpy enticing some woodsman with her song…that soon had me in its spell as well. She was at last dealt with and woodsman, little girl and Halfling Rouge were free of her spell.
Our path lead to ….you guessed it…the Dwarven Monastery, as we set about clearing all the above ground rooms we had missed. In one, I took a knife in the foot from a Kobold hiding under a bed. After clearing, we, complete with poor tortured Orphan ( who took every opportunity to creep us out with stories of what really happened in the Orphanage from Hell) headed down some steps into the dark realm below.
We set upon some Kobolds dragging a piece of a monument and made easy work of them. Our big master plan to capture one and ask it questions was spoiled when we realized that this vile beasts hadn’t the common courtesy to learn common…the nerve!!!
We encountered the spirit of a dwarven hero…or should I say “we thought we did” as it turned out to be the heroes armor and axe suspended in a cube that the Cleric, after trying to commune with the great spirit of the hero soon found himself being consumed and paralyzed by a Gelatinous Cube. It was a near thing, one that cost us all our oil and half our arrows, but we dispatched the cube and reaped a reward of Mithril Plate and a +1 Axe.
Next we encountered a some Sturges that took their toll on the Barbarian, quickly followed by a fight with some rats…that will take its toll on the barbarian in 3 days ( If you know what I mean). The Rat fight was around a headless corpse, that had a riveting journal ( and a pair of fine boots), the book told a horrific tale, one that our cleric decided to ignore totally as he stomped off.
We came on a room full of headless Skelton’s and a large stone in the middle, at the base of which was a dented shield and bits of metal armor. This, added to the journal and the other headless corpse made me cautious as I began to look around for traps. As it turned out, our Clerics religion obviously frowned on thought and caution as he stomped towards the stone in the room…and onto a pressure plate, just as I spotted them. With a crackle of lightning the rock was energized and began attracting metal, Two creatures came flying at us ( just as described in the Journal), only the Cleric and myself were in the room as the doors slammed shut as the rock energized. Luck was with us as we shrugged off the creatures screams and soon dispatched them.
There was no way to disarm the trap, so the dwarf had to stay glued to the stone until it turned off, we then made our way back to our friends.
It was here we paused to breath….and will continue from there when we all gather again.
Im liking the changes in Pathfinder, I am enjoying allot more then I enjoyed 4.0. I know, it’s the basically the OGL we are all used to…but they have obviously worked to tweak things and it shows. But the strongest point…The World! I love it, The art, the Layout are all fantastic. I can’t wait to play again
I'm so intrigued by Falcon's Hollow and Darkmoon Vale, that I'm compiling PC-friendly material from the modules set in and around Falcon's Hollow for a "mini-campaign". Great, iconic monsters, with a focus in specific monster types, plenty of potential events and reoccurring sets.
I really locked into the idea that the lumber consortium imposes taxes on everything (sometimes even long after the purchase). So the ferry ride across the river was 1 GP each (plus a 10% lumber tax of 1 sp). Meals have a 10% lumber tax. Purchases at the store have a 10% to 20% lumber tax. Even the money that they receive from the herbalist for completing the quest gets taxed at 10%.
If the characters gamble at the tavern their winnings get taxed, the cost to sleep on the floor of the inn get taxed, everything they do that causes a profit gets taxed. This way, the characters are instantly inserted into the world where the Lumber company runs everything and inserts itself into the lives of every person in Falcon's Hollow.