| Kyrinn S. Eis |
Gamma Kingdoms PFRPG Playtest-
My Two-month+ strong Gestalt Pathfinder game:
Percival, the backwoods hunter/trapper; Brandon the ambulance driver EMT; Sean the former Sinn Fein sniper; and a handful of young adults survived a Nanoplague outbreak in the year 2025. Most were changed by the Nanos.
2026 saw increasingly Fantastical events in their part of Alaska, quarantined by North American Union military, until a magical portal was located. After an initial scout-about, contact was made with a Satyr, who gladly escaped his world for green earth. Nearly a month later, an expedition with the following left from Earth:
Barbarian-Rogue 5 (Percival)[later a Barbarian-Rogue-Scout-Battle Dancer]; Cleric-Fighter 5 (Brandon); Cleric of Cyriss 3 (Robyn); Druid-Ranger 3 (Dave); Fenris (Mutated wolf animal companion); Fighter-Rogue 4 (Sean); Fighter-Paladin 3 (Dylan); Rogue(-Sorceress-Druid) 3 (Sarah, Percival’s wife); Wizard 3 (Nick).
The fantasy world is a blasted and scoured planet still rife with meteorite impacts, but with a resilient population of humans of various and manifold ethnicities, cultures, and societies. Chief of these on the continent are a Sun-cult of slavers who work with Humanoids to capture Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings.
While most of the crew are dealing with slaver-priests (in combat), Brandon and Dylan stave off an attacking lizard, which results in Dylan’s death at -13 (torn in two by the thing). I allowed Brandon to add a Positive Energy Channel result to a Heal Skill roll, which, with Brandon’s EMT training, prevented Dylan from dying of his heinous wounds (ick). The lizard was chased off; content with its meal of the fighter’s lost parts.
This was a CMB roll for the lizard, with Dylan’s Strength of 18 not winning the day.
Dylan was sent back through the gate and handed off to friendlies who noted that 6:1 time had passed since the expedition had stepped through the gateway.
The group witnessed a meteorite impact estimated at 30+ miles distance, and were unaffected by mild shockwave. That first night saw the clerics troubled by a sense of being separated from their respective deities, but the Druid and Arcane Casters were essentially unaffected.
Percival became ‘possessed’ by the thing that had fallen to the planet’s surface, and at one point brought both clerics to within one or two negative-HP of death, as well as killing all of the hired help while Enraged without him being conscious of his actions. He was restrained in chains and the party decided to avoid the crater.
A magical sandstorm blew in and the group found shelter with a merchant caravan (translations performed by a former slave who has Psionics). That night, the unshackled Percival stepped outside and was quickly embroiled in a fight with the undead-construct (space travelling cyborg) whose craft had crashed (the ‘meteorite’). Percival prevailed due to my characteristically-poor rolling-luck, and gained a psionic template on his Sai.
They are informed of the ‘lay of the land’, and specifically, of the Sun-cult of the massive city-state of Urkalqar. They are told that the Sun-cult has risen to ascendancy over the Moon-cult, which in turn had overtaken the Star-cult during the thousand-plus years of the planet’s scouring.
Enter: Tibbit Rogue-Scout 5 (Nip ‘Ghostwalker’); Elven Cleric-Druid 5 (Flamiya); Elven Beguiler-Duskblade 5 (unnamed).
I explained to the Tibbit player that Tibbits are a branch of Halflings which live secretly amongst them.
Humanoids allied with Urkalqar’s priests round up the Demi-humans for heafty bounty, and recently, the mixed-population-village of Vinetangle had been found by a raiding party. In the raid, Flamiya’s entire clan had either been killed or captured. She escaped with the Leaf-armour suit (Relic), and a Mithral (Elven) Courtblade. Her journey brought her into contact with Nip, the Tibbit (in cat-form). These two travelled to Urkalqar in the hopes of freeing the clan.
The Earth-heroes entered the city under the auspices of the merchants and through a complex series of events, Percival became engaged in combat with guards of the Sun-cult.
The Epic-level Masterwork longsword he crafted for the cult proved deadly in his hands, automatically confirming all (several) Criticals. Paizo’s Critical Hit deck gave us some amusement as guards and low-level priest were cut-down. This went on until the death toll was about a half-dozen in three rounds. [Percival is a combat monster]
Long story-short: The sword and other gifts were eventually presented to the three cults, and the group became embroiled in Flamyia’s quest to free her clan.
Sean, ever eager to spill blood, initiated a poorly-conceived assault on the exterior of the Humanoid Slavers’ headquarters where the party’s casters were drained of most of their spells. Six polearm-armed guards, and three hybrid Orc-Hobgoblin archers were killed before the party fought their way through the 1st and 2nd levels of the compound.
By now, the entire Humanoid neighbourhood was out for their blood, and the PCs raced downstairs in a bid to free the enslaved elves in time.
These combats did not seem to display any strong issues with PF’s combat mechanics tweaks, and so there was little in that regard for me to comment on.
Once the corridor was brought down to block the only door into the slave-pen area, the elves were freed, but left to their own devices once healed (Positive Energy Channelling via both Clerics capable of it [Brandon and Flamyia] proved enormously helpful in this instance), and lightly equipped with cast-off weapons and tools, food, etc.
The PCs then found themselves across a canal (still underground) which had once been part of the sewer system, long ago. They entered a maze-like area in which slaver-archers had great success sniping them from unseen doorways (the Elves were not in front to use their LLV, nor to catch whiff of Secret Doors…lol). I narrowly missed killing a PC (darn), and almost caused two to turn upon each other. All in all, the maze with the Humanoid archers and good Stealth rolls proved nicely dangerous/challenging, and Sheaf [bleeder] arrows are always a lot of fun (for me, as GM).
One door led to a very large flooded chamber (most of it was 10’ or less), with two doorways in opposite walls, a gash in the floor with much deeper water, and another damaged section in a far corner where vegetation and fungi grew.
One of the escaped slaves (the unnamed Elven Beguiler-Duskblade) had (conveniently) located all of his gear and gone Invisible. While he observed the PCs, the messed about until they entered into ranged combat with a Gobber (Iron Kingdoms mechanically-inclined Goblin), and another Orc-Hobgoblin hybrid (neither escaped). Super-ninja-kitty demolished the Gobber in one round due to her Sneak+Skirmish+Beast-Claws (plus Bite and 2pt. ‘Rake’ [I’m an old timer and refuse to drop the whole ‘claw-claw-bite-rake’ routine]).
Shenanigans which we shall pass-over led the group to investigate the vegetation, whereupon they encountered a Woodwose (Necromancer Games’ Tome of Horrors ]|[ ) I bumped up it to 10HD.
Today’s adventure had the PCs fight six Brumes after the Woodwose sealed them in to a dock-chamber with a Wall of Thorns. I combined the Silent Tide undead with the Brumes to have Scythe-wielding monstrosities.
Due to today’s only Player’s (the guy who runs Percival) good strategy, and providence, the Brumes who entered into melee with the Party were eventually destroyed (the only one that escaped never entered melee with them), only due to the remaining PEC dropped by the two well-placed Clerics.
Sadly, I only killed Dave, the NPC Druid, but there were Criticals with the Scythes and Charisma-drains and memory-loss to be had after about 5-hours of gameplay. Exhausted from lack of sleep, my player and I departed the LGS, and had a post-session discussion over Quarter-pounder Meals in McD’s parking lot at sunset.
Though the PCs are 6th level, they are Gestalt builds, and proved to be much closer to 9th level (1.5x), meaning that the CR 10/11 Brumes were well within the (strained) limits of their abilities. Accordingly, I will only give them CR+1 XP, but that is still plenty.
I plan on having the underground waterway lead out into the Violet Sea where we will (hopefully) begin several sea-going adventures; possibly even the Savage Tide AP mixed with S&S Blood Sea and Goodman Games Stormbringer Juggernaut.
Now, to determine if Dave should be Reincarnated, or Raised… (heh-heh-heh…)