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Well, my group just wrapped up "Seven Days to the Grave" tonight, and even stayed an extra hour to bask in the glory of officially becoming the Heroes of Korvosa.
My group just started 7D2tG last week. They're already on "Part Four" out of what? Six parts? However, the first few parts are a lot of role-playing and they breezed through that pretty quickly.
Thank you for posting your party's antics. We are currently using www.TheTangledWeb.net for keeping our party logs and such. If anyone wants to read through them (GMs only, please!) visit http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=166 and you'll find threads with (real world) dates as the subject. Those are our game session logs. They are also used as the thread for the party to RP in until the next game session. There are also threads for our house rules and player handouts. (I'm converting it to PF section by section. The house rules are mostly clarifications, plus a few new items.)
So the Red Mantis knows that their operation in Korvosa has been disrupted, and (I assume) they know who's responsible.
Where's Doctor Devaulus's body? I think that the Red Mantis is going to want to make sure that nobody uses speak with dead on any of its agents. I also think that they themselves will make copious use of that spell to find out who was involved in messing them up. They won't necessarily go after the PCs right away, but they'll likely start files on them.
I love Lady Andaisin's hymn!
You keep saying that you're having to go easy on the PCs to prevent catastrophe. Have you considered giving out a little more experience so that they're tougher, then going harder on them? If not more experience then equipment or some other sort of bonus? Do you use action points, for example?
How does someone dress down Glorio Arkona and live?
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So the Red Mantis knows that their operation in Korvosa has been disrupted, and (I assume) they know who's responsible.
Where's Doctor Devaulus's body? I think that the Red Mantis is going to want to make sure that nobody uses speak with dead on any of its agents. I also think that they themselves will make copious use of that spell to find out who was involved in messing them up. They won't necessarily go after the PCs right away, but they'll likely start files on them.
The team already did a great job announcing to the Red Mantis that they were investigating the physicians, so there's no need for much investigation beyond digging through their various pasts.
As for Dr. Davaulus, the group actually managed to take him alive thanks to the Drunkard's Breathe spell essentially one-hitting him on the first round of combat. They ties him up and drugged him before descending into the temple, but somehow, along the way, his throat was cut open and his voicebox destroyed.
I love Lady Andaisin's hymn!
Thanks. Like I said, I love evil villain speeches.
You keep saying that you're having to go easy on the PCs to prevent catastrophe. Have you considered giving out a little more experience so that they're tougher, then going harder on them? If not more experience then equipment or some other sort of bonus? Do you use action points, for example?
Usually when that sort of thing happens, it's not because the party is bad or too weak overall, but that they're either on bad rolling streaks (we say three 2's in a row last night) or they encounter something the party isn't well-equipped for. In the case of the Daemon, it was flying (none of the party is skilled with ranged attacks, except for the wizard who was almost out of spells and continued to roll terribly to beat it's SR), and it had DR vs Good (and none of the party was a paladin or memorized 'Align Weapon', and they're mostly dex-based fighters and have trouble dealing a ton of damage on a single hit).
In other situations, the party is hideously effective. They took down the combined forces of 6 cultists, 4 physicians, and Rolth without taking more than 10 damage betweek the four of them, and the encounter with Lady Andaisin (both forms) barely slowed them down. I don't think they really need much help 90% of the time, but once in a while they hit an encounter that it perfectly suited to counter them, or can't roll above a "10" to save their lives, and as a GM I have to get creative.
How does someone dress down Glorio Arkona and live?
Glorio had made his way out of the Old Korvosa quarantine zone to the palace with some degree of trouble, only to discover that everything was being put on hold for this group of "heroes" to be knighted. He attempted to schmooze with the heroes a bit, and Amber, who he'd previously struck when she got in his way in the streets, called him out on it. It was more a scolding and a dirty look than a real dressing down, but he was hardly in a position to do anything about it, standing in the palace throneroom with half the city's nobles milling about.
In my campaign (now that I've read book 3), I play Glorio as a bit more conflicted than diabolical and murderous. Having been raised among humans, he has a certain fondess for them, like pets or a chicken you've raised for 4H. He still knows he's better than them, but he wants them to lead good lives until he devours them (literally or figuratively). He actually does have Modus' daughter still, as he likes darker-skinned servants (they go better with the furniture), but he has some fondness for her as well. He may eat her in the future if she proves incompetent or mean, but for now she's essentially a pet.
\Glorio didn't particularly enjoy the scolding, but he's certainly got more on his plate right now than punishing an empty with an overdeveloped sense of adequacy. To him, Amber is little more than annoying, yappy dog who's been allowed to run around off leash. In a future confrontation, he'll probably target her first, but that's neither here nor there.
I wonder what it's like to have the villain actually make the evil speech. Everytime someone has tried with my group, it's gone: "Mwahaha! I'm - Hey! What?! Crap!" *crash*smash*clang*zot*
That all makes sense. Thanks for the explanations.
So what's up next? Is there an interlude with the Council of Crows before moving on to Escape From Old Korvosa? In my game we're at about the same place as you and we're pausing to play Conquest of Bloodsworn Vale, since my characters need a bit more experience and treasure before pressing on (plus the queen wanted them out of town for a while).
Thanks for sharing your spin on Lord Glorio. I think he might be my favourite NPC in this AP, and it's interesting seeing how almost everyone does something a little different with him.
Want any more scheming done?
It's been a couple of months since the last update. Everything going well?
I hear you're restarting this, Crystal. Want any scheming company?
Contributor
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I hear you're restarting this, Crystal. Want any scheming company?
Why yes, my group is about to come back together (well, half of them at any rate). They've defeated the Emperor of Old Korvosa, even though the crazy old man managed to escape thanks to the diversion provided by his hench-chokers. I don't imagine he'll last long on the streets, though.
Right now, they're headed back to the Arkona estate, now that they know that Arkona is holding both Orisini and Neolandus. I plan to have them jumped by the Red mantis on the way back to eliminate the two PCs who've dropped out of them game, though I have some ideas to keep them available should their players eventually want to return:
Amber: Amber's corpse will be brought back to Queen Illeosa, who raises her as a valuable information source. From Amber, she'll learn about the Court of Crows and discover they nature of the spirit of the city and that it is slowly being forced out by Kazavon's spirit. Eventually, she'll be dominated into a special Grey Maiden enforcer, who I'll probably turn against the party in book 5, when they're fomenting revolt.
Crispin: Crispin made a deal with the King of Crows when the party attacked the Urgathoan cult, offering up what he valued most. In Crispin's case, it's his freedom, so when he dies, the crows will come to collect him and Jackdaw plans to use him as an envoy and anchor to the mortal world and help the crow spirit find a new home. He'll remain a cleric, but his domains will change to reflect his new master, and the party will probably have some contact with him when whenever they have dealings with Jackdaw.
I'm still trying to work out the specifics for my tweaks on book 4. I still like the idea of throwing them back in time to find out what the Fangs of Night are from the original Shoanti of the area.
Oooh, does this, perchance, mean there may be more of your glorious paper minis for this AP? My group just finished Seven Days, and having your minis on the board made for perfect encounters! Everyone knew exactly what they were facing, and loved the art :)
Inquiring Minds Want to Know!
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I've been struggling to figure out what to do with my Druid (non-urban), and now I know. Your Court of Crows angle is brilliant. He's playing a female half-elf druid with a tiger companion. I'm thinking of maybe having a court of cats, strays that have been forced to the darkest alleys (thanks to the imps and pseudodragons that have infested the city).
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I've been struggling to figure out what to do with my Druid (non-urban), and now I know. Your Court of Crows angle is brilliant. He's playing a female half-elf druid with a tiger companion. I'm thinking of maybe having a court of cats, strays that have been forced to the darkest alleys (thanks to the imps and pseudodragons that have infested the city).
I could easily see a Druid joining a war (or perhaps starting one) vs the Imps and perhaps even the psuedodragons. The imps certainly are not natural and depending on how you view them, psuedodragons probably aren't either (though being cute and cuddly dragons sure gives them an advantage over those pesky imps)
To spur the druid on, I would have a pack of imps attack his companion once or twice. They mistake the tiger for a big cat. (probably won't make that mistake more than once or twice) Have a pack of Psuedodragons in your pocket with the Korvosa Psuedodragon feat that James came up with. Just in case it gets out of hand they can chase the imps off.
Here is a reprint of the feat in case you need it:
Imp Slayer
New Feat: Impslayer
Many of Korvosa's nobles decorate their roofs with tiny amounts of precious metals, among them silver-lined weather vanes, shingles, and gutters designed to catch the sunlight to give their homes a distinctive sparkle in the sunlight. By spending years sharpening stings and teeth against these silver-enhanced decorations, or sneaking drinks of holy water from outdoor fonts at various temples, some pseudodragons have effectively transformed themselves into deadly weapons against the city's imps.
Prerequisites: Pseudodragon
Benefit:Your natural weapons bypass an imp's damage reduction. In addition, your great skill at fighting imps allows you to apply your Dexterity modifier to damage done with natural weapons rather than your Strength modifier, as your blows are delivered with great precision rather than force.
Special: Pseudodragons born and raised in Korvosa's Shingles gain this feat as a bonus feat.