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Not only this, but the PCs are supposed to clear the monastary so that they can use it as a forward base to attack the town from. If they burn it down, it won't provide shelter or a defencible safe haven.
Actually, that shouldn't be a major problem. The monastery is specifically made of stone. The rafters and upper floor of the chapel are wood, so they should reasonably be able to burn that out without much risk of the fire spreading outwards.
Unless I'm missing something, of course. Would the rooftop of a monastery be made of wood? But then why hasn't it rotted/collapsed like most of the wood buildings? Do they have roof tiles that are held on by tar? That seems it could work, as then a fire would endanger the whole building. OK, but is that common enough knowledge?
Actually, danger to the roof seems like one of the best reasons to get them to hold off on a fire. But I'd still like to hear any other ideas...
Thanks a lot.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Not only this, but the PCs are supposed to clear the monastary so that they can use it as a forward base to attack the town from. If they burn it down, it won't provide shelter or a defencible safe haven.Actually, that shouldn't be a major problem. The monastery is specifically made of stone. The rafters and upper floor of the chapel are wood, so they should reasonably be able to burn that out without much risk of the fire spreading outwards.
Unless I'm missing something, of course. Would the rooftop of a monastery be made of wood? But then why hasn't it rotted/collapsed like most of the wood buildings? Do they have roof tiles that are held on by tar? That seems it could work, as then a fire would endanger the whole building. OK, but is that common enough knowledge?
Actually, danger to the roof seems like one of the best reasons to get them to hold off on a fire. But I'd still like to hear any other ideas...
Thanks a lot.
Once the rafters are burnt away, the roof would very likely collapse without their support. The whole chapel could come down then, even though the stone doesn't burn. Also, I don't recall what types of furnishings are in the room and adjacent rooms, but the fire could spread through the interior of the building. Even though it's not specifically mentioned, I would imagine that the rest of the monastery would have wooden supports as well - they're simply not as prominent or relevant to the adventure.
In the arid environment of Katapesh, I would think that 20 years wouldn't be enough for the wooden portions of the building to significantly rot from moisture.
I'd say they have to come within the pugwampi's unluck aura to try and light the nest on fire. Hilarity ensues.
In the monastery chapel, how would you respond if the players decide to set the rafters / pugwampi nests on fire?
Heh, that's what my group did. I ruled that the chapel portion burns out, but the rest of the ruins don't catch fire. The pugwampis escape from the blaze, of course, and the party has to worry about the Wrath of Sarenrae (which has yet to manifest itself, but the thought if it is freaking them out) until they're high enough level to get an atonement spell .
Once the rafters are burnt away, the roof would very likely collapse without their support. The whole chapel could come down then, even though the stone doesn't burn. Also, I don't recall what types of furnishings are in the room and adjacent rooms, but the fire could spread through the interior of the building. Even though it's not specifically mentioned, I would imagine that the rest of the monastery would have wooden supports as well - they're simply not as prominent or relevant to the adventure.
In the arid environment of Katapesh, I would think that 20 years wouldn't be enough for the wooden portions of the building to significantly rot from moisture.
I figure that construction-grade wood is at a premium in Katapesh, so this must have been shipped in specifically for the monastery and used sparingly. It is also likely very small (dimensionally) to get the most bang for the coin in construction.
So I'm assuming that the wood was shipped in from a more moist climate, was on the low end of what is necessary (since there is no snow, for instance) to support the roof, and has dry-rotted due to the arid environment.
That's my logic for why the rafters break when medium-size creature walk on them. It's also my logic for why the chapel is very very difficult to set on fire.
The "tent" area is already mentioned as being saturated with bodily fluids, so it won't burn. And starting a fire on a dry-rotted piece of wood is basically impossible, particularly when the only wood is a few widely separated beams. The benches are stone, so I don't think there's much else to burn in there (the rug is tatters and likely dry-rotted to the point of being non-fuel as well.)
YMMV
Creative Director
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Are there only the four tribes mentioned in the 'Gnolls of the Brazen Peaks' article in the whole mountain range (plus the Carrion King's own tribe, in the House of the Beast), or are there more gnolls and some of the article got cut?
It's pretty much just the tribes mentioned in the book. There are, of course, several tiny tribes (with only like 5 to 10 members) scattered here and there, but as far as big tribes, that's about it.
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I hate to raise "imps vs pseudo-dragons" ghosts, but how would the first pugwampi impale itself on cactus spines? Does his incredible unluck cause him to take 5 points from a single cactus?
Nothing wrong with a little DM fiat to create a scene. If you really need to explain it, the Pugwampi was injured in the fire or already had a low hit point total, or was already wounded by some cacti.
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Sorry, I wasn't clear. My concern is the DR 2/cold iron that the pugwampi has.
And I agree with you about DM fiat, but players are going to ask somewhere.
Well, their DR is only 2, so they could have taken 3 hit points from cacti 5 times. With their unluck aura, it would be like a variation on the rake gag.
minor erratum: Ugruk (pg.46/47) is in the possession of a potion of expeditious retreat. This spell has range: personal and therefore cannot be made into a potion.
Why does that mean that it can't be made into a potion? The Brew Potion feat says: "You can create a potion of any 3rd-level or lower spell that you know and that targets one or more creatures." There's no mention of range. Since the expeditious retreat spell targets one person (yourself), it seems that there's no problem in brewing such a potion.
minor erratum: Ugruk (pg.46/47) is in the possession of a potion of expeditious retreat. This spell has range: personal and therefore cannot be made into a potion.Why does that mean that it can't be made into a potion? The Brew Potion feat says: "You can create a potion of any 3rd-level or lower spell that you know and that targets one or more creatures." There's no mention of range. Since the expeditious retreat spell targets one person (yourself), it seems that there's no problem in brewing such a potion.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#creatingPotions
"The imbiber of the potion is both the caster and the target. Spells with a range of personal cannot be made into potions."
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#creatingPotions
"The imbiber of the potion is both the caster and the target. Spells with a range of personal cannot be made into potions."
Thank-you. That's what I was missing.
Is there an official start date for this campaign?
I think Erik suggested the Calistril of 4709, but that's really just a reference to when the first adventure was released. Paizo doesn't like to hard-set dates in the APs because the idea is that you could run them at any time in any order without upsetting campaign setting continuity.
I'm going to start mine tomorrow on the 27th of Desnus, 4709.
I think it's a very good idea to have a date in mind for when the party explore the monastery: seeing as one of the statues has an inscription with the date 4691 AR, when the party finds that text, groups that haven't even considered the calendar up until that point are likely to enquire at least as to the current year...
Heh, that reminds me. That inscription implies that a the carver was an empowered (divine caster) cleric or paladin of Aroden.
But isn't Aroden quite vanished by then (AR 4606, to be exact)? I suppose "dispatch" could mean he physically killed him, but I was under the impression he was already immaterial by then. Just a little inconsistency that I thought was interesting (or, perhaps, not an inconsistency...so I need to understand what I'm missing!)
Couldn't find it here and I apologize if I've missed it somewhere else. Do we know the names of all the weapons used by the templars? We know Vardishal's weapon was Tempest and Davashuum uses Maelstrom how bout the others?
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Creative Director
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I think it's a very good idea to have a date in mind for when the party explore the monastery: seeing as one of the statues has an inscription with the date 4691 AR, when the party finds that text, groups that haven't even considered the calendar up until that point are likely to enquire at least as to the current year...Heh, that reminds me. That inscription implies that a the carver was an empowered (divine caster) cleric or paladin of Aroden.
But isn't Aroden quite vanished by then (AR 4606, to be exact)? I suppose "dispatch" could mean he physically killed him, but I was under the impression he was already immaterial by then. Just a little inconsistency that I thought was interesting (or, perhaps, not an inconsistency...so I need to understand what I'm missing!)
Although a paladin or cleric of Aroden would not have had his spellcasting or other supernatural powers at the time... a paladin or cleric of Iomedae would. As would a paladin or cleric who simply had faith in his faith; much like a cleric who doesn't choose a deity, I guess, but still gets spells. It's a bit complicated, I guess, but a divine caster who missed Aroden could maybe get around that restriction that way.
But more likely, the guy was a cleric or paladin of Iomedae who was giving some lip service to the old boss.
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Creative Director
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Couldn't find it here and I apologize if I've missed it somewhere else. Do we know the names of all the weapons used by the templars? We know Vardishal's weapon was Tempest and Davashuum uses Maelstrom how bout the others?
The names for all their weapons are not listed in any one place, and in some cases aren't listed at all. When they ARE listed, they appear as part of the other templars' stat blocks elsewhere in the AP volumes.
Not sure I follow? I agree it's less fun, and thus why the scenario is likely written as is. But it doesn't make sense mechanically (i.e. the NPC as written should be able to fix the problem before any PC and that would be a thrill-kill for the PCs). My two current options are intended to increase player options while also flowing a bit better with the mechanics. Or am I misunderstanding the response?It's less fun if an NPC takes care of a problem that a PC can fix, of course...In Part One:
** spoiler omitted **
Also, if I remember right, the NPC is a cleric of Nethys right? From everything that I've read on the clergy of that god you could also say that he didn't do it because he wasn't paid to do it. The player of the wizard in my group (fantically devoted to Nethys) has gone on and on about how worshipers of the Magic God often charge for all their services and how he is going to charge the party for any spell he casts that isn't directly saving his own butt... which is why he's constantly put into danger to make him shut up. However, this works well for the NPC problem since it is a good explanation for why he didn't do it.
just a minor sidetrack here the article about the gnoll tribes in service to the Carrion King mentions one of the tribes searching for an amulet that has great destructive powers. Been kinda curious what amulet people may be inclined to use for that as most amulets I recall are protective or enhancing not overtly destructive. Just curious what some of the other people on the boards think about it, had the thought of converting the Bracers of Dawn from the Magic Item Compendium into an amulet but knocking its power down a good bit.
In the concluding the adventure section, in Administration and Crime paragraphs, there is a mention of boons that will come into play in a later adventure.
I have been unable to locate any mention of those boons. Could someone point out where I could find them?
Not only this, but the PCs are supposed to clear the monastary so that they can use it as a forward base to attack the town from. If they burn it down, it won't provide shelter or a defencible safe haven.In the monastery chapel, how would you respond if the players decide to set the rafters / pugwampi nests on fire?
Of course, that also removes any chance of reconsecrating Sarenrae's altar, but I don't expect that consideration to bother my players at all.
Anyone else have some thoughts on this?
I'm glad I read this thread before I started running Legacy of Fire. It allowed me to head this issue off at the pass.
I had Almah specifically instruct the PCs to not use fire. As they started clearing out the monastery the morning after the pugwampi hunt, it was daytime. The smoke from a fire in the monastery could therefore be seen from Kelmarane. This could result in gnolls investigating the monastery, discovering the expedition, and starting an all-out battle between the gnolls of Kelmarane and Almah's expedition, a battle Almah does not have the manpower to win.
Also, I had four players lined up for Howl of the Carrion King, but number four bailed on me at the last minute (and in a particularly dickish manner, so I'm not inviting him to play in any of my games again), so now I'm down to three (paladin, cleric, sorcerer).
Supposing I can find a new fourth player, do you have any suggestions for introducing his or her character into the campaign? My players had just started exploring the monastery at the end of last session.
Contributor
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Supposing I can find a new fourth player, do you have any suggestions for introducing his or her character into the campaign? My players had just started exploring the monastery at the end of last session.
There are a few great places to introduce new characters:
Depending on the character, you could upgrade one of the mercenaries, especially if the PCs healed them at the Sultan's Claw.
Wanderers in the desert seem weird, but could easily be integrated, especially if they have a stake in retaking Kelmarane.
Having a lone explorer unconcious in the monastery would be possible, and really the easiest way to introduce the moldspeaker. Just have him unconcious in the lab.
Hope that helps. The adventure really seems like it intends to have extra characters interjected.
Supposing I can find a new fourth player, do you have any suggestions for introducing his or her character into the campaign? My players had just started exploring the monastery at the end of last session.
Follow up: I introduced to new player characters, a monk and a rogue, into the adventure in the monastery. I worked them in as members of the Lions of Senara who managed to get away when Andrus, Oxvard, and Felliped were captured. Injured, and with gnolls fast on their heels, Boris (Kellid human monk) and Elrand (half-elf rogue) fled into the monastery, through the ruined nave, down the north cloister, and into the shrine of Vardishal. Luckily discovering the secret passage behind Vardishal's statue, they escaped into the undercrypt. The gnolls pursuing them couldn't find the secret passage and thus lost the trail.
Feeling their way through the dark undercrypt, the pair found their way into the laboratory, where Boris leaned against the fungus-covered central table, contracted fungal rot, and became the moldspeaker.
After hiding in the basement several days, Boris and Elrand were discovered by the Almah's party of PCs: Rayner (Chelaxian human paladin of Iomedae), Amir (Kelish human cleric of Sarenrae), and Kethel (Mwangi half-elf dragon-bloodline sorcerer). By GM fiat, only then did the slime molds attack.
* * * * *
My five PCs are now 3rd level. They've cleared the monastery and the Refuge of the All-Seeing Eye and are planning their next move against the gnolls in Kelmarane. They rather easily subdued Haidar*, tied him up, and brought him back to the monastery, where they found King Mokknokk and one other surviving pugwampi harassing Almah's party from the roof. It didn't take them long to dispose of the tiny menaces permanently.
*I'm running Legacy of Fire with Pathfinder RPG rules instead of DnD 3.5. Pardon the pun, but lycanthropes are very different beasts in Pathfinder. Since Pathfinder lycanthropes don't get additional hit dice from the base animal, Haidar ended up as a paper tiger. Even in hybrid form he only had 19 hp, but he could have easily killed a PC in a single round with a successful charge and pounce (5 attacks at +7 damage!). It was a moot point in my game though; Haidar never beat the DC 15 Con check required to change from human to hybrid or leopard form.
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*I'm running Legacy of Fire with Pathfinder RPG rules instead of DnD 3.5. Pardon the pun, but lycanthropes are very different beasts in Pathfinder. Since Pathfinder lycanthropes don't get additional hit dice from the base animal, Haidar ended up as a paper tiger. Even in hybrid form he only had 19 hp, but he could have easily killed a PC in a single round with a successful charge and pounce (5 attacks at +7 damage!). It was a moot point in my game though; Haidar never beat the DC 15 Con check required to change from human to hybrid or leopard form.
Haidar is supposed to be CR5, but doesn't cut it with 19 hp. The simplest thing to do is make him a 7th level aristocrat to make his numbers line up closely with the 3.5 version.
Haidar, CR5
Male human lycanthrope (Katapeshi wereleopard) aristocrat 7
human form: hp 38 (7d8+7)
hybrid form: hp 52 (HD 7d8+21)
The 2d8+2 version of Haidar would be CR2.
Maybe I missed something, but why is the Pugwampi hunt supposed to take place at night? Wouldn´t most PCs wait until dawn?
Maybe I missed something, but why is the Pugwampi hunt supposed to take place at night? Wouldn´t most PCs wait until dawn?
A bleating stray goat is likely to draw predators to the area of the party's camp.
Question-
My four players just cleared the monastery and are heading into part three. They are all level 2 at this point. Looking over part 3 and heading into Kelmarane it seems that a lot of the things they are up against are CR4. While I don't mind giving my players a challenge, even ones that could kill them- CR4, just seems a little too hard for level 2. I am still adjusting to the pathfinder from the 3.5- is it normal for level 2 characters to be thrown CR4 challenges like this in pathfinder? Or should I be directing my characters to do something different at this point in order to gain a level? I was thinking of the Nethys side quest, but even that says its designed for level 3 characters.
Thanks.
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Question-
My four players just cleared the monastery and are heading into part three. They are all level 2 at this point. Looking over part 3 and heading into Kelmarane it seems that a lot of the things they are up against are CR4. While I don't mind giving my players a challenge, even ones that could kill them- CR4, just seems a little too hard for level 2. I am still adjusting to the pathfinder from the 3.5- is it normal for level 2 characters to be thrown CR4 challenges like this in pathfinder? Or should I be directing my characters to do something different at this point in order to gain a level? I was thinking of the Nethys side quest, but even that says its designed for level 3 characters.
Thanks.
First of all, I went through and recomputed all the CRs using the guidelines in the Bestiary, and a lot of the encounters drop by 1 in PFRPG.
Whether a party of APL 2 can handle CR4 encounters largely depends on the number and builds of the characters and adversaries. In general, my 5 PCs @ level 2 (druid, pally, monk, cleric, wizard) have been easily handling groups that add up to CR4, and have found individual CR4 creatures to be challenging but beatable.
Question-
My four players just cleared the monastery and are heading into part three. They are all level 2 at this point. Looking over part 3 and heading into Kelmarane it seems that a lot of the things they are up against are CR4. While I don't mind giving my players a challenge, even ones that could kill them- CR4, just seems a little too hard for level 2. I am still adjusting to the pathfinder from the 3.5- is it normal for level 2 characters to be thrown CR4 challenges like this in pathfinder? Or should I be directing my characters to do something different at this point in order to gain a level? I was thinking of the Nethys side quest, but even that says its designed for level 3 characters.
Thanks.
SPOILERS FOR PLAYERS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
My five PCs haven't run into it yet, but I suggest you watch out for the giant mamba in the Kelmarane's ruined slave market. The bestiary only provides stats for a CR1 medium venomous snake. If you follow the advice on that page and advance the medium venoumous snake to CR3 by applying the Giant and Advanced templates, then the Fort save against the snake's venom jumps up to a nasty DC 18!
Instead of risking killing an unlucky PC with overpowered (IMO) snake venom. I decided to just apply the Giant template, leaving the mamba as just a CR2 encounter with DC 14 venom.
In the Antechamber D1 in the Kelmarane Undercrypt, the text talks about "three man-sized shapes", while the statblock below lists "Medium Fire Elementals (2)". Which is the intended number here?
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In the Antechamber D1 in the Kelmarane Undercrypt, the text talks about "three man-sized shapes", while the statblock below lists "Medium Fire Elementals (2)". Which is the intended number here?
Most likely two. The encounter may originally have been tougher and then scaled back, but the text was not corrected. In any event, 2 x CR3 = EL5.
Most likely two. The encounter may originally have been tougher and then scaled back, but the text was not corrected. In any event, 2 x CR3 = EL5.
Ah, that makes sense. Thank you.
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*I'm running Legacy of Fire with Pathfinder RPG rules instead of DnD 3.5. Pardon the pun, but lycanthropes are very different beasts in Pathfinder. Since Pathfinder lycanthropes don't get additional hit dice from the base animal, Haidar ended up as a paper tiger. Even in hybrid form he only had 19 hp, but he could have easily killed a PC in a single round with a successful charge and pounce (5 attacks at +7 damage!). It was a moot point in my game though; Haidar never beat the DC 15 Con check required to change from human to hybrid or leopard form.Haidar is supposed to be CR5, but doesn't cut it with 19 hp. The simplest thing to do is make him a 7th level aristocrat to make his numbers line up closely with the 3.5 version.
Haidar, CR5
Male human lycanthrope (Katapeshi wereleopard) aristocrat 7human form: hp 38 (7d8+7)
hybrid form: hp 52 (HD 7d8+21)The 2d8+2 version of Haidar would be CR2.
I'm planning on running this using the Pathfinder RPG rules once my current campaign is done. I also noticed the fragile nature of Haidar and did this instead:
gave him 4 levels of aristocrat and two levels of barbarian. I also have him suffering from the effects of hunger and starvation as well, to take a little off the rough edge his newfound power gives him. If I can, I'll post this version of him tomorrow when I get home from work (assuming I'm not playing Darksiders, of course).
If a player wanted to spend the gold an enhance "The Tempest" how should I go about it because it grows in enchantment as the PCs level up
If a player wanted to spend the gold an enhance "The Tempest" how should I go about it because it grows in enchantment as the PCs level up
I would suggest not allowing it.
As I see it, the weapon is so infused with wish magic that normal upgrade process just would not affect it. I'd say let the players enhance their own 'normal' weapons but leace Tempest alone.
Although, you could always charge them normal prices but increase the DC by 15 to reflect the unique properties of the weapon.
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If a player wanted to spend the gold an enhance "The Tempest" how should I go about it because it grows in enchantment as the PCs level up
There are currently no rules for pricing the creation (or enhancement) of an evolving-enhancement weapon such as Tempest.
At a guess I would compute the price of a weapon with all of Tempest's maximum-level powers (+2 fire outsider bane icy burst = +5 = 50k gp) and divide it by some denominator (due to the fact that those powers are not available continuously to any wielder), perhaps 1.25, for a price of 40k gp.
Another possible way would be to average the cost over the four phases of the weapon's enhancement:
((+1) 2k + (+2) 8k + (+4) 32k + (+5) 50k) / 4 = 92k / 4 = 23k gp.