RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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Having sold this AP as an urban based campaign I'm not really feeling A History of Ashes and Skeletons of Scarwall. I know some parties might be thinking of staying to lead the resistance against the queen but have any DM's plotted out how to accomplish this?
I'm in the planning stages of running CotCT in PFBeta and am trying to scrounge up others experience in running the path post 7 Days...
--We will, we will Vrock you!
Having sold this AP as an urban based campaign I'm not really feeling A History of Ashes and Skeletons of Scarwall. I know some parties might be thinking of staying to lead the resistance against the queen but have any DM's plotted out how to accomplish this?
I'm in the planning stages of running CotCT in PFBeta and am trying to scrounge up others experience in running the path post 7 Days...
--We will, we will Vrock you!
I kind of see where your coming from and going to with Skeletons of Scarwell. Its a good 'dungeon' but it is basically a dungeon. However A History of Ashes was, IMO, an exceptional adventure and I'd be very tempted to work it into the main plot line even if you wanted to concentrate more on the urban campaign. Maybe rejig parts of the plot line so that any kind of a resistance movement needs help from the Nomads.
Having the players make separate visits to the various tribes to garner support might work better. Instead of them leaving for a long time they could leave and then come back and then leave again to make a 2nd foray etc. That'd keep them focused on the city but still allow one to introduce the nomads into the plotline.
I think that my players (and their characters) are heavily invested in the setting and won't want to leave. They're anticipating a lot of the plot, and might even pull it off.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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Ooo, good stuff tBug! I was thinking about spreading some of the baddies in Crown of Fangs out over the course of the resistance phase. Running battles against the Grey Maidens, unmasking the fake rebels and the fake Blackjack. Perhaps some forays under the Pyramid mixing up the devilish allies of the queen and perhaps running some more derro encounters? It'd almost be a Scarlet Pimpernellish feel...
--Keep on Vrocking in the Free World!
I had a long thread on how disappointed I was in the last two modules of this path, arguing that they were the same basic adventure type and that they came at the expense of the kind of revolutionary activities that the players should be doing in Korvosa. As good a set piece as Scarwall is, I recommend dumping it and designing some missions where the PCs try to do stuff for the Resistance: find a safe haven, secure water supplies, raid an armory, rescue failed Grey Maidens, hit and run attacks on things the queen would want, etc.
Even with my party's heavy investment in Korvosa (priestess monitoring the current lives of the rescued former Lambs, ranger marine gaining his mount just before the whole marines go away <eg>, wizard with family to worry about, including a young son) I can't wait to throw the need to leave at 'em.
Keeping the marine's mount alive and well in the wilderness ... poor urban rogue having to deal with wildlife and roughing it LOL! and the wizard might take his son on the journey out of the city!
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I'm planning on modding AHoA a bit, mostly just leaving in the Cindermaw encounter, and then the trial to join the tribe by holding up the pillars, but prior to that I was planning on having my PCs hurled back in time by the spirit of Korvosa, to the city's original founding. Back then, they'll be able to learn a bit about the original Shoanti inhabitants, and possibly even participate in the battles between the Shoanti and the Chelish settlers (including General Jeggare). It'll be interesting to see how they handle fighting opponents who they can't kill without radically changing history.
I'm going to have to go through tBug's thread and see if I can't work out some early rebellion fighting as well, before they get hurled backwards and sent on heir quest to find Sperithtial.
I had a long thread on how disappointed I was in the last two modules of this path, arguing that they were the same basic adventure type and that they came at the expense of the kind of revolutionary activities that the players should be doing in Korvosa.
That sounds like a good thread. I must have missed that one, or more likely you wrote that right after finishing off the last instalment and I'm about three months behind in my reading. Got a link?
I had a long thread on how disappointed I was in the last two modules of this path, arguing that they were the same basic adventure type and that they came at the expense of the kind of revolutionary activities that the players should be doing in Korvosa.That sounds like a good thread. I must have missed that one, or more likely you wrote that right after finishing off the last instalment and I'm about three months behind in my reading. Got a link?
It's page two here: Go to Crown of Fangs Impressions....
Basically, the argument is that the Skeletons of Scarwall, while a great set piece, is a missed opportunity and duplicates the same mission type as seen in the final part of that AP. In short, it's "Take the ruined castle" then we "Take the castle" then we "Take the partially submerged pyramid." The first three adventures set up the PCs as leaders of a resistance movement, but most of the revolution occurs off screen. Forget the trinket. Vive la Revolution!
Tito Leati posts an extra encounter for the last AP in that thread too, one you'd want to set up early in the AP if you're going to use it.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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Yeah I'm really looking at how to spread the revolution out between the end of Escape From Old Korvosa and Crown of Fangs. I mean the PC's could leave Korvosa for some of the outlying towns but should be making forays into town to build the resistance up, stop the blood donations, rescue the Grey Maidens, etc...
I had a long thread on how disappointed I was in the last two modules of this path, arguing that they were the same basic adventure type and that they came at the expense of the kind of revolutionary activities that the players should be doing in Korvosa.That sounds like a good thread. I must have missed that one, or more likely you wrote that right after finishing off the last instalment and I'm about three months behind in my reading. Got a link?It's page two here: Go to Crown of Fangs Impressions....
Basically, the argument is that the Skeletons of Scarwall, while a great set piece, is a missed opportunity and duplicates the same mission type as seen in the final part of that AP. In short, it's "Take the ruined castle" then we "Take the castle" then we "Take the partially submerged pyramid." The first three adventures set up the PCs as leaders of a resistance movement, but most of the revolution occurs off screen. Forget the trinket. Vive la Revolution!
Tito Leati posts an extra encounter for the last AP in that thread too, one you'd want to set up early in the AP if you're going to use it.
Thanks for the link. Basically speaking I agree with you. Its not that what we got was bad, far from it. The problem is that what we got was essentially traditional high level fare and yet the plot line was ready made for something that was just about unique in terms of fantasy game products. Leading a revolt is a fantastic theme and it was a missed opportunity that we did not get something more like that.
This is especially salient because the first four parts of this path ARE really unique and are really pushing boundaries and delving into places that are both cool and yet are not ones standard D&D fare.
My players only complaints with the path was scarwall. Some of the Idea's in it were fun, but its a Dungeon Crawl and Nothing but. Aside from that, they love the story.